- Author
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), JetStream educational site
- Published
- Last updated 28 March 2023
- Kind
- Government educational reference page
- Original
- www.noaa.gov/jetstream/clouds/ten-basic-clouds
- Subject
- Science and medicine
What it is
NOAA is a United States government agency. The page is part of its JetStream weather learning site. It aims to teach readers the standard cloud types.
What it says
- The page defines ten basic cloud types, using definitions from the WMO International Cloud Atlas.
- Cirrus, cirrocumulus and cirrostratus are the high-level clouds, and are typically thin and white.
- Altocumulus, altostratus and nimbostratus are mid-level clouds, mainly water droplets, but ice at low temperatures.
- Cumulus, stratocumulus, stratus and cumulonimbus are low-level clouds, though cumulonimbus extends into the high level.
- Cirrus is always ice crystals. It is often yellow or red near sunrise and sunset.
- Nimbostratus is often wrongly called low-level because its base lowers as precipitation continues.
- The page says the ten types grew from Luke Howard's observation that clouds mix categories.
What evidence it gives
The page relies on the WMO International Cloud Atlas as its authority. It offers definitions and descriptions, not data or experiments.
Interests and limits
The page is an official reference, so it carries no commercial interest. It covers only the ten basic types, not the full atlas. The live page gave an access error. The saved text may come from a copy of the page. The page text mentions linked images and lessons that were not viewed.