Cirrocumulus clouds are part of the high cloud group. When cirrocumulus clouds look like this picture, it is called a "mackerel sky" because the clouds look like the scales on a mackerel fish.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of UCAR Digital Image Library
High Clouds
The high cloud group consists of
Cirrus,
Cirrostratus, and
Cirrocumulus clouds. High clouds are made of
ice crystals due to the
cold air in the
upper sky. The base of a high cloud above
the surface can be anywhere from 6000-18000m in the tropics to 3000-8000m in the
polar
regions.
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