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Iridescence is therefore mostly seen at cloud edges or in semi-transparent clouds, while newly forming clouds produce the brightest and most colorful iridescence. When the particles in a thin cloud are very similar in size over a large extent, the iridescence takes on the structured form of a corona , a bright circular disk around the Sun or ...
High clouds form in the highest and coldest region of the troposphere from about 5 to 12 km (16,500 to 40,000 ft) in temperate latitudes. [9] [10] At this altitude water almost always freezes so high clouds are generally composed of ice crystals or supercooled water droplets.
As a result, the cloud base can vary from a very light to very dark grey depending on the cloud's thickness and how much light is being reflected or transmitted back to the observer. Thin clouds may look white or appear to have acquired the color of their environment or background. High tropospheric and non-tropospheric clouds appear mostly ...
A nimbostratus cloud is a multilevel, amorphous, nearly uniform, and often dark-grey cloud that usually produces continuous rain, snow, or sleet, but no lightning or thunder. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Although it is usually a low-based stratiform cloud, it actually forms most commonly in the middle level of the troposphere and then spreads vertically ...
Crepuscular rays are noticeable when the contrast between light and dark is most obvious. Crepuscular comes from the Latin word crepusculum , meaning "twilight". [ 2 ] Crepuscular rays usually appear orange because the path through the atmosphere at dawn and dusk passes through up to 40 times as much air as rays from a high Sun at noon .
Extreme of darkest storm clouds, sunset or sunrise 10 1: 1 decalux: 40 lux: Fully overcast, sunset or sunrise 10 2: 1 hectolux < 200 lux: Extreme of darkest storm clouds, midday 400 lux: Sunrise or sunset on a clear day (ambient illumination) 10 4: 10 kilolux: 10–25 kilolux: Typical overcast day, midday 20 kilolux: Shade illuminated by entire ...
Unlike hail or sleet, graupel is soft and can be crushed easily in your hand, and is sometimes called "soft hail." It is also usually smaller than hail, with a diameter of around 0.08-0.2 inches.
Cumulonimbus storm cells can produce torrential rain of a convective nature (often in the form of a rain shaft) and flash flooding, as well as straight-line winds. Most storm cells die after about 20 minutes, when the precipitation causes more downdraft than updraft , causing the energy to dissipate.