Home / Cloud Types

Click on a type below to learn more about the different cloud types.

Low-level Cloud - (generally found below 6,500 feet)
Low-level clouds are usually composed of liquid water droplets, but they can have snow and ice crystals in cold weather.

Mid-level Cloud - (generally found between 6,500 and 23,000 feet)
Most mid-level clouds are composed of liquid water droplets during summer and a liquid droplet-ice crystal mix during winter. Mid-level cloud names are preceded by an "alto" prefix.

High-level Clouds - (generally found above 20,000 feet)
High-level clouds are composed of ice crystals and tend to be very thin and wispy. High-level cloud names are preceded by a "cirro" prefix.

The information on this page was found at http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wcloud0.htm.
The information on the following pages was found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud.