Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
From towering cumulonimbus clouds that signal severe thunderstorms to the eerie, pouch-like mammatus clouds often associated with turbulent weather, each cloud formation carries unique information.
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.
Cloud physics is the study of the physical processes that lead to the formation, growth and precipitation of atmospheric clouds. These aerosols are found in the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere, which collectively make up the greatest part of the homosphere.
The air warms up and then rises rapidly, leading to the formation of huge cumulonimbus clouds capable of releasing violent downpours that can devastate towns and cities.