High-level Clouds

When observing
the sky, never
look directly
at the sun!

Cirrus Cirrostratus Cirrocumulus Contrails

Mid-level Clouds
You Can Help NASA Study Clouds
Clouds have a large influence on Earth’s energy balance, climate,
and weather. Even small changes in the amount, location, or
type of cloud can impact Earth’s climate and weather. This is
Altostratus why collecting data on clouds is important.

Submit your data through:

Your reports from the

or through the GLOBE Observer app, ground looking up help
NASA better understand
available for Apple or Android devices. our atmosphere and the
Altocumulus views from the satellite
looking down.
remove this card
Low-level Clouds Low-level Precipitating Clouds

Cumulus Stratus Stratocumulus Nimbostratus Cumulonimbus

www.nasa.gov NP-2018-04-061-LARC
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Sky Color: What’s the deepest shade of blue?

Look
Up
45°
Deep Blue Blue Light Blue Pale Blue Milky

Participate in
You Can Help NASA Study Aerosols NASA Science:

Aerosols are very small particles floating in the sky. Download the
GLOBE Observer
Although they occur in nature (like pollen), aerosols can also app and contribute
be human-made (like car exhaust). A milky or hazy sky is a your observations.
sign that there are many aerosols in the sky. observer.globe.gov

Submit your data through:

or through the GLOBE Observer app,

available for Apple or Android devices.

remove this card

Sky Visibility: What does a distant object along the horizon look like?

Look
Across

Unusually Clear Clear Somewhat Hazy Very Hazy Extremely Hazy

Use your Cloud Teller to practice vocabulary, learn different cloud types, and help with
NASA GLOBE cloud observations.
Clouds are an important part of our atmosphere, and scientists are studying how they affect our weather and climate.
Clouds affect our overall temperature or energy balance of the Earth and play a large role in controlling the planet’s
long- term climate. Satellite instruments as well as your ground observation provide one more piece of the puzzle.

Visit the links below for more cloud observation resources:

Resources: https://www.globe.gov/web/s-cool/home/resources
Register to be a GLOBE : https://www.globe.gov/join

To build the Cloud Teller, see instructions on the back of this page.
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Low-level clouds that cover the entire sky of jet aircraft. air near the
with broad sheets, and that produce steady rain Earth's surface.
of low to moderate intensity with no thunder and lightning. Contrails Fog
intense weather.
mean a change in weather is on the way. associated with thunderstorms and other
High feathery clouds that usually A type of cloud that is tall, dense, and
Cumulonimbus
Cirrocumulus

Cirrus
Altocumulus
are usually short-lived.

cloud elements or
precipitation and

heaps of cloud.

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high clouds

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How to fold your Cloud Teller:
1. Cut out the Cloud Teller Square on the solid black lines (fold on the dashed lines, cut on the solid lines).
2. Place the cloud teller face down on the table. You should see no writing or pictures.
3. Fold the Cloud Teller in half, bottom to top, and unfold. Now fold the Cloud Teller in half, right to left, and unfold it again. You should see 4 smaller, equal
sized squares on the paper in front of you.
4. Fold all the corners in to the center point. You should have a smaller square with the cloud cover amounts and numbers facing you.
5. Flip the Cloud Teller over, you should see the different cloud types. Fold all the corners to the center point again. You should have a smaller square with
numbers one through eight facing you.
6. Fold the Cloud Teller in half, bottom to top, and unfold. Now fold the Cloud Teller in half, right to left, and unfold it again.

How to use your Cloud Teller:

1. Place the Cloud Teller, numbers up and try to bring the four corners together in the air, pockets should be forming on the underside of your Cloud Teller.
2. Put you Thumbs in the 2 pockets closest to you and your index ngers in the pockets furthest from you.
3. Open and pinch you ngers together to move the Cloud Teller, pull your pinched ngers apart, right and left, as well.
4. The goal is to get to a cloud in the center of the Cloud Teller, Ask a partner to pick a word on the outside of the Teller when it is closed, move the Teller in
rhythm to each letter while spelling the word they picked out loud. Let your partner chose a number, do the same movements while counting aloud. Let them
pick a number once more, lift the number to reveal a cloud underneath.

NP-201 - 0 - -LaRC
Observing Cloud Type
There are five descriptive terms for the various types of clouds:
CIRRO or high clouds
ALTO or middle clouds
CUMULUS or white puffy clouds
STRATUS or layered clouds
NIMBUS or clouds from which precipitation is falling

The following ten types of clouds, named using the above terms, are to be used when
reporting the cloud type for your area:

High Clouds
Cirrus
These clouds look like white delicate
feathers. They are generally white wispy
forms. They contain ice crystals.

