Cirrostratus

Cirrostratus over Low Clouds
A very thin and uniform layer of cirrostratus cloud over low clouds in Ohio. The low clouds are on the edge between cumulus and stratocumulus. Photo by Carolyn Green in Ohio, 2000.

Cirrostratus over Contrail
A very diffuse and thin layer of cirrostratus clouds in southeastern Virginia, with a beautiful contrailrunning under it. Photo by Lin Chambers.

Distant Cirrostratus
Photo by Lin Chambers in Poquoson, VA, winter 1997. This shows high, thin cirrostratus clouds off near the horizon. Note the very transparent streaks of cirrus (called mare's tails) in the upper right.

Cirrostratus Haze
This photo, taken near sunset in Colorado by Kevin Larman, show a very thin and very uniform cirrostratus cloud with streaks of thicker cirrus (perhaps old contrails?). Near the horizon some opaque low clouds are visible.

Cirrostratus
Photo taken by Doug Stoddard in March of 2002 in Puerto Rico.

Cirrostratus in Taiwan
A very nice example of a mostly uniform cirrostratus layer. Photo from Taipei Municipal First Girls' Senior HS, Taipei, Taiwan. 1st place in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

Cirrostratus with Lenticular
This is also a nice cirrostratus layer, but the pink lenticular cloud caused by the presence of the mountain makes this one stand out. Photo from Salesiano-San Isidro School, Canary Islands, Spain. 2nd place in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

Cirrostratus with Halo
The upper right of the picture shows a cirrus cloud with some indication of puffiness (i.e., cirrocumulus); and the lower left of the photo has what looks like some thick low level cloudiness. But the portion of the photo where the sun is shining is a nice uniform cirrostratus, with the bonus of showing the prismatic effect of ice clouds on sunlight. Photo from Dr. Francisco Vazquez Colon School, Manati, Puerto Rico. 3rd place (tie) in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

Cirrostratus in California
The cloud in this photo is remarkably similar to the previous photo, but without the lower layer. The middle of the photo shows a nice uniform cirrostratus layer. Photo from St. Anne School, Porterville, California. 3rd place (tie) in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

Cirrostratus with Stratus
Well, what's not to like? This photo has a great top view of a low level stratus cloud (might even be fog), with a nice distinct layer of cirrostratus off in the distance. Photo from Peru Central School, Peru, New York. Multilayer winner in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

Cirrostratus at Night
Night-time cloud watching has its challenges, but this photo captures the moon just as it illuminates a nice stratus section of the cloud. This is probably cirrostratus (ice cloud) because of the rainbow effect around the moon, but could also be altostratus. Photo from Sant Antoni Abat School, Valencia, Spain. Night-time winner in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

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		Cirrostratus over Low Clouds A very thin and uniform layer of cirrostratus cloud over low clouds in Ohio. The low clouds are on the edge between cumulus and stratocumulus. Photo by Carolyn Green in Ohio, 2000.

		Cirrostratus over Contrail A very diffuse and thin layer of cirrostratus clouds in southeastern Virginia, with a beautiful contrailrunning under it. Photo by Lin Chambers.

		Distant Cirrostratus Photo by Lin Chambers in Poquoson, VA, winter 1997. This shows high, thin cirrostratus clouds off near the horizon. Note the very transparent streaks of cirrus (called mare's tails) in the upper right.

		Cirrostratus Haze This photo, taken near sunset in Colorado by Kevin Larman, show a very thin and very uniform cirrostratus cloud with streaks of thicker cirrus (perhaps old contrails?). Near the horizon some opaque low clouds are visible.

		Cirrostratus Photo taken by Doug Stoddard in March of 2002 in Puerto Rico.

		Cirrostratus in Taiwan A very nice example of a mostly uniform cirrostratus layer. Photo from Taipei Municipal First Girls' Senior HS, Taipei, Taiwan. 1st place in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

		Cirrostratus with Lenticular This is also a nice cirrostratus layer, but the pink lenticular cloud caused by the presence of the mountain makes this one stand out. Photo from Salesiano-San Isidro School, Canary Islands, Spain. 2nd place in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

		Cirrostratus with Halo The upper right of the picture shows a cirrus cloud with some indication of puffiness (i.e., cirrocumulus); and the lower left of the photo has what looks like some thick low level cloudiness. But the portion of the photo where the sun is shining is a nice uniform cirrostratus, with the bonus of showing the prismatic effect of ice clouds on sunlight. Photo from Dr. Francisco Vazquez Colon School, Manati, Puerto Rico. 3rd place (tie) in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

		Cirrostratus in California The cloud in this photo is remarkably similar to the previous photo, but without the lower layer. The middle of the photo shows a nice uniform cirrostratus layer. Photo from St. Anne School, Porterville, California. 3rd place (tie) in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

		Cirrostratus with Stratus Well, what's not to like? This photo has a great top view of a low level stratus cloud (might even be fog), with a nice distinct layer of cirrostratus off in the distance. Photo from Peru Central School, Peru, New York. Multilayer winner in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.

		Cirrostratus at Night Night-time cloud watching has its challenges, but this photo captures the moon just as it illuminates a nice stratus section of the cloud. This is probably cirrostratus (ice cloud) because of the rainbow effect around the moon, but could also be altostratus. Photo from Sant Antoni Abat School, Valencia, Spain. Night-time winner in January 2003 S'COOL Cloud Photo contest.