Cirrocumulus castellanus
Cirrocumulus castellanus or Cirrocumulus castellatus[1] is a type of cirrocumulus cloud. Castellanus is from the Latin meaning "of a castle".[2] These clouds appear as round turrets that are rising from either a lowered line or sheet of clouds.[3] Cirrocumulus castellanus is an indicator of atmospheric instability at the level of the cloud.[4] The clouds form when condensation occurs in the base cloud, causing latent heating to occur. This causes air to rise from the base cloud, and if the air ascends into conditionally unstable air, cirrocumulus castellanus will form.[5]
| Cirrocumulus castellanus | |
|---|---|
 Cirrocumulus castellanus undulatus (on the center) | |
| Abbreviation | Cc cas |
| Symbol |  |
| Genus | Cirro- (curl) -cumulus (heaped) |
| Species | Castellanus (castle) |
| Altitude | Above 6,000 m (Above 20,000 ft) |
| Classification | Family A (High-level) |
| Appearance | small, rounded turrets |
| Precipitation | Virga only |
See also
References
- "Appendix 3 - History of cloud nomenclature".
- Numen - The Latin Lexicon. "Definition of castellanus". Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- Dunlop, Storm (2003). The weather identification handbook (1st Lyons Press ed.). Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press. p. 66. ISBN 1-58574-857-9.
- Callanan, Martin. "Cirrocumulus castellanus". International Cloud Atlas. nephology.eu. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- Ahrens, C. Donald (2007). Keith Dodson (ed.). Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the Environment. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-495-01162-0.
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