Clouds

1. Cirrocumulus

Cirrocumulus clouds are often said to resemble honeycomb due to the fact they are made up of lots of small clouds called cloudlets. These clouds usually are made up of ice and "supercooled" water (water that remains liquid even at temperatures below 0°c). Cirrocumulus clouds form when turbulent vertical currents meet a cirrus layer creating a puffy shape. Due to the precipitation never reaching the surface you can expect fair weather however they often appear before stormy weather!

2. Cirrostratus

Cirrostratus clouds are transparent and cover large parts of the sky spanning up to thousands of miles. These are one of the few clouds to experience the "halo phenomena" where white/coloured rings, spots or arcs of light are around the Sun or Moon. Cirrostratus clouds are usually seen at the forefront of weather systems for instance if Cirrostratus nebulosus are spotted its more than likely an incoming warm front will bring persistent rain within 24hours!

3. Cirrus

Cirrus clouds look like thin wispy feathers and float at high altitudes. They are noticeably whiter than any other cloud in the sky during the day, this is because they are completely made of ice cyrstals. When the sun is setting or rising, they can take on the colours of the sunset, making for a beautiful sunset. These clouds often form in advance of a warm front and produce precipitation. However, this precipitation never recahes the ground. It re-evaporates creating virga clouds most commonly known as "jellyfish clouds".

1. Altocumulus

Altocumulus appear in a variety of shapes as they are made up of cloudlets (made of ice and water) and will normally appear white or grey. There is a large variety of Altocumulus clouds and are one of the most diverse cloud types with many different species. Some of the key features to identify these clouds are: spotting vigra (jellyfish clouds), a fallstreak hole (a split or punch like hole in the clouds).

2. Altostratus

Altostratus are known to be grey or blue and very thin and in parts allow you to see the sun through the cloud. They typically have very few features. They often form when a higher level cloud (cirrostratus) descends. Due to the fact they are so thin altostratus clouds sometimes contribute to optical effects i.e. coronas and iridescence. Normally forming before warm or occluded front. Seeing these clouds can indicate a weather change is coming e.g. Nimbostratus.

3. Nimbostratus

Nimbostratus clouds are "rain clouds". They are thick, dark, grey, featureless layers of cloud that cover most of the sky. They often bring continous rain or snow. Not to be confused with the low-level Cumulonimbus cloud that brings hail, thunder and lightning. Similarly to altostratus these clouds are not classified into species as they lack specific characteristics - featureless.

1. Stratocumulus

Stratocumulus clouds are the most common clouds seen on earth characterised by large patches of cloud grouped in lines or waves varying from bright white to dark grey. They are present in all types of weather conditions (maybe why they are so common). These low-level clouds are grouped into 4 different species: Stratocumulus stratiformis, Stratocumulus cumulogenitus, Stratocumulus castellanus and Stratocumulus lenticularis.

2. Stratus

Stratus clouds cover the sky like a blanket typically white or grey. In its "nebulosus" form they are responsible for overcast. Stratus clouds are the lowest-lying cloud type more commonly known as mist or fog. These clouds only when thick enough produce light drizzle and when its cold enough light snow. There are only 2 species of stratus: Stratus nebulosus and stratus fractus.

3. Cumulus

Cumulus clouds are one of the most distinctive cloud types! They are individual cauliflower shaped clouds usually spotted in fair conditions and sunny days. These clouds are formed beacuse of convection.

4. Cumulonimbus

Cumulonimbus clouds are "The King of Clouds" or more commonly thunderstorm clouds! They are the only cloud responsible for hail, thunder and lightning and other severe weather such as tornadoes and blizzards. These clouds form through convection mostly from small/overdeveloped cumulus clouds. Forced convection is how they form along cold fronts. They start as a towering cumulus move to the mature stage and then the dissipating stage. These clouds individually wont produce extreme weather only short heavy rain for about an hour (most storm cells die after 20 minutes), however multicell/supercell storms consist of many Cumulonimbus clouds. When observing these clouds have an impressive height spanning all three cloud levels(CH,CM,CL) There are 3 distinct species: Cumulonimbus calvas, Cumulonimbus capillatus and Cumulonimbus incus. In big clouds like these you can experience moderate or severe turblence in a plane as the up and downdrafts of wind are more chaotic.