How are cirrus clouds formed?

The new study shows, however, that humans actually impact the formation of cirrus clouds (just as climate change affects cloud formation and vice versa, in little-understood ways), by sampling the ice crystals making up the clouds and seeing what particles they formed on. read more

Cirrus clouds are made up of ice crystals that form when supercooled water droplets freeze. These wispy and thin clouds are usually at elevations higher than 20,000 feet and are created from other clouds that go through a process called glaciation. read more

Individual cirrus cloud formations can be the remnants of anvil clouds formed by thunderstorms. In the dissipating stage of a cumulonimbus cloud, when the normal column rising up to the anvil has evaporated or dissipated, the mat of cirrus in the anvil is all that is left. read more

Cirrus clouds are the wispy clouds that form at high altitudes. A new study looks at how they form and how this changes scientists' view of these clouds’ role in the world's climate. read more