What is Altostratus?
A middle cloud type within the B family in the international cloud classification. These clouds consist of water droplets and sometimes ice crystals. In mid-latitudes, the cloud base varies between 15,000 and 20,000 feet. They can range in color from white to gray and bluish. Altostratus clouds can be fibrous or layered and may occasionally form a thick layer that obscures the sun and moon. The halo phenomenon is not observed with this cloud type. It is a good indicator of precipitation or a precursor to a storm. Virga-type clouds fall into this category. They are often formed by variations in low altostratus. They can cause light rain and snowfall. Subtypes of altostratus include opacus, precipitans, and translucidus.
Schedule a Demo Today
A new era is starting with fundamentally new forecasting with unprecedented precision!
Contact UsGlossary
A towering cloud that often reaches great altitudes and is associated with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and sometimes severe...
Ball lightning appears during thunderstorms, taking the shape of glowing, electric orbs in the sky. It can appear in a variety...
The process by which a solid changes directly into a gas without first becoming a liquid, such as ice turning into water...
A drainage wind that flows downhill due to gravity, often associated with cold air descending from elevated regions.
An image on the weather radar that is convex to the direction of movement and resembles an arc shape, caused by mesoscale...
A line on a weather map connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure, used to identify high and low-pressure systems.
Weather is the day-to-day meteorological conditions that happen in our atmosphere. Weather can change within minutes, which...
Frozen drizzle is a dangerous type of frozen rain. It’s a light rain that falls in very fine drops, which freezes on contact...
The scientific study of climate, focusing on the analysis of long-term weather patterns and trends over time.
A cloud of irregular appearance, composed of irregular cloud fragments.