Cirrocumulus
These clouds are thin white layers with a
texture giving them the look of patches of
cotton or ripples without shadows. They
contain primarily ice crystals and perhaps
some very cold water droplets.

GLOBE® 2014 Appendix - 33 Atmosphere

 Cirrostratus
These clouds are a thin, almost
transparent, whitish layer made up of ice
crystals. They may totally or partly cover the
sky and can create a halo appearance
around the sun.

Contrails
Short-lived Contrail
Note the short line of cloud above the
lightpole. The airplane is barely visible in this
photo but is at the front of the contrail

Persistent Contrails
These are very distinct contrails, and show a
range from persistent non-spreading on the
right to persistent spreading on the left. The
most likely explanation for this photo is that all
three airplanes followed about the same path,
but that the winds high in the atmosphere are
blowing from right to left, moving the older
contrails to the left. The spreading of the left-
most contrail indicates there is a fair amount
of water vapor in the upper atmosphere.

GLOBE® 2014 Appendix - 34 Atmosphere

 Persistent, Spreading Contrails
This photo shows persistent, spreading
contrails in an area of high air traffic. As
above, it is likely that the planes are mostly
following a similar path, but the contrails are
being spread out by the wind. Note that all
the contrails in this photo appear as wide
or wider than those above, indicating that
the presence of abundant water vapor in
the atmosphere is allowing the contrails to
spread. Also note the cloud near the middle
of the photo, which looks like a regular cirrus
cloud, but whose position makes it likely that
this cloud actually originated from a contrail.

Middle Clouds
Altostratus
These clouds form a bluish or grayish veil
that totally or partially covers the sky. The
light of the sun can be seen through them
but there is no halo effect.

Altocumulus
These clouds look like waves of the sea
with white and gray coloring and shadows.
They contain mostly water droplets and
perhaps some ice crystals.

GLOBE® 2014 Appendix - 35 Atmosphere

 Low Clouds
Stratus
These clouds are gray and lie very close to
the surface of the Earth. They usually look
like a sheet layer but sometimes are found
in patches. They rarely produce precipitation.

Stratocumulus
These clouds are a gray or whitish color.
The bases of these clouds tend to be more
round than flat. They can be formed from old
stratus clouds or from cumulus clouds that
are spreading out. Their tops also tend to be
mostly flat.

Nimbostratus
This is a very dark and gray-colored cloud
layer that blots out the light of the sun. It
is massive and has a continuous fall of
precipitation.

GLOBE® 2014 Appendix - 36 Atmosphere

 Cumulus
These clouds have a flat base and a dense,
mound-shaped top that resembles a large
cauliflower. Where the sun hits these clouds
they are a brilliant white. The base tends to be
a darker gray. They generally do not produce
precipitation.

Cumulonimbus
These are large, heavy, and dense clouds.
They have a generally flat, dark surface with
very tall and large tops like the shape of a
massive mountain or anvil. These clouds
are often associated with lightning, thunder
and sometimes hail. They may also produce
tornados.

GLOBE® 2014 Appendix - 37 Atmosphere

 Cloud Identification Guide
A Dichotomous Key
Created by Dr. Tina Cartwright, Marshall University
tina.cartwright@marshall.edu
Look carefully at your cloud. Answer the questions below, and follow the instructions. When
you reach a cloud name in bold, that is the type of cloud you are observing.

1. Is it raining? 2. Is it a high wispy cloud,

No- go to number 2. like a horse’s tail?
Yes- with thunder, lightning, & heavy No- go to number 3.
rain – your cloud is a cumulonimbus. Yes- your cloud is a cirrus.

3. Is it flat & layered,

puffy & bumpy, or some of
both?
Yes- but only drizzly, with small Flat & layered-go to number 4
raindrops – your cloud is a Puffy & bumpy-go to number 5
nimbostratus. Both- If your cloud is a nearly solid
layer of large puffs (the size of your
fist or larger), your cloud is a
stratocumulus.
4. Determine how high and 5. Hold your hand up
how thick your flat layered toward your cloud. Look at
cloud is. the size of the puffs.
If your cloud is high, thin, and the Compare them to your hand.
sun is shining casting distinct If the puffs are the size of your
shadows, it is a cirrostratus. fingernail (very small), your cloud is a
cirrocumulus.

If it is thicker, the sun is dimmer,

and there are hardly any shadows, it
If the puffs are the size of your
is an altostratus.
thumb (medium-sized), your cloud is
an altocumulus.

If it is a low cloud, so low it’s hard to

see the bottom and it covers most of If the puffs are the size of your
the sky, it is a stratus. fist (large), your cloud is a cumulus.