Cirrus Clouds
High-level clouds form above 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) and since the temperatures are so cold at such high elevations, these clouds are primarily composed of ice crystals. High-level clouds are typically thin and white in appearance, but can appear in a magnificent array of colours when the Sun is low on the horizon.
The most common form of high-level clouds are thin and often wispy cirrus clouds. Typically found at heights greater than 20,000 feet (6,000 meters), cirrus clouds are composed of ice crystals that originate from the freezing of supercooled water droplets. Cirrus generally occur in fair weather and point in the direction of air movement at their elevation. Often however, they mark the high-altitude front of an approaching depression, with rain from low-altitude stratus clouds following with 12 hours.
| Cirrus cloud |
Print Topic
Websites
Other topics
• WW2010
• WW2010
• PSC Weather Center
• USA Today
• Weather Terms
• AtmoSphere
• Introduction to Weather
• Anticyclones
• Beaufort Scale
• Cirrus Clouds
• Clouds
• Cold Fronts
• Condensation
• Convection
• Cooling Air
• Cumulonimbus Clouds
• Cumulus Clouds
• Depressions
• Dew
• Dew Point
• Energy
• Evaporation
• Fog
• Forecasting
• Fronts
• Frost
• Humidity
• Hurricanes
• Isobars
• Measuring Weather
• Meteorology
• Monsoons
• Movement of Air
• Occluded Fronts
• Precipitation
• Pressure
• Sea Breeze
• Stability of Air
• Stratus Clouds
• Sunshine
• Synoptic Charts
• Temperature
• Thunderstorms
• Tornadoes
• Uplift of Air
• Warm Fronts
• Water Cycle
• Weather Symbols
• Wind