Cloud Types
High clouds, thin and feathery in form
Cirrus
Low clouds, layered and covering much of the sky
Stratus
When a warm air mass reaches a cool mass
Frontal Fog
Liquid water below freezing but still liquid
Supercooled
Simple open container that catches rain for measurement
Simple rain gauge
Delicate, flat layers of high clouds
Cirrostratus
Puffy, globular masses resembling cotton with flat bases
Cumulus
Fog caused by radiation cooling from the ground at night
Radiation Fog
Process where ice crystals grow atop core, causing more crystals to form
Bergeron Process
Funnel device that funnels rain into a smaller tube for accurate depth
Standard rain gauge
Middle clouds forming a uniform white or gray sheet covering the sky
Altostratus
Tall, dense towers that produce heavy rain, thunderstorms, and hail
Cumulonimbus
Fog when warm, moist air moves over a colder surface or water
Advection Fog
Tiny particle that supercooled water freezes upon contact with
Ice nucleus
Electronic gauge that fills and tips buckets to count rainfall events
Tipping-bucket gauge
Delicate, fluffy masses of high clouds, often in rows
Cirrocumulus
Thick, dark low sheets producing protracted rain with low visibility
Nimbostratus
When warm air moves up a hill, adiabatically cooling
Upslope Fog
Hygroscopic particles attract water in this droplet-merging process
Collision-coalescence process
Snow depth measured, then this is done to get liquid equivalent
Melting the sample
Sheet of clouds broken into rolls or globular masses
Stratocumulus
These clouds have vertical development and can reach from low to high levels
Clouds of Vertical Development
Cool air moves over warm water
Steam Fog
Bergeron process is less effective in these regions
Tropics
Device that sends radio waves and receives reflections from raindrops or hail
Weather radar