(Ns)

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Height of base:	Between 600 and 6000 m (2000 - 18000 ft) (low to mid-level clouds)
Description:	Very dark, grey ragged shreds; featureless layers Steady precipitation (rain, snow, graupel) Ragged base No visibility of sun Deep layers, extending over large areas
Occurrence:	World-wide; common in midlatitudes
Made of:	Supercooled water droplets, snow crystals, ice crystals, rain drops
Precipitation:	Moderate, steady precipitation
Formation:	Lowering of altostratus Droplet growth through coalescence Ice crystal growth through Bergeron-Wegener process
How to distinguish from …	Altostratus (As)	Ns is darker and produces heavier precipitation As often allows to determine position of sun
	Cumulonimbus (Cb)	Cb produces intermittent very heavy precipitation Thunder, lightning and hail are signs of Cb

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Nimbostratus with pannus (Hebgen Lake, June 2006)	Nimbostratus Freiberg, Germany, July07	Nimbostratus Fichtelberg, Germany, July07
Nimbostratus Lansing, Michigan, Dec07

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Last modified: 1/14/2008

Maintained by Sylke Boyd