Clouds
High Clouds
Cirro Cumulus
5-12 kilometers altitude
Cirrus
Thin wispy wind strands at about 20,000 ft.
Cirro Stratus
High thin cloud filled with ice crystals.
Middle Clouds
Alto Stratus
A middle altitude cloud. Characterized by a generally uniform gray to bluish-gray sheet or layer, lighter in color than nimbostratus and darker than high cirrostratus.
Strato Cumulus
large dark, rounded masses, usually in groups, lines, or waves.
Low Clouds
Stratiform
The term stratus is used to describe flat, hazy, featureless clouds of low altitude varying in color from dark gray to nearly white.
Cumuliform
Noticeable vertical development and clearly defined edges. Cumulo- means "heap" or "pile"
Vertical Clouds
Generated most commonly through either thermal convection or frontal lifting.
These clouds can grow to heights in excess of 39,000 feet (12,000 meters), releasing incredible amounts of energy through thecondensation of water vapor within the cloud itself.
Fog
Fog is a collection of liquid water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Fog is distinguished from mist only by its density, as expressed in the resulting decrease invisibility: Fog reduces visibility to less than 1 km (5/8 statute mile), whereas mist reduces visibility to no less than 1 km. Fog forms when the difference between temperature and dew point is generally less than 2.5 °C or 4 °F.