This cumulonimbus cloud has the characteristic anvil-shaped top.
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Courtesy of UCAR Digital Image Library

Clouds with Vertical Growth

Clouds with vertical growth include cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds grow high up into the atmosphere rather than spreading across the sky. They span all levels of the troposphere and can even rise up into the stratosphere.

Clouds with vertical growth develop by warm air rising from the surface. Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds provide the some of the most interesting and severe weather on Earth.

Last modified May 25, 2010 by Becca Hatheway.

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Cumulonimbus

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