Otherwise known as The King of Clouds, cumulonimbus clouds exist through the entire height of the troposphere, usually characterised by their icy, anvil-shaped top. Cumulonimbus clouds are menacing looking multi-level clouds, extending high into the sky in towers or plumes. More commonly known as thunderclouds, cumulonimbus is the only cloud type that can produce hail, thunder and lightning.
The base of the cloud is often flat, with a very dark wall-like feature hanging underneath, and may only lie a few hundred feet above the Earth's surface. Cumulonimbus clouds are born through convection, often growing from small cumulus clouds over a hot surface.
They get taller and taller until they represent huge powerhouses, storing the same amount of energy as 10 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs. They can also form along cold fronts as a result of forced convection, where milder air is forced to rise over the incoming cold air. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with extreme weather such as heavy torrential downpours, hail storms, lightning and even tornadoes.
Individual cumulonimbus cells will usually dissipate within an hour once showers start falling, making for short-lived, heavy rain. Nimbostratus clouds are dark gray with a ragged base. Rain or snow is associated with Nimbostratus clouds. Vertically developing clouds are the Cumulus puffy type. However, as they develop vertically up they may go from small, fair weather clouds to large, boiling, vertically-growing monsters called cumulonimbus. Cumulonimbus are generally known as thunderstorm clouds.
High winds will flatten the top of the cloud into an anvil-like shape. Cumulonimbus are associated with heavy rain, snow, hail, lightning, and tornadoes. The anvil usually points in the direction the storm is moving. As the ceiling lowers you will see types of storm clouds in the following order:.
Cirrus Cirrostratus Altostratus Stratus Nimbostratus — storm clouds! Watch for cumulus puffy clouds that start to rapidly develop vertically up to become cumulonimbus thunderstorm clouds. On hot and humid days, these storms occur over water as the radiant heat from the land absorbs moisture from nearby water and rises to produce thunderheads. This is an example of a cumulus cloud that is growing vertically up.
The bottom of the cloud is made of water droplets and the top is made of ice crystals. Parts of the cloud roll in a circular motion, much like boiling water. To sum it up; flat clouds getting lower or puffy clouds getting higher — keep your eye out for a storm. If you have a barometer on your boat check it every two to three hours. A rapid drop in pressure means a storm is approaching. Help the skipper by maintaining a watch for other boats and floating stuff in the water and by fastening down loose gear, hatches and ports.
Set your VHF radio to your local weather channel and listen out for any storm warnings, put your life jacket on, and keep your bilge pump on standby. You may be in for some heavy weather.
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Navigation Boat Safe. Thank you Reply. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. If updrafts become stronger, those seemingly innocuous cumulus clouds may grow taller into what we call cumulonimbus clouds.
These are the awe-inspiring and ominous clouds mainly observed during the summer months and can be indicative of developing thunderstorms, including lightning, hail, heavy rain and even tornadoes. The strongest thunderstorms can even produce cumulonimbus clouds that tower up to 60, feet! Above: Textbook example of a towering cumulonimbus cloud Courtesy Wikipedia.
Personally, stratus clouds are my least-favorite and I'm sure that likely goes for most people. These clouds, which look like a layer of gray blanketing the sky, are generally associated with wet conditions. They typically form when warm air is lifted over cold air, which allows the water vapor to condense rather uniformly, transforming the sky into a gray and dreary scene.
In fact, stratus clouds can last for days and bring cool temperatures, persistent rain, drizzle, or even snow. Above: Layer of stratus clouds Courtesy Wikipedia.
Now on to my favorite type of cloud, cirrus clouds! Ever notice those high, thin and wispy clouds that usually make for beautiful sunsets? Yep, those are cirrus. They develop very high up in the atmosphere and are actually made up of tiny ice crystals.
We can see cirrus clouds in a variety of scenarios including outflow from large scale storms, like nor'easters, tropical cyclones and even thunderstorm complexes. They also form out ahead of warm fronts and can be indicative of upcoming precipitation.
Above: Cirrus clouds on a beautiful day Courtesy geograph. Now we reach the clouds that are sometimes at the center of controversy, contrails.
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