1
Wall Cloud: Rotating, lowered, rain-free base of thunderstorm in area of strongest updraft, under which a tornado may form. Shelf Cloud: Forms in a gust front from a squall line or thunderstorm. Mammatus: Small pouch or pocket-like clouds sinking into drier air and often seen near thunderstorms. Virga: Precipitation that evaporates before reaching the surface. Asperitas: Long waves that ripple through the base of the cloud near the dry/moist air boundary of a thunderstorm. Fog: A cloud on the ground which lifts from the surface and becomes Stratus or dissipates with heat from the sun. Other Cloud Phenomena Cumulonimbus: Very tall summits with anvil-shaped upper part. Cumulus/Stratocumulus: Stratocumulus not from spreading Cumulus, with Cumulus base at a different level. Stratus- or Cumulus- fractus: Ragged shreds during precipitation, usually seen below Altostratus or Nimbostratus. Stratus: In a continuous layer, or Stratus fractus: In ragged shreds, or both, without precipitation. Stratocumulus: One or more layers, not resulting from spreading Cumulus. Stratocumulus: Spread out Cumulus when vertical development stabilizes; sometimes can occur along with Cumulus. Cumulonimbus: Very tall summits, which lack sharp outlines and are not anvil-shaped. Cumulus: Moderately tall with rounded puffy tops; may occur with Cumulus/ Stratocumulus (L4). Cumulus: Thin and ragged with continuously changing edges; forms during fair weather by daytime heating. Altostratus: Full or nearly full sky cover that is gray, shapeless and translucent; produces no halo. Altostratus: Thick opaque coverage, no precipitation, or Nimbostratus: during precipitation or virga. Altocumulus: Translucent bands or patches in a relatively continuous layer. Altocumulus Lenticularis: Lens or almond shaped, often formed by air moving over hills or mountains. Altocumulus: One or more layers of translucent or opaque bands. Altocumulus: A result of the spreading tops of Cumulus or sides of Cumulonimbus. Altocumulus: In one or more opaque layers, sometimes with Altostratus or Nimbostratus. Altocumulus: Small towers, which can be similar to small Cumulus with wispy trails of virga. Altocumulus: Chaotic sky with multiple layers and kinds of Altocumulus at several altitudes. Cirrus: Straight, nearly straight, or curved filaments, strands or hooks. Cirrus: Dense white puffs with wispy edges. Cirrus: Dense, anvil-shaped remains, which were originally the upper parts of Cumulonimbus. Cirrostratus with or without Cirrus: Increasing density and coverage, but coverage does not reach midway above the horizon. Cirrostratus: Veil covering the whole sky, sometimes a halo around the sun or moon is present. Cirrus: Filaments, strands or hooks, increasing in coverage and generally thickening as a whole. Cirrostratus: Veil not covering the whole sky nor increasing in coverage. Cirrocumulus: Thin white ripples or small puffs, which may be accompanied by some Cirrus/Cirrostratus. Cirrostratus with or without Cirrus: Increasing density and covering much of, but not the entire sky. Altostratus Nimbostratus Altocumulus Cirrostratus Cirrocumulus Cirrus Cumulus Cumulus / Stratocumulus Stratus Stratocumulus Cumulonimbus Cumulonimbus High1 High1 H2 H2 H3 H3 H4 H4 H5 H5 H6 H6 H7 H7 H8 H8 H9 H9 Mid1 Mid1 M2 M2 M3 M3 M4 M4 M5 M5 M6 M6 M7 M7 M8 M8 M9 M9 Low1 Low1 L2 L2 L3 L3 L4 L4 L5 L5 L6 L6 L7 L7 L8 L8 L9 L9 NOAA Cloudwise Altocumulus mulu u ulu l m m um tocu m um Alt u Alt u l m m Alto A Altostr s Cirrus Stratus Stratus Cirrocumulus Cirrocumulus Cirrostratus Cirrostratus Cirrus Cirrus Stratocumulus Stratocumulus Altostratus Altostratus Nimbostratus Nimbostratus Cumulus Cumulus Cumulonimbus Cumulonimbus Low Clouds Low Clouds Middle Clouds Middle Clouds High Clouds High Clouds There are ten basic cloud types arranged in three divisions based on the altitude at which they form. Low level clouds are Cumulus, Cumulonimbus, Stratus, and Stratocumulus. Middle level clouds are Altocumulus, Altostratus and Nimbostratus. High level clouds are Cirrus, Cirrocumulus and Cirrostratus. Precipitation primarily occurs from Cumulus, Cumulonimbus and Nimbostratus. These ten clouds are further divided into 27 classifications. Many of these classifications represent the same basic cloud type (or combinations of clouds) but in various stages of development, opacity, or sky cover. Learn more about clouds at www.weather.gov/jetstream www.noaa.gov/education www.weather.gov 6,500 ft. 20,000 ft. Sky Clear 0% Few 1 - 25% Scattered 26 - 50% Broken 51 - 99% Overcast 100% Sky cover The percent of sky covered by clouds. Clouds near the horizon appear to be lower, more numerous and closer together. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K cloudchart_front_082619.ai 1 8/29/2019 10:56:04 AM cloudchart_front_082619.ai 1 8/29/2019 10:56:04 AM

