Once you understand how certain clouds develop their shapes, you can learn to forecast the weather. Clouds that look like cartoon cotton balls or cauliflower are made up of tiny liquid water droplets ...

From cirrus wisps to stratus blankets to cumulus puffs, clouds generally look lighter than air, unless there's a dark nimbus cloud dumping rain on you. With an understanding of how clouds are made ...

Clouds have a significant influence on climate, and vice versa. As the Earth's global temperature increases, the number, density and altitude of cumulus, cirrus, nimbus and other clouds should change.