how high can clouds build?

Answer 1

Cumulonimbus clouds, with their bottoms near the ground, can grow to 50,000 ft in height. They are the tallest clouds in terms of how big they can grow. These are the thunderheads, the dark, menacing, towering clouds that build up and build up and build up until you *know* there's gonna be a h#ll of a storm.

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Clouds are defined by their general appearance and level in the atmosphere.
(1) Cirrus clouds are curly or fibrous
(2) Stratus clouds are flat and/or layered
(3) Cumulus clouds are puffy and piled up.

Additionally, a prefix is frequently given to the cloud name to indicate what level of the atmosphere it is in.
(A) Cirro is the prefix given to high clouds, those with bases above 20,000 feet.
(B) Alto is the prefix given to mid-level clouds, those with bases between 6,000 and 20,000 feet.
(C) Nimbo added to the beginning, or nimbus added to the end of a cloud name means the cloud is producing rain/sleet/snow

Cloud Type ........... Appearance ................................... Altitude .....
Cumulonimbus ..... Thunderheads ............................... Near ground to above 50,000 feet
Cirrostratus .......... Thin, wispy, above thunderheads .......... Above 18,000 feet
Cirrus ................... Thin, often with "mare's tail" ......... Above 18,000 feet
Cirrocumulus ....... Small puffy clouds ........................ Above 18,000 feet
Altostratus ............ Thin, sometimes w/corduroy look .......... 6,000 - 20,000 feet
Altocumulus ......... Medium-sized puffy clouds ......... 6,000 - 20,000 feet
Stratocumulus ...... Broad/flat on the bottom, puffy on top .......... Below 6,000 feet
Cumulus ............... Puffy clouds ......................................... Below 6,000 feet
Stratus .................. Uniform, thick to thin layered clouds .......... Below 6,000 feet

Answer 2

High clouds (Family A)
These generally form above 16,500 feet (5,000 m), in the cold region of the troposphere. However, in Polar regions, they may form as low as 10,000 ft (3,048 m). They are denoted by the prefix cirro- or cirrus. At this altitude, water almost always freezes so clouds are composed of ice crystals. The clouds tend to be wispy, and are often transparent.

Middle clouds (Family B)
These develop between 6,500 and 16,500 feet (between 2,000 and 5,000 m) and are denoted by the prefix alto-. They are made of water droplets and are frequently supercooled.

Low clouds (Family C)
These are found up to 6,500 feet (2,000 m) and include the stratus (dense and grey). When stratus clouds contact the ground, they are called fog.

Vertical clouds (Family D)
These clouds can have strong up-currents, rise far above their bases and form at many heights.

Other clouds
A few clouds can be found above the troposphere; these include noctilucent and polar stratospheric clouds (or nacreous clouds), which occur in the mesosphere and stratosphere respectively.

Cloud fields
A cloud field is simply a group of clouds, but sometimes cloud fields can take on certain shapes that have their own characteristics and are specially classified.

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