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
An instrument used to measure the speed, force, and sometimes the direction of the wind. It can be cup or pressure tube anemometers....
The amount of radiation, heat, or light passing through or flowing from a unit area of a surface.
An instrument that continuously records atmospheric pressure over time. It uses a barometer to measure pressure and creates...
A mass of very cold, dry air that mostly originates over the Arctic Ocean.
A scale for estimating wind speed based on observed conditions of the sea or land. It ranges from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane)...
Observation of the sky from the observer's location where there are no clouds, and there is no obstruction to visibility....
A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour, characterized by a central eye, strong winds, and...
A continental air mass is a large body of air that forms over land, characterized by dry conditions due to the lack of moisture...
The trapping of heat in the Earth's atmosphere due to greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, which allows...
Occurs when centers of high pressure and/or low pressure set up over a region in such a way that they prevent other weather...