Cumulonimbus cloud - wikipedia Cumulonimbus cloud Cumulonimbus cloud Cumulonimbus ' Abbreviation Cb Symbol Genus Cumulonimbus ( heap, storm / rain ) Altitude 460 -- 7,620 -- 12,190 m ( 1,500 -- 25,000 - 65,000 ft ) Appearance Very tall and large clouds Precipitation cloud ? Yes, often intense Cumulonimbus, from the Latin cumulus ( `` heap '' ) and nimbus ( `` rainstorm '', `` storm cloud '' ), is a dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms and atmospheric instability, forming from water vapor carried by powerful upward air currents. If observed during a storm, these clouds may be referred to as thunderheads. Cumulonimbus can form alone, in clusters, or along cold front squall lines. These clouds are capable of producing lightning and other dangerous severe weather, such as tornadoes. Cumulonimbus progress from overdeveloped cumulus congestus clouds and may further develop as part of a supercell. Cumulonimbus is abbreviated Cb. Contents 1 Appearance 1.1 Species 1.2 Supplementary features 1.2. 1 Accessory clouds 1.2. 2 Supplementary features 1.2. 3 Precipitation - based supplementary features 2 Effects 3 Life cycle or stages 4 Cloud types 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Appearance Towering cumulonimbus clouds are typically accompanied by smaller cumulus clouds. The cumulonimbus base may extend several miles across and occupy low to middle altitudes - formed at altitude from approximately 200 to 4,000 m ( 700 to 10,000 ft ). Peaks typically reach to as much as 40,000 ft ( 12,000 m ), with extreme instances as high as 70,000 ft ( 21,000 m ) or more. Well - developed cumulonimbus clouds are characterized by a flat, anvil - like top ( anvil dome ), caused by wind shear or inversion near the tropopause. The shelf of the anvil may precede the main cloud 's vertical component for many miles, and be accompanied by lightning. Occasionally, rising air parcels surpass the equilibrium level ( due to momentum ) and form an overshooting top culminating at the maximum parcel level. When vertically developed, this largest of all clouds usually extends through all three cloud regions. Even the smallest cumulonimbus cloud dwarfs its neighbors in comparison. Species cumulonimbus calvus : cloud with puffy top, similar to cumulus congestus which it develops from ; under the correct conditions it can become a cumulonimbus capillatus. cumulonimbus capillatus : cloud with cirrus - like, fibrous - edged top. Cumulonimbus calvus A clearly developed cumulonimbus fibrous - edged top capillatus Anvil - topped incus Supplementary features Accessory clouds Arcus ( including roll and shelf clouds ) : low, horizontal cloud formation associated with the leading edge of thunderstorm outflow. Pannus : accompanied by a lower layer of fractus species cloud forming in precipitation. Pileus ( species calvus only ) : small cap - like cloud over parent cumulonimbus. Velum : a thin horizontal sheet that forms around the middle of a cumulonimbus. Supplementary features Incus ( species capillatus only ) : cumulonimbus with flat anvil - like cirriform top caused by wind shear where the rising air currents hit the inversion layer at the tropopause. Mamma or mammatus : consisting of bubble - like protrusions on the underside. Tuba : column hanging from the cloud base which can develop into a funnel cloud or tornado. They are known to drop very low, sometimes just 20 feet ( 6 m ) above ground level. Flanking line is a line of small cumulonimbus or cumulus generally associated with severe thunderstorms. Precipitation - based supplementary features Rain : precipitation that reaches the ground as liquid, often in a precipitation shaft. Virga : precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground. Arcus cloud ( shelf cloud ) leading a thunderstorm Mammatocumulus with drooping pouches A cap ( pileus ) atop a calvus A funnel cloud ( tuba ) over the Netherlands Incus with a velum edge Cumulonimbus calvus against sunlight with rain falling beneath it as a rain shaft ( praecipatio ) Rain evaporating before reaching the ground ( virga ) Picture of a Cumulonimbus Cloud over Zambales Mountains, Photographed from my SM - G7102 Cellphone, Visible from Subic -- Clark -- Tarlac Expressway Picture of a Cumulonimbus capillatus cloud over Africa displaying an overshooting top, taken from the International Space Station Flanking line in front of a strong thunderstorm Effects See also : Severe weather, Thunderstorm, and Tornado Cumulonimbus storm cells can produce torrential rain of a convective nature ( often in the form of a rain shaft ) and flash flooding, as well as straight - line winds. Most storm cells die after about 20 minutes, when the precipitation causes more downdraft than updraft, causing the energy to dissipate. If there is enough solar energy in the atmosphere, however ( on a hot summer 's day, for example ), the moisture from one storm cell can evaporate rapidly -- resulting in a new cell forming just a few miles from the former one. This can cause thunderstorms to last for several hours. Cumulonimbus clouds can also bring dangerous winter storms ( called `` blizzards '' ) which bring lightning, thunder, and torrential snow. However, cumulonimbus clouds are most common in tropical regions. Life cycle or stages In general, cumulonimbus require moisture, an unstable air mass, and a lifting force ( heat ) in order to form. Cumulonimbus typically go through three stages : the developing stage, the mature stage ( where the main cloud may reach supercell status in favorable conditions ), and the dissipation stage. The average thunderstorm has a 24 km ( 15 mi ) diameter. Depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere, these three stages take an average of 30 minutes to go through. Stages of a cumulonimbus cloud 's life. Towering vertical cumulonimbus capillatus with anvil - shaped incus supplementary feature. High layer of cirrus spissatus near top of image. Cloud types Main article : List of cloud types Clouds form when the dewpoint of water is reached in the presence of condensation nuclei in the troposphere. The atmosphere is a dynamic system, and the local conditions of turbulence, uplift and other parameters give rise to many types of clouds. Various types of cloud occur frequently enough to have been categorized. Furthermore, some atmospheric processes can make the clouds organize in distinct patterns such as wave clouds or actinoform clouds. These are large - scale structures and are not always readily identifiable from a single point of view. See also weather portal Atmospheric convection Atmospheric thermodynamics Convective instability Hot tower Pyrocumulonimbus William Rankin References Jump up ^ World Meteorological Organization, ed. ( 1975 ). Cumulonimbus, International Cloud Atlas ( PDF ). I. pp. 48 -- 50. ISBN 92 - 63 - 10407 - 7. Retrieved 28 November 2014. Jump up ^ Haby, Jeff. `` Factors Influencing Thunderstorm Height ''. theweatherprediction.com. Retrieved 15 July 2016. Jump up ^ World Meteorological Organization, ed. ( 1975 ). Species, International Cloud Atlas ( PDF ). I. pp. 17 -- 20. ISBN 92 - 63 - 10407 - 7. Retrieved 26 August 2014. Jump up ^ Ludlum, David McWilliams ( 2000 ). National Audubon Society Field Guide to Weather. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 473. ISBN 0 - 679 - 40851 - 7. OCLC 56559729. Jump up ^ Allaby, Michael, ed. ( 2010 ). `` Pannus ''. A Dictionary of Ecology ( 4 ed. ). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199567669. ^ Jump up to : World Meteorological Organization, ed. ( 1975 ). Features, International Cloud Atlas ( PDF ). I. pp. 22 -- 24. ISBN 92 - 63 - 10407 - 7. Retrieved 26 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Cumulonimbus Incus ''. Universities Space Research Association. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2012. Jump up ^ Dunlop, Storm ( 2003 ). The Weather Identification Handbook. The Lyons Press. pp. 77 -- 78. ISBN 1585748579. Jump up ^ `` Flying through ' Thunderstorm Alley ' ''. Jump up ^ Michael H. Mogil ( 2007 ). Extreme Weather. New York : Black Dog & Leventhal Publisher. pp. 210 -- 211. ISBN 978 - 1 - 57912 - 743 - 5. Jump up ^ National Severe Storms Laboratory ( 15 October 2006 ). `` A Severe Weather Primer : Questions and Answers about Thunderstorms ''. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 1 September 2009. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumulonimbus clouds. Clouds-Online.com Cloud Atlas with many photos and description of the different cloud genera Cloud genera and selected species, supplementary features, and other airborne hydrometeors - WMO Latin terminology except where indicated Extreme - level Polar mesospheric cirriform type Noctilucent Very high - level Polar stratospheric cirriform type Nacreous High - level Tropospheric cirriform, stratiform, and stratocumuliform genera Cirrus ( Ci ) Cirrostratus ( Cs ) Cirrocumulus ( Cc ) General type ( non-WMO terminology ) Aviaticus cloud ( Contrail ) Medium - level Tropospheric stratiform and stratocumuliform genera Altostratus ( As ) Altocumulus ( Ac ) Stratocumuliform species Altocumulus castellanus ( Ac cas ) Low - level Tropospheric stratiform, stratocumuliform and cumuliform genera Stratus ( St ) Stratocumulus ( Sc ) Cumulus ( Cu ) Stratiform and cumuliform species Fractus Cumulus humilis ( Cu hum ) Stratocumulus variants ( non-WMO terminology ) Actinoform cloud Asperitas Moderate vertical Tropospheric stratiform and cumuliform genera Nimbostratus ( Ns ) Cumulus ( Cu ) Cumuliform species Cumulus mediocris ( Cu med ) Cumuliform supplementary features Cumulus Pileus Cumulus Volutus Towering vertical Tropospheric cumulonimbiform genus Cumulonimbus ( Cb ) Cumuliform species Cumulus congestus ( ICAO term Towering cumulus ( Tcu ) ) Cumuliform and cumulonimbiform supplementary features mamma Tuba ( Funnel cloud ) Pileus Arcus ( Shelf ) Cumuliform and cumulonimbiform variants ( non-WMO terminology ) Wall cloud Cumulonimbuus Overshooting top Hot tower Surface based General type Fog Non-height specific General types Accessory cloud Kelvin -- Helmholtz cloud Special Special modifiers Flammagenitus ( cloud ) Homogenitus ( cloud ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cumulonimbus_cloud&oldid=795268321 '' Categories : Cirrus Cumulus Severe weather and convection Talk Contents About Wikipedia Aragonés Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Lumbaart Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Русский Scots Sicilianu Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 13 August 2017, at 03 : 46. 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Question: what is the difference between cumulus and nimbus clouds
Answer: cumulus ("heap")