A mid-altitude cloud that extends in flat, smooth sheets or layers of varying thickness. Altostratus clouds are generally a featureless layer cloud, whereas stratocumulus clouds have more detail. The Sun or moon may shine through an altostratus cloud, but will appear watery or fuzzy. Yes, Altostratus is about 3-7km. The top of the himalayas is 8km and all the mountains have snow on them so theres water in the clouds even above that. Clouds also form when air is forced upward at areas of low pressure. So high that condensation happens in the form of ice crystals. For example, cloud names containing the prefix "cirr-", as in cirrus clouds, are located at high levels while cloud names with the prefix "alto-", as in altostratus, are found at middle levels.
Altostratus clouds are mid-level, flat clouds that appear as gray or blueish-gray clouds expanding across the sky.
Stratus clouds were relatively rare, as were altostratus clouds.
Altocumulus may appear as parallel bands (top photograph) or rounded masses (bottom photograph). Altostratus clouds generally form between 2,000 and 6,100 m (6,560 and 20,000 ft) and often produce long, steady rain showers. altostratus.
They sometimes produce white or coloured rings, spots or arcs of light around the Sun or Moon, that are known as halo phenomena. Altostratus clouds are mid-level, gray or blue-gray clouds that usually covers the whole sky. Also found at mid-levels are altostratus clouds, which are often confused with high-level cirrostratus.One distinguishing feature is that a halo is not observed around the sun (or moon) when viewed through altostratus, but is a common feature associated with cirrostratus clouds. Altocumulus clouds are composed primarily of water droplets and are located between 6,500 and 20,000 feet (2,000 to 6,000 meters) above the ground. They are thin enough that the sun can seep through them, but they often retain a grey colouring with … This module introduces several cloud groups. altostratus cirrus cumulonimbus: Further classification identifies clouds by height of cloud base. Occasionally, rain falls from an altostratus cloud. Cirrocumulus clouds are high clouds that form in tiny clumps. People simply don’t seem to be that interested in altostratus or stratus. See illustration at cloud.
Winds meet at the center of the low pressure system and have nowhere to go but up. Cumulus and Stratus type clouds once again take on a new form at this highest level of clouds. All types of clouds are formed by these processes, especially altocumulus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, stratocumulus, or stratus clouds. Altostratus tend to form ahead of a warm or occluded front. They typically don’t produce precipitation. Where rain starts is not so clear but you get rain at the base camp at around 6km from altostratus and definitely below that. Sometimes they are so thin that the halo is the only indication that a cirrostratus cloud is in the sky. These clouds are thin enough to allow a distorted image of the sun or moon to peer through.
If you see altostratus clouds, a storm with continuous rain or snow might be on its way. Looking at other cloud collections on the Web (or on calendars), I saw a lot of cumulonimbus clouds as well. Cirrostratus are transparent high clouds, which cover large areas of the sky.
Altostratus clouds Altostratus evolves as a thin layer from a gradually thickening veil of cirrostratus and is usually grey or blue, with very few features. Cirrus clouds form at very high altitudes. They can also occur together with cumulus at a cold front. Height of base : 6,500 - 20,000 ft
Cirrostratus clouds are high clouds that stretch out like a uniform layer of white. Clouds with a base above 20,000 feet including cirrus, cirrocumulus and cirrostratus clouds.
Altostratus clouds are very large, mid level thin sheets and are usually composed of a mixture of water droplets and ice crystals. Remember, if you’re trying to decide between an altostratus and stratocumulus cloud, and the cloud being observed has been determined to have an associated cloud species, it’s not an altostratus cloud.