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
Anticyclones are areas of high atmospheric pressure that bring hot, dry weather in the summer and cold fronts in the winter.
A polar vortex is a circulating mass of air in the atmosphere, typically found in polar regions. This rotating air mass occurs...
Temperature scale, abbreviated as °C, found by accepting the freezing point of water at one atmospheric pressure as zero...
The large-scale movement of air that distributes heat and moisture around the Earth, influencing weather patterns and climatic...
A narrow band of strong winds in the upper atmosphere, typically flowing from west to east and influencing weather patterns.
The decrease in temperature with height in an adiabatically rising air parcel (lapse rate). For dry air, this value is 1...
Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere and weather processes. It involves observing, analyzing, and forecasting...
CONQ is a meteorological abbreviation for significant convection observed in a specific area, often indicating unstable atmospheric...
A line of severe thunderstorms that can form along or ahead of a cold front, often producing strong winds and heavy rain.
The percentage of water vapor in the air relative to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a given temperature.