Cirrocumulus castellanus
Cirrocumulus castellanus is a type of cirrocumulus cloud. The name cirrocumulus castellanus is derived from Latin, meaning "of a castle".[1] These clouds appear as round turrets that are rising from either a lowered line or sheet of clouds.[2] Cirrocumulus castellanus is an indicator of atmospheric instability at the level of the cloud.[3] 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.[4]
| Cirrocumulus castellanus | |
|---|---|
 Cirrocumulus castellanus undulatus (on the center) | |
| Abbreviation | Cc cas |
| Symbol |  |
| Genus | Cirro- (curl of hair) -cumulus (heaped) |
| Species | Castellanus (turret-like) |
| Altitude | Above 6,000 m (Above 20,000 ft) |
| Appearance | small, rounded turrets |
| Precipitation cloud? | No |
See also
References
- 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 0-495-01162-2.
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