The heat from the sun's energy results in the water at the surface of the earth, mainly in oceans warming and converting into gaseous water vapor. The presence of such water vapor makes air moist or humid. The air near the ground rises when it becomes warm due to the sun's rays, and when it rise it takes the water vapor along with it to the upper layers of the atmosphere. As this warm air reaches the upper portion of the atmosphere, it mixes with the cool air there. Since cool air cannot hold as much water vapor as warm air, the water vapor condenses into either tiny drops of water or tiny ice crystals, forming around the many dust particles that always float around in the atmosphere. When billions of such water coated dust particles come together, they become a visible cloud. These clouds move with the wind and float because their weight is insignificant. However, with the addition of more and more water droplets, the weight increases and the air can no longer support the clouds. This is when these clouds fall down as rain or snow.
Clouds appear white when they reflect all the colors of the sun equally. However, when clouds get thicker all the sun's light does not reflect back and the cloud spot a gray appearance.
Clouds play a role in determining the temperature. Low-level clouds reflect about 20 percent of the sun's energy back into space, and as such, cloudy days are relatively cooler.
[...] Impact on Weather Altostratus is a precipitating cloud, but the precipitation usually does not reach the ground. When it does reach the ground, the ensuing rain, snow or ice pellets would be relatively light but nevertheless in a continuous nature. The small super-cooled water droplets of the Altostratus clouds freeze on hitting any objects at high altitude. This is potentially dangerous to aircrafts flying at such altitudes. NIMBOSTRATUS CLOUDS (Abbreviated Nimbostratus clouds are dark grey colored low-level clouds. They form below 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) and occupy a large vertical and horizontal space. [...]
[...] Impact on the weather Cumulus clouds cause heavy rains, flash floods, and thunderstorms. If the atmosphere turns very unstable and the air currents further intensify, these clouds transform into cumulonimbus clouds that cause thunderstorms in an even higher intensity. Cumulus clouds, being a low-level cloud reflect some amount of sun's energy back to the outer space without allowing it to touch the earth's surface. This means that days with high cumulus cloud cover would be relatively cooler. CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS (Abbreviated The word cumulonimbus derives from the Latin meaning puffy, and meaning dark. [...]
[...] Impact on the weather Since stratus clouds are mostly offshoots of other rain bearing clouds, and do not contain much water vapor, they do not affect the atmosphere in a significant manner. Dense stratus often contains particles of precipitation but bring out only a relatively modest amount of rain, drizzle, or snow. STRATOCUMULUS CLOUDS (Abbreviated Stratocumulus clouds are low-level clouds that appear as rounded masses that spread more horizontally than vertically. They vary in color from dark gray at the bases to light gray at the top. [...]
[...] These clouds often precede a cold front, and their presence on a warm, humid, summer morning generally indicates thunderstorms later in the day. Virga is also associated with these clouds. ALTOSTRATUS CLOUDS (Abbreviated Altostratus is a mid-level cloud with a stratified and fibrous uniform gray sheet or layer. They frequently cover the whole sky, stretching to an area of several thousand square miles, but remain transparent enough to let the sun shine through them, albeit giving the experience similar to viewing the sun through a “ground glass”. [...]
[...] Impact of the clouds Clouds have a significant impact on the weather and climate of the earth in many ways Clouds play a role in determining the temperature. Low-level clouds reflect about 20 percent of the sun's energy back into space, and as such, cloudy days are relatively cooler. However, high-level clouds absorb some of the sun's energy that touches the earth and goes back to outer space, and reradiate them back towards the earth's surface when the sun sets. [...]
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