What are 3 facts about stratus clouds?
Stratus clouds tend to be featureless, low altitude clouds that cover the sky in a blanket of white or grey.
- Height of base: 0 – 1,200 ft.
- Shape: layered.
- Latin: stratus – flattened or spread out.
- Precipitation: light.
What is unique about stratus clouds?
Stratus clouds are uniform and flat, producing a gray layer of cloud cover which may be precipitation-free or may cause periods of light precipitation or drizzle.
What are the 3 types of stratus clouds?
Stratus clouds have three associated cloud varieties: opacus, translucidus, and undulatus.
What are stratus clouds?
stratus clouds are those clouds that resemble a sheet across the atmosphere. These clouds typically rest at a low altitude, found below 6,000 ft.
What is a stratus cloud made of?
Stratus clouds look like featureless gray to white sheets of cloud. They can be composed of water droplets, supercooled water droplets, or ice crystals depending upon the ambient temperature.
What is the size of a stratus cloud?
They are almost always less than 1 km thick. They are composed of droplets unless the cloud top is cooler than about −5 to −10 °C in which case ice crystals may form.
How high is a stratus cloud?
Stratus. Usually forms between the surface and 2,000ft, but cloud base can be up to 4,000ft. Thick stratus can produce considerable precipitation, particularly in hilly or coastal regions, though in some cases this precipitation may be falling from higher clouds such as nimbostratus.
What level is stratus cloud?
low levels
Found at very low levels (less than 2000 meters, or 6500 feet), stratus clouds are thick, large, heavy-looking gray clouds that dominate the sky. Precipitation normally does not occur with this cloud, although drizzle or mist may be observed.
What causes stratus cloud?
Stratus clouds, in addition to being formed by radiative cooling of a moist clear layer, can be formed by lifting of moist air masses in regions adjacent to fronts or over orography, and by warm advection of a moist layer over a cold surface.