Name the four basic cloud types and their typical weather implications.

• A. Cumulus: Layered; can cause drizzle.
• B. Stratus: Thunderstorm clouds; heavy rain, hail, lightning.
• C. Cirrus: High, wispy; fair weather but can indicate change.
• D. Cumulonimbus: High, wispy; fair weather.

Answer: (D)

Understanding which clouds form, how they look, and what weather they bring helps you name them and anticipate conditions. Cirrus clouds sit high in the sky, thin and wispy; they usually indicate fair weather at the moment, but their arrival often signals a change in the weather ahead as a front approaches. Cumulus clouds are the fluffy, rounded masses with flat bases; they typically suggest fair weather in that moment, though they can grow in unstable air into storm clouds. Stratus clouds form a grey, layered sheet across the sky, bringing overcast conditions and light drizzle. The tall, dense cumulonimbus clouds are the ones you associate with storms—thunder, heavy rain, hail, and strong winds—often with dramatic vertical development. The description of cumulonimbus as high, wispy and bringing fair weather doesn’t match how they behave, since they are the storms.