How clouds are made?
Quick Answer
Clouds form when warm, moist air rises into the upper atmosphere, where the cooler temperatures cause the water to condense. Depending on the altitude, clouds may be made up of water droplets or ice crystals, and these often form around floating motes of dust or other particles. When too much moisture condenses, the droplets or crystals become too heavy to stay aloft, falling as snow or rain.
Continue Reading
Full Answer
When a cloud first forms, it is white because the relatively sparse drops or crystals reflect the full spectrum of light. As the density of moisture increases, though, some of that light is scattered back into the cloud, resulting in the darker appearance that heralds a storm cloud. The darker the cloud, the more moisture it holds, and the more likely that moisture will begin to fall.
If temperatures near the ground are above freezing, then the cloud's moisture falls as rain. Either the droplets fall to earth as water or the ice crystals melt as they fall. Snow requires freezing temperatures all the way down. Sometimes droplets begin to fall only to be boosted back up into the atmosphere by updrafts, refreezing and collecting more moisture. This process forms hail, and if the updrafts are strong enough a single hailstone could grow to significant size before falling to earth.
Learn more about CloudsRelated Questions
-
Q:
How do cumulonimbus clouds form?
A: Cumulonimbus clouds form when warm, moisture-laden air travels upward and is cooled, condensing into a tall body of water droplets. Cumulonimbus clouds can... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
How do stratus clouds form?
A: Stratus clouds are formed when an upward-moving current of air collides with a thinner layer of air above it, causing water drops to form. The name "stratu... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
Why do clouds form?
A: According to Met Office, clouds form when water vapor in the air condenses into tiny drops of water or ice crystals that then settle on dust particles in t... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What are upwardly billowing clouds?
A: Clouds that develop vertically are called cumulus clouds. If these clouds produce a thunderstorm, they are called cumulonimbus. Cumulonimbus clouds are muc... Full Answer >Filed Under:
