Do the temperatures of "cloud tops" get colder at higher or lower altitudes?

Question

A meteorology question for those interested, are cloud tops of precipitating clouds warmer or colder than nearby cloud tops of non-precipitating clouds? What would that answer infer in relation to the altitude of the tops of precipitating clouds?

Answer 1

The higher the cloud tops are the colder they are.Let's look at a cumulonimbus cloud for example (the big puffy one that is flat at the top) [Don't know how much you know about clouds]

There clouds are precipitating clouds and they extend thousands of feet high,the area on which the cloud 'anvils' out and turns flat and whispy at the top,this is because it's reached a level where the cloud is containing ice crystals instead of water droplets

Answer 2

they get colder ,because the temprature falls with height

Answer 3

I assume first that we are talking about  convective clouds; not clouds formed by the lifting of a front or a mountain (orographic clouds).

Convective clouds are formed from rising air that cools down at a rate of about 1 degree Celsius per 100 meter. That is the adiabatic resulf of decompressing a gas.

But as it cools down, the relative humidity increases until it reached 100%, a.k.a. the Dew Point and the base of cumulus clouds.

What happens then is that the saturated adiabatic cooling is only 0.5 degrees/100 meters and the air then keeps rising because it is cooling slower than the surrounding air. Once it stops because its temperature equals the surrounding air, it forms the mushroom-like top of the clouds.

If, e.g. there is cold polar air on the top, it will continue rising until it reaches the top of the tropopause and chances are that it will result in a thunderstorm.

But, to your question:

1) There is no difference in temperature between a 'raining' cloud (Cumulonimbus) and a 'dry' one (Cumulus).

2) The temperature of the top of the cloud will be equal to the surrounding air - if stopped; or warmer - if it continues rising.

Answer 4

As altitude increase, cloud top temperatures decrease.