Cumulonimbus
2,000 - 60,000+ ft (600 - 18,000+ m)
“The thunder, that mighty rushing sound, says something is about to go down”— Anonymous
Cumulonimbus is the king of clouds, the dramatic centrepiece of the atmospheric theatre. Starting as a humble cumulus cloud, it grows into a towering giant that can reach from near the ground to the very top of the troposphere—a vertical empire spanning 40,000 feet or more.
The classic anvil shape forms when the rising air hits the boundary of the stratosphere and spreads outward, unable to rise any further. That distinctive flat top is the cloud hitting its ceiling, spreading sideways like water hitting a glass surface.
Inside a mature cumulonimbus, there's chaos: powerful updrafts and downdrafts, supercooled water droplets, ice crystals, lightning, hail, and sometimes tornadoes. It's a self-contained weather factory capable of producing everything from refreshing rain showers to devastating storms.
things worth knowing
- Cumulonimbus can extend from 2,000 feet to over 60,000 feet—higher than commercial aircraft fly
- A single storm can contain more energy than an atomic bomb
- The anvil top can spread outward for 200 miles or more
- These clouds can produce hailstones the size of softballs
- Lightning occurs when ice crystals collide and separate electrical charges within the cloud
weather wisdom
Thunderstorms, heavy rain, lightning, hail, strong winds, occasionally tornadoes