Just floating along ....

Clouds form when air is heated by the sun and rises. As the air climbs it continues to slowly cool until a saturation point is reached and the water droplets condense, forming the cloud. As long as the cloud remains warmer than the air around it (cold air is heavy) the cloud will not actually float, but it will fall so slowly it will appear to be floating in the air.

Do clouds have an effect on the climate?

Clouds can either warm or cool down the Earth. Have you ever noticed that on a clear winter night with no clouds the temperature drops much lower than if clouds were present? Clouds cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space. Clouds also help heat the Earth by absorbing infrared radiation and acting as an insulating blanket, keeping the heat from escaping.

How do clouds get around?

Clouds move with the wind. High cirrus clouds are pushed along by the jet stream, sometimes traveling at more than 100 miles-per-hour. When clouds are part of a thunderstorm they usually travel at 30 to 40 mph.

How are clouds named?

Names for various types of clouds are derived from Latin and fall into three main categories; cirrus, the Latin name for a lock of hair, are the high-level wispy formation clouds; cumulus, after the Latin word for “pile” are the clouds found closer to the surface of the earth; and stratus, from the Latin word meaning “layers”.

What are those clouds following jet planes?

The exhaust trail of a jet airliner may look very similar to clouds from the ground, but it's really called a contrail (short for condensation trail.) Contrails are simply exhaust products generated by a jet engine.

What are high clouds?

The highest clouds in the atmosphere are cirrus clouds located between 16,500 and 50,000 feet. These clouds are made of ice crystals.

Why gray or black clouds and not always white?

If a cloud gets thick enough and high enough, light is unable to travel through the tiny water drops and ice crystals that make clouds appear to be white. The end result is that clouds can turn gray or even darker.

What are low clouds?

The lowest clouds are generally those less than 6,500 feet above the ground and are classified as status clouds. They are usually made of water droplets and ice crystals.

What exactly are clouds, anyway?

Clouds are visible masses of liquid water droplets that are suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth. They form as a result of condensation of water vapor. Clouds can form near warm and cold fronts, where air flows up the sides of mountains and cools as it rises, and where warm air travels over a colder surface.

Making it rain .....

Man has long sought methods by which to somehow exercise control over the weather. While that hasn't happened yet, man has found ways to help Mother Nature. In the late 1940s scientists discovered that dropping dry ice granules through super-cooled clouds could produce precipitation. However, cloud seeding is not a reliable technique for producing rain.