Milford chronicle., 1961-01-27
Lulu nj. Ross Elementary
School News

Clouds
Clouds are made mostly of tiny
drops OF water. or OF tiny crystals
OF Ice. The big. fluffy. white clouds
towering high into the air are
cumulus clouds. Their tops are
sometimes several miles above the
ground "Cumulus" means pile.
The clouds that make gray
layer over the whole sky are call
ed stratus clouds. STRATUS" means
layer"
The feathery white clouds are
cirrus clouds. Cirrus" means
curl" These clouds sometimes
look like curls of smoke. Same
cirrus clouds are so long and mar
row that they are called mares
tails Cirrus clouds are high a
bove the ground. usually at least
seven or eight miles.
Some clouds are part cirrus and
part cumulus. Clouds OF this kind
make a "mackerel sky"
Cirrus and cirrostatus clouds
often warn OF storms a day or
two ahead. while alterumulus and
stratus may Immediately precede
bad weather. A fair-weather cum
ulus cloud sometimes turns to an
anvil shaped cumulonimbus, trail
ing streamers of rain.
Rain
Moisture is taken up in the air
from the surface OF the earth.
Sometimes the wind will blow the
clouds away without causing rain.
When moisture is taken up In the
air 1t Is called evaporation. Mois-
ture that is called water vapor can
not be seen. When the air reaches
the dew point some OF the water
vapor the air contains turns into
tiny particles of water, so fine
they call IL water dust. This dust
Is called clouds. fog. dew. frost.
hail. snow, or sleet- A still great
er cooling of the air will cause
the tiny cloud particles to unite
into drops. These drops are large
and heavy enough SO that they
fall to the earth.
What Makes Hall
when raindrops start down
from the clouds to the ground.
they may fall into layer of very
cold air. III the air is cold enough.
the drops of rain freeze. When
they reach the ground they are
tiny balls of ice. These tiny balls
of Ice are called sleet-
Hall usually falls during a
thunderstorm. Even on hot sum-
mer days there may be a layer
of very cold air only a mile or
two above the ground The top
part OF the thunderhead may be
made up of snow crystals instead
Of drops OF water. Hail is formed
In thunderstorm clouds in thi 5
way.
Raindrops formed in the lower
part of the cloud are caught by
air moving upward from the hot
ground They are blown up to the
upper part of the cloud and are
frozen They also get a coating of
snow. They start to fall and get a
coating of rain. but again the air
catches them and blows them up
ward. The water freezes and the
balls of ice get another coating OF
snow. When they are finally heavy
enough TO fall through the strong
up-current of air. they may be as
big as a BASEBALL Fortunately. few
hail stones ever become that big.
Probably the largest hail stones
on record fell in Nebraska in 1928.
They were II inches in circum-
ference and weighed l l-2 pounds.
What Makes Fog
A fog is a cloud close TO the
ground Clouds are made OF tiny
drops of water. So are fogs. There
may be 80 many Of these droplets
that they shut off the view OF
everything and you cannot see but
a short distance ahead.
Fogs occur most often near big
bodies OF water. The land often
cools off much faster than the
water. Warm. moist air moving in
over the land Is cooled quickly.
Some OF the water vapor In the
air changes drops of water and
forms fog.