Precipitation cloud? No Indicates precipitation No Abbreviation Cc cas | Appearance Small, rounded turrets Classification Family A (high-level) Minimum altitude (feet) 20,000 | |
Genus Cirro- (curl of hair)
-cumulus (heaped) Species Castellanus (turret-like) | ||
Cirrocumulus castellanus is a type of cirrocumulus cloud. The name cirrocumulus castellanus is derived from Latin, meaning "of a castle". These clouds appear as round turrets that are rising from either a lowered line or sheet of clouds. Cirrocumulus castellanus is an indicator of atmospheric instability at the level of the cloud. 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.
References
Cirrocumulus castellanus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA