nimbostratus
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Related to nimbostratus: cumulonimbus, altocumulus
nimbostratus:
see cloudcloud,aggregation of minute particles of water or ice suspended in the air. Formation of Clouds
Clouds are formed when air containing water vapor is cooled below a critical temperature called the dew point and the resulting moisture condenses into droplets on
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nimbostratus
[¦nim·bō¦strad·əs] (meteorology)
A principal cloud type, or cloud genus, gray-colored and often dark, rendered diffuse by more or less continuously falling rain, snow, or sleet of the ordinary varieties, and not accompanied by lightning, thunder, or hail; in most cases the precipitation reaches the ground.
nimbostratus (Ns)
A type of medium and low clouds, which are thick, dark gray, shapeless sheets with irregular broken clouds beneath and surrounding them. Nimbostratus clouds have poorly defined wet undersurfaces in contrast with the dry undersurface of stratus clouds. A principal medium- and low-cloud type, gray-colored and often dark, rendered diffuse by more or less continuously falling rain, snow, or sleet of the ordinary varieties. It is not accompanied by lightning, thunder, or hail. In most cases, the precipitation from the clouds reaches the ground.