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Cumulonimbus (from Latin cumulus 'swell' and nimbus 'cloud') is a dense, towering, vertical cloud, [1] typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful buoyant air currents.
Cumulonimbus mamma (WMO genus and supplementary feature) – Cb with pouch-like protrusions that hang from under anvil or cloud base. Cumulonimbus pannus (WMO genus and accessory cloud) – shredded sections attached to main Cb cloud. Cumulonimbus pileus (WMO genus and accessory cloud) – capped, hood-shaped cloud above a cumulonimbus cloud.
A cumulonimbus incus (from Latin incus 'anvil'), also called an anvil cloud, is a cumulonimbus cloud that has reached the level of stratospheric stability and has formed the characteristic flat, anvil-shaped top. [1] It signifies a thunderstorm in its mature stage, succeeding the cumulonimbus calvus stage. [2]
Cumulus congestus clouds compared against a cumulonimbus cloud in the background. Due to reflectivity, clouds cool the earth by around 12 °C (22 °F), an effect largely caused by stratocumulus clouds. However, at the same time, they heat the earth by around 7 °C (13 °F) by reflecting emitted radiation, an effect largely caused by cirrus clouds.
A violent electrical storm results from convective cumulonimbus clouds. Convection occurs when the Earth's surface, especially within a conditionally unstable or moist atmosphere, becomes heated more than its surroundings and in turn leading to significant evapotranspiration.
Towering vertical clouds have the greatest ability to produce intense precipitation events, but these tend to be localized unless organized along fast-moving cold fronts. Showers of moderate to heavy intensity can fall from cumulus congestus clouds. Cumulonimbus, the largest of all cloud genera, has the capacity to produce very heavy showers.
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According to the Glossary of Meteorology, a funnel cloud is any rotating cloud pendant from a cumulus or cumulonimbus, and thus most tornadoes are included under this definition. [24] Among many meteorologists, the "funnel cloud" term is strictly defined as a rotating cloud which is not associated with strong winds at the surface, and ...