Low clouds: Cumulus 1

Illustration of clouds with rain falling down

Illustration of a cloud with rain droplets falling straight down

Illustration of a cloud blowing air symbolizing wind

Illustration of stratus clouds, meaning layer or blanket in Latin. Characterized by horizontal layering with a uniform base. Flat, featureless clouds of low altitude varying in color from dark gray to nearly white obscuring the disk of the sun. Essentially above-ground fog formed either through the lifting of morning fog or when cold air moves at low altitudes over a region

Illustration of cumulonimbus clouds, tall, dense, and involved in thunderstorms and other intense weather. Cumulonimbus means "column rain" in Latin. It is a result of atmospheric instability. These clouds can form alone, in clusters, or along a cold front in a squall line. They create lightning through the heart of the cloud. Cumulonimbus storm cells can produce heavy rain (particularly of a convective nature) and flash flooding, as well as straight-line winds

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 nimbostratus cloud, a rain cloud characterized by a formless layer that is almost uniformly dark gray, of medium altitude, usually developing above 6500 ft (2000 m). Nimbo is from the Latin word "nimbus" meaning rain. They may block a great amount of sunlight as a result of their characteristic dense structure

Illustration of a cloud with sheeting rain, coming down hard and slanted