What are the Different Types of Clouds?

Clouds are classified or named by the level of the atmosphere at which they form as well as their shape. Clouds that form in the middle part of the atmosphere usually have the prefix alto- (meaning “middle”), and clouds that form in the upper part of the atmosphere usually have the prefix cirro- (meaning “made of ice”).

Cumulus

Cumulus clouds are typically white, puffy clouds that look like cotton balls. They can often be found on “fair weather” days, when there are just a few puffy clouds in the atmosphere.

Nimbus

Nimbus clouds, by definition, are clouds that create rain. Usually, nimbus clouds are combined with cumulus clouds to create cumulonimbus clouds, which are what we call thunderstorms.

Interesting Tidbit: Dark gray clouds are not made of anything different than white clouds. The reason they look so dark is because they are more dense and they block out more sunlight.

Stratus

Stratus clouds are long clouds that act as sort of a blanket for the atmosphere. For example, an overcast day could have stratus or altostratus clouds, with altostratus just being clouds located in the middle part of the atmosphere.

Cirrus

Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy clouds made of ice that are located high in the atmosphere. Oftentimes, we use the abbreviation cirro- mixed with another type of cloud like cumulus, to create the cirrocumulus cloud.

Fog

Fog is essentially just a cloud that has formed near the ground. Fog usually forms overnight or early in the morning, when temperatures usually get cold enough for condensation or dew to form.