Are Form 2220 Forecast 2023-2024

We see them in the sky nearly every day, but what are clouds? How do they form and what do they mean for our weather? Clouds are composed of billions of tiny water droplets, and your average cloud is roughly a cubic kilometer in size and tips the scales at over 500 metric tons. The cloud stays aloft because, believe it or not, it's actually lighter than the air around it. This is because the water droplets are spaced so far apart that their density is comparable to air. So it comes down to comparing the molecules, and since water molecules are lighter than oxygen and nitrogen molecules that make up over 99% of the atmosphere, the water floats. Now, clouds form as warm, humid air rises and cools, and the water vapor condenses out onto tiny particles in the air. There are several types of clouds named based on their shape and altitude. At the lowest level, there's cumulus, which form in fair weather. There's also stratus and stratocumulus, which can produce a bit of rain or snow. If the cumulus clouds pile up and reach for the sky, though, this tells us that stormy weather is brewing. These can develop into enormous tower and cumulonimbus clouds that are responsible for thunderstorms and sometimes even worse. At mid-levels, we have altocumulus and altostratus, which tend to indicate that some kind of active weather is probably on the way. When altostratus turns a dark gray and produces continuous rain or snow, it's then called nimbostratus. At high levels, there are wispy cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus clouds, which typically form due to a nearby warm front. When these conditions prevail, we can also see persistent contrails, which are artificial clouds produced in the wake of jet engines. Even higher are stratospheric nacreous clouds that...