A high cloud composed of ice crystals in the form of thin, white, featherlike clouds in patches, filaments, or narrow bands.
WRCC Climate and Weather Terms Glossary
A type of cloud composed of ice crystals and shaped in the form of hairlike filaments. It is formed at an altitude of approximately 29,000 feet.
nbsp;NASA Earth Observatory
Cirrus Clouds - High clouds that are formed entirely from ice crystals. They appear delicate and wispy and can reach a height of 35,000 feet (10,700 meters). Other types of cirrus clouds include cirrostratus and cirrocumulus. Cirrostratus is a thin sheet of cloud that often causes a halo to appear around the sun or moon. Cirrocumulus look like many small tufts of cotton; however, these clouds rarely form.
[Journal of Applied Meteorology. v 31, page 370, 1991.]
[Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. v 46, page 2293, 1989.]
Atmospheric Chemistry Glossary |