cloudchart front 082619 - National Weather Servicet r a t u s Cumulus C u m u l u s CumulonimbusC u m u l o n i m b u s Low Clouds L o w C l o u d s Middle Clouds M i d d l e C l o

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Page 1: cloudchart front 082619 - National Weather Servicet r a t u s Cumulus C u m u l u s CumulonimbusC u m u l o n i m b u s Low Clouds L o w C l o u d s Middle Clouds M i d d l e C l o

Wal

lClo

ud: R

otat

ing,

lo

wer

ed, r

ain-

free

base

of

thun

ders

torm

in a

rea

ofst

rong

est u

pdra

ft,un

der

whi

ch a

torn

ado

may

form

.

Shel

fClo

ud: F

orm

sin

a

gust

front

from

asq

uall

line

or

thun

ders

torm

.

Mam

mat

us: S

mal

l pou

ch o

r po

cket

-like

clo

uds

sink

ing

into

drie

r air

and

ofte

n se

enne

ar th

unde

rsto

rms.

Virg

a: P

recip

itatio

n th

at

evap

orat

es b

efor

e re

achi

ng

the

surfa

ce.

Aspe

ritas

: Lon

g w

aves

that

rip

ple

thro

ugh

the

base

of t

he

cloud

nea

r the

dry

/moi

st a

ir bo

unda

ry o

f a th

unde

rsto

rm.

Fog:

A c

loud

on

the

grou

nd

whi

ch li

fts fr

om th

e su

rface

an

d be

com

es S

trat

us o

r di

ssip

ates

with

hea

t fro

m

the

sun.

Other Cloud Phenomena

Cum

ulon

imbu

s: V

ery

tall

sum

mits

with

anv

il-sh

aped

up

per p

art.

Cum

ulus

/Str

atoc

umul

us:

Stra

tocu

mul

us n

ot fr

om

spre

adin

g C

umul

us, w

ith

Cum

ulus

bas

e at

a

diffe

rent

leve

l.

Stra

tus-

or C

umul

us-

frac

tus:

Rag

ged

shre

ds

durin

g pr

ecip

itatio

n, u

sual

ly

seen

bel

ow A

ltost

ratu

s or

Nim

bost

ratu

s.

Stra

tus:

In a

con

tinuo

us

laye

r, or

Str

atus

frac

tus:

In

ragg

ed s

hred

s, o

r bot

h,

with

out p

reci

pita

tion.

Stra

tocu

mul

us: O

ne o

r m

ore

laye

rs, n

ot re

sulti

ng

from

spr

eadi

ng C

umul

us.

