Cirrus floccus is a type of

cirrus cloud Cirrus ( cloud classification symbol: Ci) is a genus of high cloud made of ice crystals. Cirrus clouds typically appear delicate and wispy with white strands. Cirrus are usually formed when warm, dry air rises, causing water vapor deposition on ...

. The name ''cirrus floccus'' is derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, meaning "a lock of wool". Cirrus floccus occurs as small tufts of cloud, usually with a ragged base. The cloud can have

virga In meteorology, a virga, also called a dry storm, is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation falling from a cloud that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground. A shaft of precipitation that does not evaporate before rea ...

falling from it, but the

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

does not reach the ground. The individual tufts are usually isolated from each other. At formation, the cirrus floccus clouds are bright white and can be mistaken for

altocumulus Altocumulus (From Latin ''Altus'', "high", ''cumulus'', "heaped") is a middle-altitude cloud genus that belongs mainly to the ''stratocumuliform'' physical category characterized by globular masses or rolls in layers or patches, the individual ele ...

clouds; however, after a few minutes, the brightness begins to fade, indicating they are made up of pure ice, and are therefore at a higher level.

References

External links

International Cloud Atlas - Cirrus floccus
Cirrus {{Cloud-stub

See also

References

External links