What are high clouds?

High clouds are fluffy white ribbons that float so high up they touch the freezing cold part of the sky. Imagine blowing a bubble with your straw; if you could blow it way, way higher than the tallest building in town, it would stay round and smooth because there is no wind to squish it. That is what these clouds look like from down here.

You can spot them easily on sunny days. They often look like feathery strands or little hooks, shaped like fibers. Some people call the wispy ones cirrus clouds because they resemble horse tails blowing in the wind. When there are lots of them together, they create a sparkly net across the blue sky. These clouds are made of tiny ice crystals instead of water drops, which is why they look so sharp and bright rather than soft and gray.

Because these clouds live high up, near the top of the atmosphere, the air is super cold. The water has frozen into ice before it even became a cloud. This makes them different from low clouds that feel heavy and wet.

These high clouds act like a thin blanket for the Earth. They let sunlight come in during the day but try to keep some heat from escaping at night. So, if you see many cirrus clouds in the sky tonight, it might stay warmer than usual because that icy roof is holding onto the warmth of the day. Next time you look up, point out those feathery streaks and say hello to your high-altitude friends!