Stra

tocu

mul

us: S

prea

d ou

t C

umul

us w

hen

verti

cal

deve

lopm

ent s

tabi

lizes

; so

met

imes

can

occ

ur a

long

w

ith C

umul

us.

Cum

ulon

imbu

s: V

ery

tall

sum

mits

, whi

ch la

ck s

harp

ou

tline

s an

d ar

e no

t an

vil-s

hape

d.

Cum

ulus

: Mod

erat

ely

tall

with

roun

ded

puffy

tops

; m

ay o

ccur

with

Cum

ulus

/ St

rato

cum

ulus

(L4)

.

Cum

ulus

: Thi

n an

d ra

gged

w

ith c

ontin

uous

ly c

hang

ing

edge

s; fo

rms

durin

g fa

ir w

eath

er b

y da

ytim

e he

atin

g.

Alto

stra

tus:

Ful

l or n

early

fu

ll sk

y co

ver t

hat i

s gr

ay,

shap

eles

s an

d tra

nslu

cent

; pr

oduc

es n

o ha

lo.

Alto

stra

tus:

Thi

ck o

paqu

e co

vera

ge, n

o pr

ecip

itatio

n,

or N

imbo

stra

tus:

dur

ing

prec

ipita

tion

or v

irga.

Alto

cum

ulus

: Tra

nslu

cent

ba

nds

or p

atch

es in

a

rela

tivel

y co

ntin

uous

laye

r.

Alto

cum

ulus

Len

ticul

aris

: Le

ns o

r alm

ond

shap

ed,

ofte

n fo

rmed

by

air m

ovin

g ov

er h

ills o

r mou

ntai

ns.

Alto

cum

ulus

: One

or m

ore

laye

rs o

f tra

nslu

cent

or

opaq

ue b

ands

.

Alto

cum

ulus

: A re

sult

of th

e sp

read

ing

tops

of C

umul

us

or s

ides

of C

umul

onim

bus.

Alto

cum

ulus

: In

one

or

mor

e op

aque

laye

rs,

som

etim

es w

ith A

ltost

ratu

s or

Nim

bost

ratu

s.

Alto

cum

ulus

: Sm

all t

ower

s,

whi

ch c

an b

e si

mila

r to

smal

l Cum

ulus

with

wis

py

trails

of v

irga.

Alto

cum

ulus

: Cha

otic

sky

w

ith m

ultip

le la

yers

and

ki

nds

of A

ltocu

mul

us a

t se

vera

l alti

tude

s.

Cirr

us: S

traig

ht, n

early

st

raig

ht, o

r cur

ved

filam

ents

, st

rand

s or

hoo

ks.

Cirr

us: D

ense

whi

te p

uffs

w

ith w

ispy

edg

es.

Cirr

us: D

ense

, anv

il-sh

aped

re

mai

ns, w

hich

wer

e or

igin

ally

the

uppe

r par

ts o

f C

umul

onim

bus.

Cirr

ostr

atus

with

or w

ithou

t C

irrus

: Inc

reas

ing

dens

ity

and

cove

rage

, but

cov

erag

e do

es n

ot re

ach

mid

way

ab

ove

the

horiz

on.

Cirr

ostr

atus

: Vei

l cov

erin

g th

e w

hole

sky

, som

etim

es a

ha

lo a

roun

d th

e su

n or

m

oon

is p

rese

nt.

Cirr

us: F

ilam

ents

, stra

nds

or h

ooks

, inc

reas

ing

in

cove

rage

and

gen

eral

ly

thic

keni

ng a

s a

who

le.

Cirr

ostr

atus

: Vei

l not

co

verin

g th

e w

hole

sky

nor

in

crea

sing

in c

over

age.

Cirr

ocum

ulus

: Thi

n w

hite

rip

ples

or s

mal

l puf

fs, w

hich

m

ay b

e ac

com

pani

ed b

y so

me

Cirr

us/C

irros

trat

us.

