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. In the Earth's atmosphere, cirrus are usually formed when warm, dry air rises, causing ...

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

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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

virga A virga, also called a dry storm, is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground. A shaft of precipitation that does not evaporate before reaching the ground is known in meteoro ...

falling from it, but the

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

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 () is a middle-altitude cloud genus that belongs mainly to the physical category, characterized by globular masses or rolls in layers or patchesthe individual elements being larger and darker than those of cirrocumulus and smaller t ...

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