1. What are they?
How do they form?
What types are there?

2. What is a cloud?
A visible collection of water droplets or frozen
crystals of water that are suspended above the surface
of the earth.

3. How are clouds formed?
All air contains water, but near the ground it is
usually in the form of an invisible gas called water
vapor. When warm air rises, it expands and cools.
Cool air can’t hold as much water vapor as warm air,
so some of the vapor condenses onto tiny pieces of
dust that are floating in the air and form as a tiny
droplet around each dust particle. When billions of
these droplets come together they become a visible
cloud.

4. Why are they white?
They are white because they reflect the light of the
sun

5. Cloud Prefixes
High Clouds
Middle Clouds
Cirro = clouds above 18,000
feet
Alto =6,500 fee to 18,000 feet
above ground
Strato = Ground level to
6,500 feet
Low Clouds
Cloud Prefixes are:
Cirro is for High Clouds
Alto is for Middle Clouds
Strato is for Low Clouds

6. Types of clouds
CUMULUS:CUMULUS: Latin word meaning heap
White puffy clouds
Seen on a sunny day, the wind blows them around
These are the clouds you can see shapes in

7. Cumulus clouds
Notice the blue sky, white
puffy clouds
Can you see an animal in the
cloud in the center? I can

8. Types of Cumulus Clouds
Cirrocumulus Clouds
 Small rounded white puffs that appear in long rows. Small
ripples sometimes resemble the scales of a fish. Usually seen
in winter and indicate fair, but cold weather. In tropical
regions them may indicate an approaching hurricane.

9. Types of Cumulus clouds
Alto Cumulus = mid level clouds made of water
droplets and appear as gray puffy masses. If you see
them on a warm sticky summer morning, be prepared
to see thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

10. Types of Cumulus clouds
Stratocumulus Clouds = low, puffy and gray,
most are in rows with blue sky between. Rain rarely
occurs with stratocumulus clouds.

11. Types of clouds
STRATUSSTRATUS: Latin root means layered
Usually seen on a rainy day
Like a blanket of light gray in the sky
You can’t tell where one cloud ends and another begins

12. Stratus Clouds
Notice how it looks like a
blanket? Some of the clouds
are lighter than others.

13. Types of stratus clouds
Thin sheetlike high clouds that often cover
the entire sky. Usually come 12-24 hours
before snow or rain.
Cirrostratus

14. Altostratus Clouds
Gray or blue-gray mid-level clouds
Usually cover the entire sky
Form ahead of storms with continuous rain or snow

15. How are these clouds
different?
Cumulus clouds Stratus clouds

16. Cloud types
Cirrus CloudsCirrus Clouds
Thin and wispy
High in the sky
Made of ice crystals
Seen on a fair day
Point or curl in the direction the wind is moving
Usually indicate a change in the weather within 24
hours

17. Cirrus Clouds
See how you can almost see
through these clouds?
They also have “tails” that
point in the direction the air
is moving (what is moving
air called?)

18. Types of clouds
NimbusNimbus (latin means cloud)
Is giving off rain or snow (what is this called?)
Dark gray
Usually cover the whole sky
Can produce a thunderstorm or tornado

19. Nimbus Clouds
You can see how dark they
are. Sometimes they are not
quite so dark, but they
usually have rain or snow
with them.

20. How are these different?
Nimbus clouds Stratus clouds

21. How are these clouds
different?
Cumulus clouds Cirrus clouds