Illustration of a cirrocumulus cloud, a large, white patch or tuft without a gray shadow. Composed of supercooled liquid droplets (if they freeze, becomes cirrostratus - cirrocumuli are short lived) Each cloudlet appears no larger than a finger held at arms length. It occurs in patches or sheets, organized in rows like other cumulus, but since they are so small, cirrocumulus patches take on a finer appearance, sometimes referred to colloquially as "herringbone" or "mackerel"
Illustration of stratocumulus clouds, belonging to a class characterized by large dark, rounded masses, usually in groups, lines, or waves. Weak convective currents create shallow cloud layers because of drier, stable air above preventing continued vertical development. Vast areas of subtropical and polar oceans are covered with massive sheets of stratocumuli
Illustration of a cumulus cloud, a cloud with noticeable vertical development and clearly defined edges. Cumulus means "heap" or "pile" in Latin. They are often described as "puffy" or "cotton-like" in appearance. Cumulus clouds typically form when warm air rises and reaches a level of comparatively cool air, where the moisture in the air condenses. This usually happens through convection, where a parcel of air is warmer than the surrounding air