They look like puffy cotton balls, but can grow into thunderstorms. Cumulus clouds are typically white in color with a flat base. If they start to look like a giant cauliflower that’s growing, it’s a sign that rain and lightning might be coming.
The Latin word for cumulo is heap or pile. So how do they form? Warm air rises, so on warm days in particular, parcels of air rise from the ground and as they travel upward, they eventually cool off enough to condense and form a cloud. The cloud also needs water vapor condensation nuclei. The nuclei are tiny particles that the water vapor attaches too.
There’s an experiment you can do at home to make a cloud in a jar. All you need is hairspray, a jar, water, and an icepack.
Fill the jar with warm water, and add food coloring if you wish. Then spray many squirts of hairspray in the jar. The hairspray will act as the condensation nuclei. Then put the icepack on top of the jar.
The icepack cools the air and condensation occurs. You can see the cloud better if you use a flashlight. You can see the cloud escape when you take the icepack off. You can also use a lid with ice cubes instead of an icepack.
