29 Interesting Cirrostratus Clouds Facts You Need To Know About

If you have been wondering what a cirrostratus cloud cluster looks like, you have come to the right place!

If you have ever noticed a cloud in the sky that looks like a translucent veil or a sort of mist that seems to be engulfing the entire horizon, you have already seen a cirrostratus cloud!

Named after cirrus and stratus clouds, cirrostratus clouds are thin and wispy. They appear like a thin blanket on the sky, often like a light fur coat that seems to be engulfing the sky in its embrace. When these clouds appear, the weather is often humid. Keep reading to learn more about these stable clouds!

Facts About Cirrostratus Clouds

Cirrostratus clouds are beautiful to look at as they make a veil across the sky.

• Cirrostratus clouds are high clouds and their appearance does not result in any precipitation.
• Unlike mid-level clouds, cirrostratus clouds cannot produce rain, since they are high up in the troposphere.
• Cirrostratus clouds do not contain liquid water since they are high up in the air, where the temperature is too low for water to exist in its liquid form.
• Cirrostratus clouds get their name from two other types of clouds.
• The parent cloud types are cirrus clouds and stratus clouds.
• The appearance of cirrostratus clouds does not act as any definitive weather prediction.
• However, it is also important to note that when a layer of cirrostratus clouds becomes visible on the horizon, we can expect rain or snow in the span of 24 hours.
• Cirrostratus clouds are not accompanied by any accessory clouds and do not result in any major weather-related phenomena.
• Cirrostratus clouds are made of ice crystals.
• This is because low clouds can contain water vapor given their height.
• High-level clouds, on the other hand, cannot have water vapor since the altitude lowers the temperature substantially, thereby freezing the water in most clouds that are high up in the sky.
• A cirrostratus cloud formation can result in the formation of a halo around the sun or moon.
• This is because layers of the cirrostratus clouds are made of ice crystals.
• When the light from the sun or moon hits the layer of cirrostratus clouds at the right angle, the light is refracted.
• The refraction of light through the almost transparent-looking cloud layer results in the formation of a halo.

Cirrostratus Clouds Characteristics

Cirrostratus clouds may seem complicated to understand given their name but they are actually simple and beautiful-looking clouds!

• Cirrostratus clouds are sheet-like and cover the sky in a veil.
• They are sometimes transparent and may not be visible in the sky if not for a haze in the entire sky.
• Supplementary features of the cirrostratus clouds would include that they do not result in weather changes.
• They are not accompanied by any accessory clouds and appear as thin sheets of clouds in the sky when rain or snow can be expected in around 24 hours.
• Cirrostratus clouds are made of ice crystals, which are capable of forming halos around the sun or moon.
• The halo is formed when light from the sun or moon hits the cirrostratus cloud formation at the right angle.
• A cirrostratus cloud formation can be visible at altitudes of 20,000-43,000 ft (6096-13106.4 m)!
• They might be fibrous in appearance.
• There are two species of cirrostratus clouds.
• The two species are cirrostratus fibratus and cirrostratus nebulosus.
• Stratus clouds are low-level clouds, however, cirrostratus clouds are not.
• Cirrostratus nebulosus is veil-like and results in the formation of halos.
• Cirrostratus clouds are stable clouds.