Cirr

ostr

atus

with

or w

ithou

t C

irrus

: Inc

reas

ing

dens

ity

and

cove

ring

muc

h of

, but

no

t the

ent

ire s

ky.

Alto

stra

tus

Nim

bost

ratu

sAl

tocu

mul

us

Cirr

ostr

atus

Cirr

ocum

ulus

Cirr

us

Cum

ulus

Cum

ulus

/ St

rato

cum

ulus

Stra

tus

Stra

tocu

mul

usCu

mul

onim

bus

Cum

ulon

imbu

s

Hig

h1H

igh1

H2

H2

H3

H3

H4

H4

H5

H5

H6

H6

H7

H7

H8

H8

H9

H9

Mid

1M

id1

M2

M2

M3

M3

M4

M4

M5

M5

M6

M6

M7

M7

M8

M8

M9

M9

Low

1Lo

w1

L2L2L3L3

L4L4L5L5

L6L6L7L7

L8L8L9L9

NO

AA

Clo

udw

iseA

ltocu

mul

usm

ulu

uulul

mmumto

cumum

Alt

uA

ltu

lmm

Alto

A

Alto

strs

Cirr

us

Stra

tus

Stra

tus

Cirr

ocum

ulus

Cirr

ocum

ulus

Cirr

ostr

atus

Cirr

ostr

atus

Cirr

usC

irrus

Stra

tocu

mul

usSt

rato

cum

ulus

Alto

stra

tus

Alto

stra

tus

Nim

bost

ratu

sN

imbo

stra

tus

Cum

ulus

C

umul

us

Cum

ulon

imbu

sC

umul

onim

bus

Low Clouds Low CloudsMiddle Clouds Middle CloudsHigh Clouds High Clouds

Ther

e ar

e te

n ba

sic

clou

d ty

pes

arra

nged

in th

ree

divi

sion

s ba

sed

on th

e al

titud

e at

whi

ch th

ey fo

rm. L

ow

leve

l clo

uds

are

Cum

ulus

, Cum

ulon

imbu

s, S

tratu

s, a

nd S

trato

cum

ulus

. Mid

dle

leve

l clo

uds

are

Alto

cum

ulus

, Al

tost

ratu

s an

d N

imbo

stra

tus.

Hig

h le

vel c

loud

s ar

e C

irrus

, C

irroc

umul

us a

nd C

irros

tratu

s. P

reci

pita

tion

prim

arily

occ

urs

from

Cum

ulus

, Cum

ulon

imbu

s an

d N

imbo

stra

tus.

Thes

e te

n cl

ouds

are

furth

er d

ivid

ed in

to 2

7 cl

assi

ficat

ions

. Man

y of

thes

e cl

assi

ficat

ions

repr

esen

t the

sam

e ba

sic

clou

d ty

pe (o

r com

bina

tions

of c

loud

s) b

ut in

var

ious

sta

ges

of d

evel

opm

ent,

opac

ity, o

r sky

cov

er.

Lear

n m

ore

abou

t clo

uds

at w

ww

.wea

ther

.gov

/jets

tream

ww

w.n

oaa.

gov/

educ

atio

n

ww

w.w

eath

er.g

ov

6,50

0 ft.

20,0

00 ft

.

Sky

Cle

ar0%

Few

1 - 2

5%Sc

atte

red

26 -

50%

Brok

en51

- 99

%O

verc

ast

100%

Sky

cove

rTh

e pe

rcen

t of s

ky c

over

ed b

y cl

ouds

. Clo

uds

near

the

horiz

on a

ppea

r to

be lo

wer

, m

ore

num

erou

s an

d cl

oser

toge

ther

.

C M Y CM MY

CY CMY

K

clou

dcha

rt_f

ront

_082

619.

ai

1 8

/29/

2019

10

:56:

04 A

Mcl

oudc

hart

_fro

nt_0

8261

9.ai

1

8/2

9/20

19

10:5

6:04

AM