Are clouds hotter on the top than the bottom?

Question

This was just a random question I thought of earlier today after a hailstorm. Everybody knows clouds of made of water, correct? Misty water, but still water. And since they're in the sky with almost nothing above them, they're being hit almost constantly with sunlight, with no interference other than the atmosphere. So, since they're constantly in the sun, do they eventually warm up from the exposure, or are they cool all the time?

Answer 1

Clouds are warmest at the bottom. It's just common sense.

Answer 2

Inside the cloud - Top (hot air rises)

Outside the cloud - Bottom (lower is the higher temperature)

Answer 3

I hav thought of a simple argument:

Temperature decreases with increasing altitude. So, clouds would definitely b cooler on the top!

Answer 4

The water droplets forming the clouds are not absorbing the energy from the sun because their mass is so low. In fact, clouds can be cooled down to -40 C before they freeze. That is because, in order to freeze, water droplets need to give away energy in form of heat. This is a very dangerous situation e.g. for my little aircraft because when undercooled water meet the leading edge of my wings and propeller, it freezes instantly, bringing the plane down.

As warm air rises, it cools down by the so-called adiabatic effect. If it is dry air, the cooling is about 1 C per 100 meters. If the air is saturated with water after it reaches dew point (the base of the clouds) then the adiabatic cooling is only about 0.5 C per 100 meter, due to the aforementionned effect.

That's how cumulus clouds are born. The moist air continues to rise in the cloud until it reaches an even temperature with the surrounding air masses. If the air above is cold enough and the surface enough warm and humid, the process will continue until the cloud reaches the top of the troposphere called the tropopause. Now the cumulus has turned into a thunderstorm towering cloud.

Answer 5

clouds are the motor of the precipitations, so there is an entire process going on: they get hot(because of the reflected heat from the earth, because of the direct action of the sun) so the are lighter therefore they go up (this type of couds are called cumulonimbus, and they look like a mushroom when they form).

the clouds are in a continuous change, so i don't think they are  hotter only at the top or only at the bottom.

Answer 6

Yes the clouds are hot on the top as compared to bottom.

Answer 7

actually the higher the cloud.. the cooler it is..

that's why on top of cloud.. we often found ice particles

thats because.. the temperature will gradually decrease by the increament of height.

besides.. because of cloud are good reflectors of sun's radiation it's mostly absorbed the radiation that is emitted from earth surface.. which will hit the bottom of cloud first.

Answer 8

Clouds are good reflectors of the incoming solar radiation, only a small amount being absorbed by them.But they absorb the terrestial radiation emitted by the earth's surface .Hence the bottom of the cloud is heated first((just like the atmosphere) and hence the temperature will be more at the bottom only.Further,it is a known fact that the temperature falls with height and the top of the cloud should be at a lower temperatiure than the bottom.

Answer 9

Actually they are colder.. cause you are higher up in the atmosphere..