Altostratus clouds are part of the middle cloud group.
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Courtesy of Keith G. Diem. Used by permission.

Middle Clouds

The middle cloud group consists of Altostratus and Altocumulus clouds. Middle clouds are made of ice crystals and water droplets. The base of a middle cloud above the surface can be anywhere from 2000-8000m in the tropics to 2000-4000m in the polar regions.

Last modified September 25, 2007 by Becca Hatheway.

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Altostratus

Altostratus belong to the Middle Cloud group (2000-7000m up). An altostratus cloud usually covers the whole sky and has a gray or blue-gray appearance. The sun or moon may shine through an altostratus...more

Altocumulus

Altocumulus clouds are part of the Middle Cloud group (2000-7000m up). They are grayish-white with one part of the cloud darker than the other. Altocumulus clouds usually form in groups and are about...more

Cirrostratus

Cirrostratus clouds belong to the High Cloud (5000-13000m) group. They are sheetlike thin clouds that usually cover the entire sky. The sun or moon can shine through cirrostratus clouds . Sometimes, the...more

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Cirrocumulus

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