What are the types of clouds?

Question

What are the types of clouds?

Answer 1

According to shape of the clouds, they are classified as cumuliform or stratiform clouds.Cumuliform clouds(mushroom like) form when the atmosphere is unstable.Stratiform (sheet like) clouds form when the atmosphere is stable.

They are also classified according to the height of the cloud base.They are (1)low clouds(below 2000 metres) lile stratus, cumulus, stratocumulus etc.,(2)medium clouds(between 2000 and 6000 metres) like altostratus and altocumulus, and (3) high clouds(6000 metres and above) like cirrus,cirrostratus and cirrocumulus.Cumulonimbus cloud is also considered as a low cloud even though its vertical extent sometimes crosses the tropopause.

Answer 2

As Arya says, there are a lot. But what is more interesting is to classify them from their nature. Clouds are born from a cooling of moist air. If it happens near the ground (fog) or over it when in an inversion (warmer air above colder one) then we talk about:

1) Stratiform clouds. They are flat under and above. They can be from the ground to quite high when they are then called alto-status.

Clouds also come in a convection where air rises rather quickly. That happens when warm and moist air is lifted by a hot surface or mountain. Those mushroom like clouds are called:

2) Cumuliform clouds. They can be tiny 'cotton wool' clouds and up to big thunderstorm clouds extending to the top of the troposhere. The may be called cumulus, cumulonimbus, alto-cumulus, etc.

After rising to the top of the atmosphere, clouds are torn by winds, dissolved by sinking high pressures and freeze to ice. Those are the:

3) Cirriform clouds. They include cirrostatus and other thin ice veil very high in the atmosphere. Some even escape the troposphere to wander in the stratosphere.

Those are the three main types of clouds. Later, we divide them further as e.g. if they are above 6,500 Ft (an arbitrary altitude) we add the "Alto" (meaning: high) in front. Or we mix two definitions like: A statocumulus is a cumulus that is layered like a status.

But then, much of it is to the interpretation of the meteorologist. What is seen as one type of cloud by one, may be called something else by another observer.

Answer 3

There are a lot:

Cumulonimbus (a huge grayish cloud)

Cumulus

Nimbostratus

Stratus (Thin fog type closest to us)

Stratuscumulos

Cirrostratus (Thin wispy clouds)

Cirrus

Cirrocumulus

Altostratus

Altocumulus

Hopefully I got them all..