This usually happens when warmer air near the ground is cooled down by rising higher. Different types of cloud can be described as they are viewed from the ground using different terms which are derived from the Latin words. A cloud's name generally reflects the height at which it forms and its general shape. Stratus clouds are layer clouds that form near the ground and make the weather very grey and dreary, and sometimes rainy. Cirrus clouds occur much higher up and look like wispy curls of hair.
Cumulus clouds look like fluffy balls of cotton wool.
These can sometimes grow much larger, when they become cumulonimbus clouds, which bring heavy bursts of rain during thunderstorms .