Note for these clips in particular: due to the cloud video service, the _alternate video source_ will
have higher quality for most users.
The lower, ‘fluffy’ clouds known as cumulus get their name from the Latin word meaning ‘accumulation’
or ‘heap,’ perfectly capturing their bunched-up form. While typically found in the lower atmosphere,
cumulus-like (cumuliform) clouds can experience convective forces at all levels.
As these clouds become more convective—a process driven by temperature differences resulting from cloud
density and the heating of the sun and land—they can grow into towering cumulonimbus clouds. This
development occurs when cooled air and water from the shaded, dense regions of the cloud descend as
precipitation.
The cumulus clouds shown here are light to medium in density and remain below 4800 feet. A striking
observation is that these lower Clouds Often move counter to the direction of upper-level clouds.
Their movement appears almost autonomous, with each water droplet’s path affected by countless other
droplets and minuscule air currents, resulting in highly intricate patterns.
This complexity likely contributes to the challenges in smoothly rendering time-lapses of cumulus
clouds; the data requirements for capturing such detail at a given quality level are substantial.