Low clouds include stratus, stratocumulus and nimbostratus clouds. These clouds typically form at the ground level up to an altitude of about 6,000 feet in the sky.

Cumulus, Stratus, and Cirrus. There are three main cloud types.

Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, generally less than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in altitude unless they are the more vertical cumulus congestus form. Cumulus clouds may appear by themselves, in lines, or in clusters.

Low clouds: Stratus, cumulus and stratocumulus clouds are based at altitudes of 6,000 feet or lower. Stratus clouds appear as smooth, even sheets; light rain and drizzle often fall from them; light snow or freezing drizzle during the winter. Fog is merely a stratus cloud reaching to, or forming on the ground.

The foundation consists of 10 major cloud types. In addition to cirrus, stratus, cumulus, and nimbus clouds, there are cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, altostratus, altocumulus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus, and cumulonimbus clouds.

Although we can’t really touch clouds you could walk through one. In fact that’s what fog is: a cloud that’s formed close to the ground instead of high in the sky. We can’t touch fog but we can move through it. Clouds can hold a lot of water droplets; some are so large that they contain millions of tons of water!

“As sunlight passes through a cloud, tiny water droplets that make up the cloud scatter all colors of the light in the same manner, producing a white color. As the cloud gets thicker, less light can pass through to the base of the cloud and it appears darker.

Most clouds are white, but rain clouds are usually a darker shade of gray. The thicker a cloud gets, the less light can pass through it. So when you look up at a rain cloud, the base or bottom of it looks gray. But not all dark clouds bring rain, and sometimes this is hard to predict.

The symbolism of a black cloud is from weather-watching; dark clouds generally are indicators of stormy weather. Joe Btfsplk, a character in the comic strip Li’l Abner by Al Capp (1909–1979), always had a small, dark rain cloud hovering over his head to symbolize his bad luck.

Clouds were created between earth and heaven, they symbolize the celestial realm. Clouds produce rain that brings benefits to the world.

During sunrise and sunset the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere. A red sky suggests an atmosphere loaded with dust and moisture particles. We see the red, because red wavelengths (the longest in the color spectrum) are breaking through the atmosphere.

If there are any clouds overhead, the red light illuminates them, creating a spectacular sunrise. When weather moves west to east, a red sky at night means that there are clouds overhead, but clear skies to the west — which tells you that the weather will likely be clearing up.

It is orange-red because the sunlight reaching the dense smoke has already been reddened by less dense smoke. | Jim Hatcher in San Diego, California, captured this very red sun on September 7, 2020. The red color was caused by smoke in the air due to wildfires in the West this week.

A red sky at sunset means high pressure is moving in from the west, so therefore the next day will usually be dry and pleasant.

If the sky is red at sunrise it is generally an indication that dust particles from a storm have passed from the west, moving east and a deep red indicates a high water concentration in the clouds that could mean heavy rain.

In the air scattering of light by molecules of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere makes the sky blue. But the magical purple colour from hurricanes and typhoons can form when the air is super-saturated with moisture and the storm clouds (and often the sun as well) hang low in the sky.

The “greenage” or green color in storms does not mean a tornado is coming. The green color does signify the storm is severe though. The color is from the water droplets suspended in the storm, absorbing red sunlight and radiating green frequencies.

green sky

“Those are the kind of storms that may produce hail and tornadoes.” Green does indicate that the cloud is extremely tall, and since thunderclouds are the tallest clouds, green is a warning sign that large hail or a tornado may be present. …

And then actually even the smell of tornadoes—if you’re in the right place, you get a strong odor of fresh-cut grass, or occasionally, if it’s destroyed a house, natural gas. Sometimes you get that raw earth smell, similar to if you run a bulldozer over open land.

When a tornado is approaching, a dark, often greenish sky, a wall cloud and large hail may appear. An approaching cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. This is the calm before the storm.