Cloud Categories

There are three families of clouds. They were given Latin names by Luke Howard in 1804. They are Cirrus (curl of hair), Cumulus (heap) and Stratus (layers). There are 10 main types of clouds made up of combinations of these families. Clouds are also grouped by their height above the ground. Each cloud carries a message about the weather to come, so meteorologists use clouds to help them make forecasts.

The following is a description of each different type of cloud: click on the names of the clouds to see an example of each.

Cirrus	High, ice-crystal clouds which look like wispy curls of hair, often the first signs of approaching weather changes.
Cirrocumulus	Often called a "mackerel sky"; the clouds' ripples of cloud looks like fish scales, indicating unsettled weather.
Cirrostratus	Sheets of thin, milk-colored clouds which form high up and often bring rain or snow within twenty-four hours. They often cause the sun or moon to appear to have a halo around it.
Altostratus	Layers of thin, gray clouds which can grow into rain clouds.
Altocumulus	Fluffy waves of gray clouds which can bring showers or break up to give sunny periods.
Nimbostratus	Thick, dark gray masses of clouds which can bring rain or snow. "Nimbus" means rain in Latin.
Stratus	Low, gray blankets of clouds which often bring drizzle, can cover high ground and cause hill fog.
Stratocumulus	Uneven rolls or patches of clouds across the sky which follow a storm and are usually a sign that drier weather is on the way.
Cumulus	Clearly defined puffs of fluffy clouds that look like "cauliflowers". They appear in sunny, summer skies. In the morning, they precede a storm, in the afternoon they follow a storm.
Cumulonimbus	These are towering clouds which usually bring thunderstorms with rain, snow or hail.

 

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