altostratus
Noun
Meaning
a stratus cloud at an intermediate altitude of 2 or 3 miles
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Derivatives
Examples
Cirrocumulus in its pure form is actually a high cumuliform genus, and cirrostratus is stratiform, like altostratus and lower based sheet clouds.
Mid-level altostratus and multi-level nimbostratus always have a flat or diffuse appearance and are therefore not subdivided into species.
These include middle-étage layers of altocumulus and altostratus as well as low stratocumulus, and stratus that have droplets with an average radius of about 0.002 mm (0.00008 in).
If the altocumulus is mixed with moisture-laden altostratus, the precipitation may reach the ground.
The stratiform group is cross-classified into the genera cirrostratus (high-étage), altostratus (middle-étage), stratus (low-étage), and nimbostratus (multi-étage).
The sun and moon are visible in clear outline. citation Cirrostratus often thickens into altostratus ahead of a warm front or low-pressure area.