81 Facts About Cirrus Clouds That Will Blow You Away

Cirrus clouds are the strands of white clouds found in the troposphere.

These clouds are one of the six different cloud types that can be seen from the Earth. They are extremely cold and are known to be made up of crystals.

The cirrus clouds are long strands of clouds that remain floating. During the time of the sunset, the cloud patterns appear to be breathtaking. The origin of the cloud formation is considered to be wind currents.

These currents supposedly wrap and bend the ice giving the ice crystals the shape of long and thin strands. The cirrus clouds form due to precipitation as well.

The water droplets when frozen due to extremely low temperature once cooled turn into the cirrus cloud. This low temperature can go up to as low as -100 °F (-73.3 °C). This low temperature brings in a pleasant climatic condition and on very rare occasions there can be rain and thunderstorms.

If you like reading this, you might want to read about what do pink clouds mean and what do nimbus clouds look like.

Fun Facts About Cirrus Clouds

A cirrus cloud is a high cloud up in the sky. West wind current based, the cirrus clouds are known to have many hidden fun facts about them.

Amidst the several facts regarding the cirrus cloud, the major three fun facts about the cloud are as follows. These clouds form at a very high altitude and are made up of ice crystals.

This is also why they are so thin. The second fact is that the cirrus cloud is vividly white in color and can stretch up to a long-distance covering the entire length of the sky.

The third important fact is that even though the cirrus clouds cover the entire sky there are extremely independent in nature.

They usually float alone in the sky and are not seen be connected as patches. Apart from these facts, the clouds are very thin and cold bringing in a fair and pleasant surrounding.

Geographical Facts About Cirrus Clouds

When it comes to the geographical facts of the cloud, we can say that these clouds are restricted to the tropospheric layer of the atmosphere. On extremely rare occasions there have been traces regarding the clouds to be seen from the lower stratospheric layer.

As we know that these thin wispy clouds are usually very cold and occur at a very high altitude. The extension of these high altitudes may vary from region to region.

In the temperate regions, the altitudes might extend up to 3.5 mi (5.6 km). Whereas in the tropical region this altitude might extend to as far as 4 mi (6.4 km).

This high altitude is considered to be the tropospheric layer or the layer of air that is situated right after the earth's atmosphere. At this altitude, the formation of the ice crystals takes place.

The temperature to create the crystals is generally around -68 °F (−55.5 °C) but in some cases, it can drop to about -176 °F (-115.6 °C).

During these low-temperature conditions, there have been incidents regarding an oncoming thunderstorm accompanied by rain. Although in normal cases, the cloud is seen to cover the entire length of the sky.

If the patterns are closely looked at and studied they seem to get thicker as they move towards the ground level. This increase in the thickness of the cloud indicates the warm weather that is coming.

Facts About Cirrus Clouds' Functions

The ice crystals cirrus clouds are known to have a few important roles to play. From indicating weather changes to bringing in storms, the cirrus cloud performs several functions.

Due to heavy precipitation, the clouds form generally. Since they form at a very low temperature, they bring in light and cold temperatures along with them.

These cloud types are usually used to indicate oncoming fair weather. The weather associated with it is usually pleasant.

Based on the movements of the wind current and the dry air of the high clouds the direction of the cold current can be predicted.

It has been noticed that there has been a pleasant change in the weather within the next 24 hours after the clouds have been spotted. Since the circus clouds are usually high clouds covering the entire sky, they are easily spotted and hence the change in the climatic conditions can be predicted easily.

Although post the cold and pleasant weather warmer weather is also expected. On very rare occasions if the ice crystals-based cirrus clouds form at a very low temperature, they might cause a thunderstorm with rain too.

Facts About Cirrus Clouds' Looks

The white cirrus clouds appear to be wispy and crystal from the ground. They appear to exist at a very high altitude from the Earth's surface and are most certainly created at that altitude.

Considering the fact that these thin and wispy clouds are created at a higher altitude, they are filled with extremely cold air. The air temperature at which the circus clouds are is extremely low.

They are rarely fluffy and are mostly thin like a crystal. The crystal look of the cloud comes from this light and cold air that is present within them.

The clouds turn into crystals made of ice which gives them this feathery look. Most of the cloud types might appear to be white but they will differ when it comes to the shape and the structure.

The six different clouds that are usually visible to the naked eye are usually easily distinguishable. These variations and the contrasting appearances make it easier for us to predict or indicate any form of change in the weather.

The cirrus clouds are very thin and are said to be delicate in nature.

They mostly appear to be feathery which is due to the crystals present. The look and the shape of the cloud depend a lot on the surrounding weather and temperature.

In case if the current of the wind changes, steaks and the strands will also change accordingly. The height and width of the cloud will differ in this case as well.

They could be very long and on average, the length of the strand usually goes up to around 59055.12 in (1500 m). The maximum and the minimum lengths are 102362.2 in (8000 m) and 3937.01 in (100 m) respectively.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 81 facts about cirrus clouds that will blow you away then why not take a look at what do cumulonimbus clouds look like or highest clouds in the sky.