Do Clouds Move? Or is it Just The Earth's Rotation And Our Imagination?

Clouds are basically masses of tiny droplets of water or ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere.

After evaporation, dense, warm air containing moisture rises up in the sky. Condensation of the water vapor then takes place, which then suspends the clouds in the sky.

The clouds and their leisurely movements are pretty fascinating natural phenomena. The white cottony puffs against the blue background impart a certain beauty to the sky. Children often point out different animals or objects from the varying shape of clouds. It has always been wonderful to gaze at them, especially in the warm summer months.

A question pops up in most people's minds whenever they marvel at moving clouds. Do the clouds really move? Or is it just the Earth spinning about its own axis? Let's delve into the concepts behind this in the following sections!

Are you enjoying this read about clouds moving? Then don't forget to check out facts about the geosphere and facts about Cirrus clouds here on Kidadl.

Different Types Of Clouds

The lowest level of the atmosphere, the troposphere, is where the clouds are formed. The closest layer to the Earth represents clouds of varying shapes and sizes. Depending upon the altitude at which they are present, scientists have broadly classified clouds into three types.

High clouds are present at an altitude of 10,000-60,000 ft (3,048-18,288 m), which is the highest point in the troposphere. Mid-level clouds hover at the height of 6,000-25,000 ft (1,828-7,620 m). This layer is followed by the layer of low clouds that appear at about 6,500 ft (1,981 m) and are present close to the Earth's surface.

When it comes to the shape, the above three forms of clouds can again be classified into several types. The shape of a cloud depends on various factors, including wind, air pressure, the amount of water vapor rising upwards, and many more.

Classification of high clouds includes cirrus clouds, cirrostratus clouds, and cirrocumulus clouds. Let's dig deeper and get to know each of these clouds briefly.

Cirrus are basically thin feathery clouds made of ice crystals. These are milky white in color. Cirrostratus clouds are clear and white. As they tend to trail across the whole azure sky, the reflecting beams of the Sun ooze out through them, thereby emanating a wondrous panorama. Cirrocumulus clouds are undulated white sheets across the blue sky.

Mid-level clouds can be of three types as well. Altocumulus clouds have lots of water; altostratus clouds usually signify a storm and are way darker and denser than other clouds. The last one is the nimbostratus clouds that have the tendency to precipitate both in the form of snow and rainfall.

Low clouds can be cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratus, and stratocumulus clouds. Cumulus clouds are cottony with a resemblance to various objects and animals. Cumulonimbus is a denser cloud signifying storms or tornadoes. Stratus clouds are thin gray layers, while the stratocumulus clouds are grayish-white honeycomb-like clouds.

How Clouds Are Formed

To understand whether clouds move or not, you need to understand their formation first.

Clouds are formed when dust, sea salt, or other tiny particles condense together. Water vapor remains saturated in these. This fluffy ball is also called condensation nuclei.

As the hot air gradually ascends in the sky, water vapor condenses to form ice. This develops into cloud droplets. Upon getting mixed with air, they become suspended in the sky in the form of clouds. This entire process maintains the water cycle in nature.

As the clouds become heavy with water droplets, precipitation takes place. Evaporation of this rainwater takes place due to the heat of the Sun, thereby continuing the flow of the cycle.

How Clouds Move

Clouds actually don't move on their own. The wind is responsible for their movement.

So the movement of the clouds directly depends on the air movement. The speed of this cloud movement depends on the cloud type as well as the wind speed.

Clouds can move typically at a speed of 30-120 mph (48-193 kph). For example, during a jet stream, the speed of the high cirrus clouds can reach about 100 mph (161 kph), while the speed of these during a thunderstorm can be about 30-40 mph (48-64 kph).

Certain other factors, including Earth's rotation, also affect the movement of clouds. Solar radiation largely interferes with the wind direction in the Earth's atmosphere.

Topography also affects wind movement. Orographic drifting of clouds takes place when they are bent by interrupting mountain peaks. Thus, the warm air masses with water droplets rise up and condense to become clouds. Also, when two air masses move towards each other, the lighter air goes upwards, while the denser air comes down to get heated up by the process of convection.

Stable weather conditions are also achieved by thermal inversions. It is a phenomenon when the lighter warm air traps the colder air below, thereby forming a thin layer of cloud sheet between the two air masses in the atmosphere upon reaching the dew point.

Strong winds essentially split the thin streaks of clouds, while the heavier, denser cloud masses withstand the strong wind currents.

Vertical Vs. Horizontal Movement

Generally, clouds move in a horizontal direction, which is basically the direction of winds. As the movement of clouds depends on the wind motion, they move in the same direction as the wind.

However, the movement of the cloud can also be vertical. This is followed by the process of convection, which depends on the temperature difference of the air currents. The cloud with water droplets rises upwards where the air is cool. Moisture in the cold air condenses at varying altitudes due to the movement of the winds. Water droplets in the cloud constrict, thereby becoming dense. As a result, the clouds become heavy, and this leads to precipitation.

Cold wind often clashes with the warmer wind, which then undergoes the process of convection due to the temperature difference. Clouds also break due to the high mountain peaks.

The Coriolis effect, which is basically the spin of the Earth, also affects the speed of the clouds, thereby affecting the weather conditions of places. The weather is essentially predicted by meteorologists by determining the speed of the cloud in the atmosphere.

Clouds During Rain

Precipitation takes place when a cloud cannot hold its moisture anymore due to the excessive density of water molecules saturated within. This results in the falling of the cloud on the ground in the form of rain, snow, or hail.

The two main types of clouds that generally fall to the ground in the form of rain are the cumulonimbus cloud and the nimbostratus cloud.

While the first type comes down with heavy downpours, mostly in the temperate and tropical regions, the other one causes moderate rainfall for prolonged periods.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do clouds move then why not take a look at what do nimbus clouds look like, or what do pink clouds mean.