cumulus
Cottony sky formation
Cumulus clouds are the puffy, flat-bottomed clouds that pile up vertically on fair-weather days, resembling cotton balls or cauliflower heads.
They form when warm air rises and cools, and their white tops may tower thousands of feet.
When cumulus builds into dark, towering formations, it becomes cumulonimbus—the thunderstorm cloud.
More broadly, cumulus means an accumulation or heap.
Low, flat cloud layer
- cirrusHigh wispy ice formation
- nimbusLuminous disk or raincloud
- stratocumulusLow, lumpy cloud layer
- altocumulusMid-altitude puffy formations
cirrostratus · altostratus · nimbostratus · thunderhead · anvil · pileus · lenticular · contrail
Soft and light-textured
soft · white · towering · majestic · dramatic · sculptural · rounded · dome-shaped
Accumulated mass of objects
- stackItems piled vertically
- moundHeaped earth formation
- massQuantity of matter
- gatherBring or come together
amass · aggregate · cluster · collection · bunch · clump · conglomeration · buildup
Primary color; also sad
- atmosphereGaseous layer around planets
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
- altitudeMeasured height above reference
- vistaPleasing distant scene
panorama · skyscape · backdrop · expanse · overhead · heavens · canopy · firmament
Heat transfer via motion
- updraftUpward air movement
- condensationVapor turning to liquid
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
- troposphereLowest atmospheric layer
humidity · instability · thermal · airmass · front · forecast · radar · satellite
stratus
Low, flat cloud layer
- cirrusHigh wispy ice formation
- nimbusLuminous disk or raincloud
- stratocumulusLow, lumpy cloud layer
altocumulus · cirrostratus · altostratus · nimbostratus · thunderhead · anvil · pileus · lenticular · contrail · mammatus
fluffy
Soft and light-textured
pillowy · soft · white · towering · majestic · dramatic · sculptural · rounded · dome-shaped · flat-bottomed
pile
Accumulated mass of objects
gather · amass · aggregate · cluster · collection · bunch · clump · conglomeration · buildup · accretion
blue
Primary color; also sad
- atmosphereGaseous layer around planets
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
- altitudeMeasured height above reference
vista · panorama · skyscape · backdrop · expanse · overhead · heavens · canopy · firmament · azure
convection
Heat transfer via motion
- updraftUpward air movement
- condensationVapor turning to liquid
- precipitationAtmospheric water deposit
troposphere · humidity · instability · thermal · airmass · front · forecast · radar · satellite · barometer
- cumulus cloudscotton ball clouds
- atmosphereair, humidity, atmosphere, temperature, oxygen
- skyclouds, blue sky, cloud, sun, moon
- weatherweather, rain, sun, snow, wind
- cielfirmament, horizon, zenith, atmosphere, crepuscule
- Cloudsstratus, cirrus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, cirrocumulus
cumulusstratus
Low, flat cloud layer
cirrus · wispy clouds · altostratus · cirrostratus · nimbostratus
- cumulative effectCombined result over time
- cumulus cloudHeaped atmospheric vapor mass
- cumulative GPACombined academic score
- cumulative examTest covering all topics
accumulate, accumulation, accumulated, cumulative, accumulating, accumulates, accumulative, accumulator, cumulonimbus