This photograph is of stratocumulus clouds at sunset.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Carlye Calvin/UCAR
Stratocumulus
Stratocumulus (weather symbol - Sc) clouds consist of water droplets and belong
to the Low Cloud
(surface-2000m) group. These clouds are low, lumpy, and gray. These clouds can look like cells under a microscope - sometimes they line up in rows and other times they spread out.
Only light precipitation, generally in the form of drizzle, occurs with stratocumulus clouds. To distinguish between a
stratocumulus and an altocumulus cloud, point
your hand toward the cloud. If
the cloud is about the size of your fist, then it is stratocumulus.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
The
Fall 2009 issue of The Earth Scientist, which includes articles on student research into building design for earthquakes and a classroom lab on the composition of the Earth’s ancient atmosphere, is available in our
online store.
You might also be interested in:
The low cloud group consists of Stratus, Stratocumulus, and Nimbostratus clouds. Low clouds consist of water droplets. The base of a low cloud is from the surface to 2000m.
...more
Altocumulus clouds (weather symbol - Ac), are made primarily of liquid water and have a thickness of 1 km. They are part of the Middle Cloud group (2000-7000m up). They are grayish-white with one part
...more
The Southeast Pacific region typically has extensive stratocumulus cloud cover over the ocean. These offshore clouds can contain clear areas in the clouds that scientists call "pockets of open cells,"
...more
Stratus (weather symbol - St) clouds consist of water droplets and belong to the Low Cloud (surface-2000m up) group. They are uniform gray in color and can cover most or all of the sky. Stratus clouds
...more
Rain is precipitation that falls to the Earth in drops of 5mm or greater in diameter according to the US National Weather Service. Virga is rain that evaporates before reaching the ground. Raindrops form
...more
Weather fronts can cause clouds to form. Fronts occur when two large masses of air collide at the Earth's surface. Warm fronts produce clouds when warm air replaces cold air by sliding above it. Many different
...more
Drizzle is light precipitation that is made up of liquid water drops that are smaller than rain drops. Drizzle can be so light that only a millimeter of accumulation is measured at the Earth's surface.
...more
