This photograph is of stratocumulus clouds at sunset.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Carlye Calvin/UCAR
Stratocumulus
Stratocumulus clouds belong to the Low Cloud 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, usually drizzle, occurs with stratocumulus clouds. To tell the difference 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.
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