Which cloud type is a low-elevation layered cloud with rounded tops and bottoms?

Which cloud type is a low-elevation layered cloud with rounded tops and bottoms?

• A. Altostratus
• B. Stratocumulus
• C. Nimbostratus
• D. Cumulonimbus

Answer: (B)

At low altitude, layered clouds with rounded lumps are stratocumulus. The name itself signals a shallow, sheet-like cloud composed of rounded, individual elements that form a low, broad layer. This type often looks like a gray, patchy deck with small rounded masses or rolls across the sky, sometimes with breaks in between. Altostratus are mid-level, uniform gray sheets without the distinct rounded lumps. Nimbostratus are dark, thick, and widespread rain clouds that cover the sky in a continuous, sheet-like layer, lacking the individual rounded puffs. Cumulonimbus are tall, vertically developed clouds with a clear indication of strong updrafts and often anvil-shaped tops, not a low, layered appearance. So, the description matches stratocumulus: a low-elevation, layered cloud with rounded elements in the layer.

At low altitude, layered clouds with rounded lumps are stratocumulus. The name itself signals a shallow, sheet-like cloud composed of rounded, individual elements that form a low, broad layer. This type often looks like a gray, patchy deck with small rounded masses or rolls across the sky, sometimes with breaks in between.

Altostratus are mid-level, uniform gray sheets without the distinct rounded lumps. Nimbostratus are dark, thick, and widespread rain clouds that cover the sky in a continuous, sheet-like layer, lacking the individual rounded puffs. Cumulonimbus are tall, vertically developed clouds with a clear indication of strong updrafts and often anvil-shaped tops, not a low, layered appearance.

So, the description matches stratocumulus: a low-elevation, layered cloud with rounded elements in the layer.