Altocumulus clouds form at a lower altitude so they’re largely made of
water droplets though they may retain ice crystals when forming higher up. Continue...They usually appear between lower stratus
clouds and higher cirrus clouds, and normally precede altostratus when a warm
frontal system is advancing. When altocumulus appears with another cloud type
at the same time, storm normally follows. Altocumulus clouds are common in most
parts of the world.
Altocumulus clouds are quite common in most parts of the globe. They
usually grow by convection, in most cases after damp air rises to mix with
descending dry air. Altocumulus clouds may also form in combination with other
types of clouds like cumulonimbus. The amount of rainfall from altocumulus is
projected from light to moderate.
Altostratus
Altostratus often spread over thousands of square miles and are
strongly linked to light rain or snow. Though they’re not capable of yielding
heavy rain it’s common for altostratus clouds to morph into nimbostratus clouds
which are packed with moisture and can deliver a pounding.
They’re uniformly gray, smooth, and mostly featureless which is why
they’re sometimes called ‘boring clouds’. You’ll commonly see this types of
clouds in an advancing warm frontal system, preceding nimbostratus clouds.
Nimbostratus
The name Nimbostratus comes from the Latin words nimbus which means
“rain” and stratus for “spread out”. These gloomy clouds are the heavy rain
bearers out there forming thick and dark layers of clouds that can completely
block out the sun. Though they belong to the middle-level category, they may
sometimes descend to lower altitudes.
Nimbostratus clouds form as a result of the
gradual accumulation of moist area over a large area as the warm frontal system
lifts the warm and moist area higher up in the atmosphere where it condenses. A nimbostratus cloud can form from other types of clouds,
like a descending altostratus. Spreading cumulonimbus clouds may also lead to
the formation of nimbostratus.
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