Cloud Classification

While others take time to stop and smell the roses, I stop and stare at the clouds. Sure, the rose offers a variety of colors, blossom stages, and deep green leaves, but it might as well be frozen in time. The sky is alive, ever changing right before our eyes. It's as if the sky is a garden, sprouting new plants constantly, some thriving, while others withering from the start. Ingredients such as convergence, instability, sheer, and warm humid air are the soil, water, and fertlizers in our atmosphere. Still, unlike roses and gardens, I can watch the entire lifespan of a storm in summer afternoon.

After some time staring at white and gray clouds, one begins to wonder how to categorize or classify them. To kill a metaphor for good, one would be mistaken to classify tomatoes and lettuce in a garden as just plants. Sure they're both green and respond well to sunlight and water, but the classification is much too broad. Similarly, clouds have specific classifications for their many species. By learning the classifications, I hope to better appreciate each type.

Currently, there are 10 principle cloud genera recognized world-wide:

HIGH CLOUDS

• 0 Cirrus (Ci)
• 1 Cirrocumulus (Cc)
• 2 Cirrostratus (Cs)

MEDIUM CLOUDS

• 3 Altocumulus (Ac)
• 4 Altostratus (As)
• 5 Nimbostratus (Ns)

LOW CLOUDS

• 6 Stratocumulus (Sc)
• 7 Stratus (St)
• 8 Cumulus (Cu)
• 9 Cumulonimbus (Cb)

From there, each Cloud Genera has several subspecies, with as many as 11 for Stratus. Future postings will explore each.