SME
Meteorology · Problem type
Cloud genus from height and form
Use this for “A thin white veil makes a halo around the Sun. Is it a high, middle or low cloud, and which genus?”
Sort
Where does this cloud form?
Tap a card, then tap its group.
The prefix gives the height, the root the form: a layer (stratus) or a heap (cumulus).
Assumptions
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In middle latitudes, high clouds sit above about 6 km, middle 2–6 km and low below 2 km.
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Cirro- means high and alto- middle; stratus is a layer, cumulus a heap, nimbo- or -nimbus rain.
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Cumulus and cumulonimbus have low bases but grow upward through several levels.
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Nimbostratus is sorted by its base, usually below 2 km, though WMO lists it as a middle cloud.
Topic check
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Related lessons
Clouds and precipitation
Main lesson
Rain rate from radar reflectivity
Use this for “Steady rain falls at 10 mm/h. What reflectivity does the radar see, in dBZ? What rain rate gives 50 dBZ?”
The ice-crystal (Bergeron) process
Use this for “Explain how snow and most mid-latitude rain form in a cloud colder than 0 °C.”