ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): There are different types of clouds. The basic types of clouds include cirrus, cumulus, stratus and cumulonimbus.
Some you will see on a blue-sky day while others might cause rain. There are also some more uncommon clouds like lenticular and mammatus clouds.
Let’s talk about cumulonimbus clouds here. Cumulonimbus (from Latin cumulus ‘swell’ and nimbus ‘cloud’) clouds are heavy, mountain-like, towering, dense “thunderstorm clouds” that extend vertically through the atmosphere, featuring a dark base and often an anvil-shaped top.
They form from powerful updrafts and are associated with heavy precipitation, lightning, hail, and severe weather phenomena like tornadoes, making them a significant weather hazard. They can also appear as huge towers.
The upper part of a powerful cumulonimbus cloud often flattens and spreads out into an anvil-like shape (called an incus) when it hits the tropopause.
The base of the cloud is typically very dark, and may have low, ragged clouds hanging beneath it.
These clouds are unique in their ability to extend through all three cloud levels, from low to high altitudes.
When cumulonimbus clouds develop?
Cumulonimbus clouds develop when cumulus clouds intensify through strong, buoyant air currents.
They are a primary source of heavy rain, lightning, hail, severe winds, and tornadoes.
The strong updrafts and downdrafts within these clouds, along with precipitation, can create extremely dangerous conditions, especially for aircraft.
In addition to turbulence and electrical disturbances, pilots must avoid these clouds due to severe downdrafts, microbursts, and the potential for hail and tornadoes.
They are also responsible for heavy rainfall, which can lead to flash flooding.
In the most severe cases, cumulonimbus clouds can produce destructive tornadoes.
Above the lower portions of the cumulonimbus the water vapor becomes ice crystals, such as snow and graupel, the interaction of which can lead to hail and to lightning formation, respectively.
When causing thunderstorms, these clouds may be called thunderheads.
Cumulonimbus can form alone, in clusters, or along squall lines. These clouds are capable of producing lightning and other dangerous severe weather, such as tornadoes, hazardous winds, and large hailstones.
