Clouds are named according to their shape, height and size. They are normally associated with rain, snow, sleet or hail, but not all clouds mean that bad weather is on the way. Dark, angry-looking clouds normally bring wet and windy weather, but a sky full of fluffy white clouds on a warm and sunny day usually means that the weather will stay that way.
Clouds are given different names based on their shape and their height in the sky. Some clouds are puffy like cotton while others are grey and uniform. Some clouds are near the ground, while others are near the top of the troposphere. The diagram on the right shows where different types of clouds are located in the sky.
Most clouds can be divided into groups (high/middle/low) based on the height of the cloud’s base above the Earth’s surface. Other clouds are grouped not by their height, but by their unique characteristics, such as forming alongside mountains (Lenticular clouds) or forming beneath existing clouds (Mammatus clouds).
The table below provides information about cloud groups and any cloud types associated with them. Click on the cloud images in the table to learn more about each cloud type.
The cloud heights provided in this table are for the mid-latitudes. Cloud heights are different at the tropics and in the polar regions. In addition, a few other cloud types are found in higher layers of the atmosphere. Polar stratospheric clouds are located in a layer of the atmosphere called the stratosphere. Polar mesospheric clouds, which are also called noctilucent clouds, are located in the atmospheric layer called the mesosphere.
Picture Credit : Google