Cumulonimbus clouds like this one are one of the kinds of clouds with vertical growth. Notice how the top of the cloud is shaped like an anvil.
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Courtesy of UCAR Digital Image Library
Clouds with Vertical Growth
Clouds with vertical growth include cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds grow high up into the atmosphere rather than spreading across the sky. They span all levels of the troposphere and can even rise up into the stratosphere.
Clouds with vertical growth develop by warm air rising from the surface. Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds provide the some of the most interesting and severe weather on Earth.
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Cumulus (weather symbol - Cu) clouds belong to the Clouds with Vertical Growth group. They are puffy white or light gray clouds that look like floating cotton balls. Cumulus clouds have sharp outlines
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Cumulonimbus (weather symbol - Cb) clouds belong to the Clouds with Vertical Growth group. They are generally known as thunderstorm clouds. A cumulonimbus cloud can grow to such heights that it actually
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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
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Altostratus clouds (weather symbol - As) consist of water and some ice crystals. They belong to the Middle Cloud group (2000-7000m up). An altostratus cloud usually covers the whole sky and has a gray
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Cirrocumulus clouds (weather symbol - Cc) are composed primarily of ice crystals and belong to the High Cloud group (5000-13000m). They are small rounded puffs that usually appear in long rows. Cirrocumulus
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Cirrostratus (weather symbol - Cs) clouds consist almost entirely of ice crystals and belong to the High Cloud (5000-13000m) group. They are sheetlike thin clouds that usually cover the entire sky. The
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Cirrus (weather symbol - Ci) clouds are the most common of the High Cloud (5000-13000m) group. They are composed entirely of ice and consist of long, thin, wispy streamers. They are commonly known as
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