Clouds come in many shapes and forms. Some are high in the sky, while others are so low they touch the ground. No matter what shape or elevation, clouds form the same way, by having water vapor condense onto small solid particles like dust, sea salt, and pollution.

Clouds serve several important functions. One of these is providing rain and snow. They also help retain heat, so it doesn’t escape quickly back into space. On hot days, clouds provide shade

There are three main cloud types.

Cumulus clouds are the puffy clouds that look like puffs of cotton. Cumulus clouds that do not get very tall are indicators of fair weather. If they do grow tall, they can turn into thunderstorms. The bottom of cumulus clouds are fairly close to the ground.

Stratus clouds look like flat sheets of clouds. These clouds can mean an overcast day or steady rain. They may stay in one place for several days.

Cirrus clouds are high feathery clouds. They are up so high they are actually made up of ice particles. They are indicators of fair weather when they are scattered in a clear blue sky.

Nimbus is another word associated with clouds. Adding "nimbus" means precipitation is falling from the cloud.

Cumulonimbus clouds are the "thunderheads" that can be seen on a warm summer day and can bring strong winds, hail, and rain.

Nimbostratus clouds will bring a long steady rain.