If cumulus clouds keep growing, they can become cumulonimbus clouds—the real storm makers. These towering giants can climb up to 60,000 feet or more. They often look like a massive anvil or a ...

HOUSTON — Anvil clouds can often look like an alien spacecraft trying to land, We’ve had emails suggesting there is a UFO in the sky and immediately when I see the picture, it’s an anvil cloud.

Cirrus clouds that forms atop a thunderstorm spread outward and can form anvil clouds. These clouds flatten on top as they reach the stratosphere, where the atmosphere begins to warm with height.

Typically these kind of clouds will form at the bottom of the anvil in a cumulonimbus cloud. It’s very common that these kind of clouds are associated with severe thunderstorms.

These clouds are often are seen hanging from the anvil of a severe thunderstorm, but do not produce severe weather. They can accompany non-severe storms as well.

Several Local 12 viewers around the Tri-State this weekend sent in photos of an oddly-shaped cloud asking for an explanation of what it is and how it forms.

Cirrus clouds at the level of the jet stream – often about 6 miles (10 kilometers), above the ground – can sometimes move at over 200 miles per hour (320 kilometers per hour).

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d ...

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