| | '''Clouds''' consist of small drops of water or ice particles.<ref>A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. [http://www.weatherwizkids.com/cloud.htm Crystal Wicker], weekend meteorologist for WRTV-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana. </ref><ref>'''CORRECTION:''' Clouds are made up of liquid water droplets or ice crystals which are suspended in the air by random turbulent fluctuations within the cloudy air. They do not actually float, as the droplets and crystals are not lighter than air. Cloud droplet sedimentation (or gravitational settling) is the process of cloud droplets falling, this process is impeded by small scale turbulent updrafts, so the net effects are that clouds are suspended. When the droplets grow large enough (through collision and coalescence), they fall freely out of the cloud, producing rain drops and thus precipitation. See, for example, A Short Course in Cloud Physics by Rogers & Yau</ref> | | '''Clouds''' consist of small drops of water or ice particles.<ref>A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. [http://www.weatherwizkids.com/cloud.htm Crystal Wicker], weekend meteorologist for WRTV-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana. </ref><ref>'''CORRECTION:''' Clouds are made up of liquid water droplets or ice crystals which are suspended in the air by random turbulent fluctuations within the cloudy air. They do not actually float, as the droplets and crystals are not lighter than air. Cloud droplet sedimentation (or gravitational settling) is the process of cloud droplets falling, this process is impeded by small scale turbulent updrafts, so the net effects are that clouds are suspended. When the droplets grow large enough (through collision and coalescence), they fall freely out of the cloud, producing rain drops and thus precipitation. See, for example, A Short Course in Cloud Physics by Rogers & Yau</ref> |
| − | Clouds are classified and grouped into "Low", "Middle", and "High" clouds, refering to the altitudes they occur at. Low clouds include cumulus, nimbostratus, stratus, and stratocumulus; middle clouds include altocumulus and altostratus; and high clouds include cirrus, cirrocumulus, cumulonimbus and cirrostratus. | + | Clouds are classified and grouped into "Low", "Middle", and "High" clouds, referring to the altitudes they occur at. Low clouds include [[cumulus]], [[nimbostratus]], [[stratus]], and [[stratocumulus]]; middle clouds include [[altocumulus]] and [[altostratus]]; and high clouds include [[cirrus]], [[cirrocumulus]], [[cumulonimbus]] and [[cirrostratus]]. |