Cumulonimbus cloud
genus of clouds, dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms and atmospheric instability
Cumulonimbus (from Latin cumulus 'heap' and nimbus 'rain cloud') is a dense, towering, vertical cloud, typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful buoyant air currents. Above the lower portions of the cumulonimbus the water vapor becomes ice crystals, such as snow and graupel, the interaction of which can lead to hail and to lightning formation, respectively.
When causing thunderstorms, these clouds may be called thunderheads. Cumulonimbus can form alone, in clusters, or along squall lines. These clouds are capable of producing lightning and other dangerous severe weather, such as tornadoes, hazardous winds, and large hailstones. Cumulonimbus progress from overdeveloped cumulus congestus clouds and may further develop as part of a supercell. Cumulonimbus is abbreviated as Cb.
Description
Towering cumulonimbus clouds are typically accompanied by smaller cumulus clouds. The cumulonimbus base may extend several kilometres (miles) across, or be as small as several tens of metres (yards) across, and occupy low to upper altitudes within the troposphere - formed at altitude from approximately 200 to 4,000 m (700 to 10,000 ft). Normal peaks usually reach to as much as 12,000 m (39,000 ft), with unusually high ones typically topping out around 20,000 m (66,000 ft) and extreme instances claimed to be as high as 21,000 m (69,000 ft) or more.
The public source identifies “Cumulonimbus cloud” as genus of clouds, dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms and atmospheric instability. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cumulonimbus, cloud and genus.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cumulonimbus cloud” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.