Clouds: Both Sides Now

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Weather forecasters regularly look at clouds from above via satellite imagery, but before we interpret clouds on satellite images we need to learn how to classify specific clouds by observing them from the bottom, as we see them from the ground.

From the perspective of an observer standing on the Earth's surface, clouds can be classified by their physical appearance. Accordingly, there are essentially three basic cloud types:

• Cirrus, which is synonymous with a "streak cloud" (detached filaments of clouds that literally streak across the blue sky).
• Stratus, which, derived from Latin, translates to a "layered cloud."
• Cumulus, which means "heap cloud."

As you learned in a previous lesson, meteorologists further classify clouds according to the height of their bases above the earth's surface.

Four Major Cloud Classifications

Image	General Description
	High clouds (cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus) observed over the middle latitudes typically reside at altitudes near and above 20,000 feet. At such rarefied altitudes, high clouds are composed of ice crystals.
	Middle clouds (altostratus, altocumulus) reside at an average altitude of ~10,000 feet. Keep in mind that middle clouds can form a few thousand feet above or below the 10,000- foot marker. Middle clouds are composed of water droplets and/or ice crystals.
	Low clouds (stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus) can form anywhere from the ground to an altitude of approximately 6,000 feet. For the record, fog is simply a low cloud in contact with the earth's surface.
	Clouds of vertical development (fair-weather cumulus, cumulus congestus, cumulonimbus) cannot be classified as high, middle, or low because they typically occupy more than one of the above three altitude markers. For example, the base of a tall cumulonimbus cloud often forms below 6,000 feet and then builds upward to an altitude far above 20,000 feet.

Just by knowing the three basic cloud types (cirrus, stratus, cumulus) and the four classifications (high, middle, low, and clouds of vertical development), along with their corresponding prefixes and suffixes, we can name lots of different types of clouds.

• High clouds can either be "plain" cirrus, or we can add the prefix "cirro" to a suffix that describes their appearance (cirrostratus for high-altitude, layered clouds; cirrocumulus for high-altitude, "heap" clouds).
• Middle clouds carry the prefix "alto" and also a suffix that describes their appearance (altostratus for mid-level, layered clouds; altocumulus for mid-level, "heap" clouds).
• Clouds of vertical development always include the word "cumulus" or the prefix "cumulo," but can have various suffixes or other descriptive modifiers (like "fair-weather cumulus").
• The names of low clouds have more variation. Low clouds can be referred to as plain "stratus" (if they're smooth and layered) or "stratocumulus" if they have both layered and heap-like characteristics, for example. If low, layered clouds are precipitating, they're called nimbostratus. The prefix "nimbo" comes from "nimbus," which means that this low cloud produces precipitation (note that nimbus can also be used as a suffix, as in cumulonimbus when a cumulus cloud is producing precipitation). 

Learning to identify and describe the major cloud types is an important practical skill for any weather forecaster (see the Key Skill and Quiz Yourself sections below). Once you've spent ample time with those tools and are accustomed to looking at clouds from the bottom side, you're ready to look at clouds from the top side and tackle the principles of interpreting clouds on satellite imagery.