Cumulus (Cu) – Derekscope

Cumulus – Low Clouds
Heights in metres: between 300 metres and 2,000 metres.
Height in feet: between 1,000 and 6,500 feet.
Height in miles: between 0.2 miles and 1.2 miles.
Height in kilometres: between 0.3km and 2km.

Cumulus
– A cumulus cloud is the classic “puffy” or “cotton-like” cloud often seen on sunny days.
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Key features of Cumulus clouds
– Most cumulus clouds are “fair-weather clouds,” indicating calm, sunny conditions.
– However, if they grow vertically, they can develop into storm clouds.
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Simple way to remember
– If you look up and the sky is just a dull gray blanket with no distinct cloud shapes, you’re probably seeing stratus clouds.
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Here’s the breakdown, what you’re seeing:
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oo– Four main cloud type ~ Cumulus clouds.
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oo– two official varieties (types within Stratus)
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Four main type of Cumulus

Cumulus congestus
– Also called “towering cumulus,” these are taller than they are wide and can produce light to moderate rain showers.

Cumulus fractus
– Ragged, broken shreds of cloud that are either just starting to form or are dissipating.

Cumulus humilis
– Small, flattened clouds that are wider than they are tall; these are the typical “fair weather” variety.

Cumulus mediocris
– Medium-sized clouds that are roughly as wide as they are tall.

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Two official varieties (types within Cumulus)

Stratus fractus
– ragged fragments of low cloud hanging below or near a broken layer.

Stratus nebulosus
– Smooth, uniform, featureless gray layer.
– Relationship to fog.

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Images of Cumulus by Derek Rowley

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