Clouds are made of small drops of water or tiny pieces of ice. The water and ice in clouds come on Earth's surfaace, especially from lakes, rivers and oceans. Water on the surface evaporates. it changes into a gas called water vaor. Water vapor goes up into the air. The higher up you go, the colder the air gets. When water vapor gets cold, it changes back into drops of water. If its gets cold enough, the water changet into ice.
The water droplets and bits of ice are so small that they float on the wind. You see the water and ice in the sjy as clouds. Strong winds and gentle breezes make differet kinds of clouds. Clouds that form in calm air look like flat sheets or layers of sheets. Clouds that form in strong winds tower up high in the sky.
Meteorologist (scientist who study weather) group clouds into four families. Three families are called high cloud, middle cloud, and low clouds.
High Clouds are made of bits of ice. High can be 5 miles (8 kilometers) or more above Earth's surface. There are three main types of high clouds. Cirrus clouds are thn and feathery looking. Cirrostratus clouds look like a misty, flat veil or sheet. Cirrocumulus clouds look like groups of small, white cotton balls. Rain and snow do not fall from these clouds.
Middle Clouds are made of water droplets. They form about 2 to 4 miles (about 3 to 6 kilometers) up in the sky. There are two main types of middle clouds. Altrostratus louds are like gray or bluish sheet of frosted glass across the sky. You can see through them, but they make the Sun and the moon look blurry. Altocumulus clouds look like big wads of white fuzz.
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