{"id":15832,"date":"2026-06-13T05:22:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T23:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/?p=15832"},"modified":"2026-07-26T10:47:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T05:17:35","slug":"types-of-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/types-of-clouds\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of Clouds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<h3>Types and Measurement of Clouds<\/h3>\n<h3>Definition<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clouds are an aggregate of visible water droplets or ice particles formed and sustained by adiabatic lifting and cooling of air.<\/li>\n<li>Air lifted and cooled adiabatically becomes saturated, leading to condensation into water droplets or deposition into ice crystals.<\/li>\n<li>Clouds are reported based on their coverage in oktas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cloud Cover (Octa Scale)<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sky clear: nil clouds<\/li>\n<li>Few: 1\u20132 oktas<\/li>\n<li>Scattered: 3\u20134 oktas<\/li>\n<li>Broken: 5\u20137 oktas<\/li>\n<li>Overcast: 8 oktas<\/li>\n<li>Sky not visible: cloud observation not possible due to low vertical visibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cloud Base and Cloud Ceiling<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cloud base refers to the height of the base of the first cloud above ground level (AGL).<\/li>\n<li>It is the level where clear air transitions into visible moisture (water droplets).<\/li>\n<li>Cloud ceiling is the height of cloud base when cloud cover is 5 oktas or more below 10,000 ft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cloud Reporting<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cloud base is measured using aircraft observations or rising balloons.<\/li>\n<li>Ceilometers (laser or optical instruments) are used to determine cloud base.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud base is reported in AGL for aerodrome reports and AMSL for area forecasts.<\/li>\n<li>Clouds are classified into low, medium, and high categories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Cloud Classification<\/h3>\n<h3>Low Clouds<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Height: below 2 km (6500 ft)<\/li>\n<li>Mainly composed of water droplets; may contain ice in cold climates.<\/li>\n<li>Types:\n<ul>\n<li>Stratus: uniform grey sheet clouds producing drizzle or freezing rain<\/li>\n<li>Stratocumulus: low-level patchy cloud formations<\/li>\n<li>Fractostratus: broken stratus indicating poor weather<\/li>\n<li>Fog: stratus clouds at ground level<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Medium Clouds<\/h3>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Height: 2\u20138 km (6500\u201325,000 ft)<\/li>\n<li>Contain both water droplets and ice crystals.<\/li>\n<li>Types:\n<ul>\n<li>Altocumulus: patchy clouds associated with turbulence and icing<\/li>\n<li>Altocumulus lenticularis: lens-shaped clouds indicating mountain waves<\/li>\n<li>Altostratus: uniform sheets producing continuous precipitation and halo effects<\/li>\n<li>Nimbostratus: thick dark clouds causing steady heavy rain or snow<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>High Clouds<\/h3>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Height: 6\u201318 km (20,000\u201360,000 ft)<\/li>\n<li>Composed mainly of ice crystals.<\/li>\n<li>Types:\n<ul>\n<li>Cirrus: thin, fibrous clouds<\/li>\n<li>Cirrostratus: smooth veil clouds producing halo effects<\/li>\n<li>Cirrocumulus: small patchy clouds at high levels<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Generally do not produce precipitation or icing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Vertically Developed Clouds<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds extend vertically from low to high levels.<\/li>\n<li>Cumulonimbus clouds can extend into the stratosphere and produce thunderstorms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Very High-Level Clouds<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m11-types-of-clouds-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Found above the troposphere.<\/li>\n<li>Nacreous clouds occur in the upper stratosphere.<\/li>\n<li>Noctilucent clouds occur in the upper mesosphere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Types and Measurement of Clouds Definition Clouds are an aggregate of visible water droplets or ice particles formed and sustained by adiabatic lifting and cooling of air. Air lifted and cooled adiabatically becomes saturated, leading to condensation into water droplets or deposition into ice crystals. Clouds are reported based on their coverage in oktas. Cloud Cover (Octa Scale) Sky clear: nil clouds Few: 1\u20132 oktas Scattered: 3\u20134 oktas Broken: 5\u20137 oktas Overcast: 8 oktas Sky not visible: cloud observation not possible due to low vertical visibility Cloud Base and Cloud&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-meteorology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16684,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15832\/revisions\/16684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}