How to Identify Cloud Types

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Identifying types of clouds is a fun hobby and can also help you predict the weather. There are three main types of clouds: stratus clouds, cumulus clouds and cirrus clouds. Each cloud type has distinct features that make it easily identifiable.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Check the shape of the cloud. Stratus clouds stretch across low the sky horizontally. These form between layers of cool air and moist, warm air and may stretch for several miles across the sky.
Step 2

Observe fluffy-looking clouds. These clouds, called cumulus clouds—whose definition in Latin means pile or heap—look like great, fluffy piles of cotton. Cumulus clouds form when moist, warm air pushes upward. You see these clouds on sunny days.
Step 3

Watch for a vertical rise in a cloud. When these clouds are forced upward by air and contain a lot of water, they become very large. This type of cloud is known as cumulonimbus, or thunderhead. These clouds cause bad weather such as thunderstorms.
Step 4

Identify wispy clouds. These are cirrus clouds. Cirrus is the Latin word for tuft or curl of hair. Some people call these clouds horses' tails. These clouds can only form at high altitudes and consist of crystals of ice.