Observing Clouds

Clouds are made of small droplets of water or bits of ice that are spread out from each other. Rain falls when the drops get too big and heavy to stay in the cloud.

There are three main kinds of clouds.

cirrus	cumulus	stratus

Directions

• Look outside and see if there are any clouds in the sky today.
• Draw pictures of the clouds in your Science Journal.
• Tell what the weather is like.
• Using the pictures, find the cloud that most closely matches those you have seen and drawn.
• Write down the name of the cloud in your Science Journal next to your drawing.
• Read more about the different kinds of clouds.

Cirrus Clouds
	Cirrus(meaning "curl") clouds are very high, wispy clouds made of ice. Even in the summer, cirrus clouds are made of ice because it is cold high above Earth.

Can you see the "halo" in this picture? The person taking the picture blocked out the sun with his fist so that he could get the picture. The halo is caused by cirrus clouds. The bright spot on the left is a "sun dog."

Cumulus Clouds
	Cumulus (meaning "heap") clouds are the large clouds that sometimes look like huge puffs of cotton. Sometimes these clouds look like animals or familiar things. It is fun to use your imagination to make up stories about the clouds.

Sometimes cumulus clouds get dark gray and rain or hail falls from them. They are then called cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds often produce lightning and thunder. Nimbus always tells us that a cloud brings rain.

Stratus Clouds
	Stratus (meaning "stretched out") clouds are made up of low layers of clouds that usually cover the whole sky and blot out the sun. These clouds bring gray days. When rain falls from them, they are called nimbostratus clouds.

Go to Observing the Weather.

Image Credits

All cloud photos are from the University of Illinois Cloud Catalog.

Written by: Kathee Terry

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