Cloud Altitude
What altitude is a Stratocumulus cloud?
Low
What does "nimbus" mean?
Rain
What shape do raindrops actually have? (Not teardrops)
Spherical or button-shaped
What character do old folk stories talk about? He creeps up and paints patterns on windows.
Jack Frost
Dense, ground-level clouds are called fog, while less dense clouds are called ______.
Mist
What level is a Cirrostratus Cloud?
High
Which clouds have a castle battlement appearance?
Stratocumulus Castellanus
How many kinds of snowflakes have scientist identified?
80
Which level of the atmosphere is Ozone found in?
Stratosphere
Smoke + Fog =
Smog
What level is an Altocumulus cloud?
Mid level
Which are the fastest moving clouds?
Cirrus Uncinus
How cold does the air need to be for clouds to drop crisp snow?
35.6oF (2oC)
How much warmer is New York city than its surrounding countryside?
7oF (4oC)
If you filled and olympic-sized swimming pool with fog and then condensed it, you would have ___ pints (__ liters) of water
2 pints (1.25 liters)
What is the maximum height that a low-level cloud can be? (Where the medium clouds would begin)
6,500 ft
Which is the ultimate gloomy day cloud? It spreads its dark gray mass across the sky. Often brings rain or snow.
Nimbostratus
A single big cloud can hold more than _____ tons of water. (About one fifth of the water in an olympic-sized pool.)
550
If the air is wet, moisture condenses first, then freezes like a glass. Covering twigs like a popsicle. When a very chilly, wet wind blows and the moisture becomes supercooled, it can coat surfaces with thick ice called ______, especially on the windward side.
Rime
To how many feet does fog reduce visibility?
Less than 3,000 ft
How high up must a cloud be to be considered "high-level cloud?"
Above 3 miles high
Which cloud is also called the "scarf" or "cap" cloud?
Pileus
What is a polar vortex?
A giant spiral of air that flows counterclockwise around the North Pole and helps keep cold air around the pole.
This type of frost forms when moisture freezes without condensing first, creating tiny glistening white needles or spicules of ice. It gets its name from an old word for "ancient," because the spikes of ice look like bristles in an old man's beard.
Hoarfrost
This type of fog is especially common in the fall, when the air is still full of moisture from the summer, but temperatures can plummet at night. After sunset on a cold, clear, calm evening, the land radiates its heat into the atmosphere.
Radiation Fog