Why Cloud Computing Is Ugly, But Clouds Are Sublime

Hey, that cloud looks like a baobab tree! And that one over there looks like a giant slice of apple pie! And that one is an altostratus merging with cirrocumulus, providing a backdrop to the low-lying comulonimbus clouds! Okay, maybe you wont say that last one, but this list will tell you what it means.

The type, description and height of the clouds in the sky.

CIRRUS

: 200,000 – 40,000 ft.
High, wispy cloud made of particles of ice : 33,380 – 66,760 m

CIRROSTRATUS

: 20,000 – 40,000 ft.
Milky, thin, high clouds 33,380 – 66,760 m

CIRROCUMULUS

: 20,000 – 40,000 ft.
Thin, high lines of clouds with rippled edges 33,380 – 66,760 m

ALTOSTRATUS

: 6,000 – 20,000 ft.
Grayish sheets of clouds 10,014 – 33,380 m

ALTOCUMULUS

: 6,000 – 20,000 ft.
Fleecy bands of clouds in blue sky 10,014 – 33,380 m

STRATOCUMULUS

: 6,000 ft or lower
Low, dark, heavy clouds 10,014 m or lower

STRATUS

: 6,000 ft or lower
Low, dark, heavy clouds 10,014 m or lower

CUMULUS

: 6,000 ft or lower
White, heaped-up clouds seen in fair weather 10,014m or lower

CUMULONIMBUS

: Below 6,000 ft.
Towering clouds; may give heavy showers Below 10,014 m

“You can tell how far away a thunderstorm is by timing the difference between seeing lightning flash and hearing a thunderclap. The less the time, the closer the storm.”