A cloud that has a low-level base and a top composed of ice crystals is called which cloud type?

A cloud that has a low-level base and a top composed of ice crystals is called which cloud type?

• A. Cumulus
• B. Cirrus
• C. Stratus
• D. Cumulonimbus

Answer: (D)

A cloud with a low base that ends with a top of ice crystals is cumulonimbus. The warm, moist air rises fiercely from near the ground, forming a cloud that grows very tall. As it reaches higher, colder levels, the water droplets freeze into ice crystals, giving the icy top you’d observe above the lower, water-droplet base. Cumulonimbus also typically shows dramatic vertical development and can spread the upper ice crystals into an anvil shape. Other clouds don’t fit this description: a cumulus has a low base with mainly liquid water and not an icy top; cirrus consists of ice crystals high up but lacks a low base; stratus is a flat, low-layer cloud with mostly liquid water and no tall ice-rich top.

A cloud with a low base that ends with a top of ice crystals is cumulonimbus. The warm, moist air rises fiercely from near the ground, forming a cloud that grows very tall. As it reaches higher, colder levels, the water droplets freeze into ice crystals, giving the icy top you’d observe above the lower, water-droplet base. Cumulonimbus also typically shows dramatic vertical development and can spread the upper ice crystals into an anvil shape. Other clouds don’t fit this description: a cumulus has a low base with mainly liquid water and not an icy top; cirrus consists of ice crystals high up but lacks a low base; stratus is a flat, low-layer cloud with mostly liquid water and no tall ice-rich top.