How Clouds Form

Okay, so heat rises and clouds form. That's pretty much it. Well, there's a little bit more than that. I just recently took a physical geography so I could earn my geography endorsement and the teacher explained how clouds were formed.



As the sun heats up the earth, it rises. The heat from the ground heat will continue to rise as long as the outside air is cooler than the ground heat. Then what will happen is that hot air must reach its dew point and mix with a cumulus cell nuclei and all that hot area has cooled and begins to condense. When the heat begins to condense, that's when you get a cloud!

In the Salt Lake Valley all clouds will be at the same elevation because it all has the same dew point.

Now when you see an anvil cloud, it means that the cloud has (the rising heat) has reached the stratosphere.

(An Anvil Cloud)

Also just as a side note. Darker clouds are more dense and brighter clouds are less dense. The reason why they are dark and bright is because of the sun. If a cloud is darker, not as much or no sunlight can get through and vice-versa.



*Again, these aren't my pictures.