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Clouds
Have you ever wondered what elements make up a cloud? Clouds are nothing more than floating collections of water droplets. If the temperatures are colder,than they are made up of ice crystals. Sometimes they can be a mixture of both ice and water. Clouds vary in their size and shape, from puffy, cottonball-like cumulus to thunderstorm clouds that are six miles tall. They can form at ground level,at tall heights in the atmosphere, and then anywhere in between. Clouds can do many different things. They can evaporate, precipitate dropping rain or snow, and produce very destructive tornadoes.
How Are Clouds Formed?
Clouds begin to form when the air cools and the water vapor condenses into small liquid droplets. The droplets form around microscopic particles floating in the air. These particles can be anything: tiny specks of windblown soil, grains of pollen from flowers, bacteria, or salt from ocean spray.If it is cold enough, these droplets will form into ice.
Where Are the Clouds in the Sky?
Different clouds form at different heights in the sky. These different cloud types form from the different ways that water vapor cools and changes into water or ice.
The Birth of a Cloud