Cirrus
High cloudThin, white and wispy clouds that often look like feathers. They are usually made of ice crystals and may signal a change in the weather during the next hours.
Read Full GuideCloud Atlas: The 10 Main Cloud Types and How to Identify Them
The Meteo24News Cloud Atlas is a practical guide to reading the sky. From thin, high cirrus clouds to towering cumulonimbus storms, each cloud type offers useful clues about the atmosphere and how the weather may evolve.
Clouds are not just beautiful shapes in the sky. Their height, structure, color and vertical growth can reveal moisture, instability, approaching fronts and the potential for rain, snow or thunderstorms.
The 10 Main Cloud Genera
International cloud classification is built around ten main cloud genera. They are grouped by altitude, appearance and weather significance, from high ice-crystal clouds to low layers and deep storm clouds.
Cirrocumulus
High cloudSmall white cloudlets arranged in patches, rows or ripples. They can create a mackerel-sky pattern and often appear in fair but changing weather.
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Cirrostratus
High cloudA thin, transparent veil that can cover much of the sky. It may produce halos around the sun or moon and can appear ahead of a weather system.
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Altocumulus
Middle cloudWhite or gray patches, sheets or rolls at middle levels. In warm and humid conditions, some forms may point to instability developing later in the day.
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Altostratus
Middle cloudA gray or blue-gray sheet covering a large part of the sky. It is often linked with widespread cloudiness and may precede steady rain or snow.
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Stratocumulus
Low cloudLow clouds in large patches, rolls or layers. They commonly bring a cloudy sky, although they do not always produce significant precipitation.
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Stratus
Low cloudA uniform low cloud layer that can resemble fog lifted above the ground. It may be associated with dull conditions, mist or light drizzle.
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Cumulus
Low to vertical cloudBright, cotton-like clouds with clear edges. They often indicate fair weather, but strong vertical growth can be an early sign of showers or storms.
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Nimbostratus
Layered rain cloudThick, dark and extensive cloud layers associated with prolonged rain or snow. The sky usually looks flat, gray and featureless underneath.
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Cumulonimbus
Deep storm cloudThe classic thunderstorm cloud. It can produce lightning, heavy rain, hail, strong wind gusts and severe weather, especially when the cloud top spreads into an anvil.
Read Full GuideHow Clouds Are Classified
Clouds are classified mainly by their height and form. Some clouds develop high in the atmosphere and consist mostly of ice crystals. Others form at lower levels and create broad gray layers, while vertically developed clouds can grow into powerful thunderstorms.
High Clouds
Cirrus, Cirrocumulus and Cirrostratus usually occur above about 6,000 meters and often look thin, white or fibrous.
Middle Clouds
Altocumulus and Altostratus are usually found from about 2,000 to 6,000 meters and can signal changes in the wider weather pattern.
Low Clouds
Stratus, Stratocumulus and many Cumulus forms are linked with low-level moisture, cloud cover, mist or light precipitation.
Vertical Clouds
Towering Cumulus and Cumulonimbus can extend through several atmospheric layers and are the key clouds to watch for showers and thunderstorms.
Remarkable and Unusual Cloud Features
Beyond the ten main cloud genera, the atmosphere can produce a variety of spectacular cloud features. Some are linked to mountain waves, others to powerful thunderstorms, while a few are simply rare visual phenomena that make the sky look extraordinary.
Mammatus
Rounded pouch-like structures hanging beneath a cloud base, commonly associated with strong thunderstorms.
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Smooth lens-shaped clouds often forming near mountain ranges when stable air flows across elevated terrain.
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Dramatic shelf clouds that develop along the leading edge of thunderstorm outflows.
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Funnel-shaped cloud extensions that can occasionally develop into tornadoes or waterspouts.
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Wave-like formations with a rough and chaotic appearance on the underside of the cloud deck.
Read Full GuideWhy Cloud Observation Matters
Learning to recognize clouds is one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to understand the atmosphere. Cloud types reveal information about moisture, stability, approaching weather systems and the potential for precipitation or severe weather.
Long before satellites and weather models existed, people relied on cloud observation to anticipate changing weather conditions. Even today, cloud identification remains a valuable skill for meteorologists, photographers, sailors, pilots and weather enthusiasts.
Cloud observation is useful for understanding weather trends, but it should never replace official forecasts and severe weather warnings issued by national meteorological services.
