Cirrocumulus Clouds The Best Sunsets

Cirrocumulus clouds are found worldwide at high altitudes, typically above 16,500 feet. Just like cirrostratus, cirrocumulus occurs when a large area of moist air at these high altitudes reaches saturation and freezes. Because of this cirrocumulus clouds consist entirely of ice crystals.

Rarely does cirrocumulus dominate the sky, but when it does it can produce spectacular sunsets as the sunlight reflects off the clouds from low on the horizon. For this reason cirrocumulus is often considered the most attractive of cloud types, often forming spectacular patterns stretching for hundreds of miles across the sky.
A particularly dramatic form is cirrocumulus undulates, appearing as fine ripples stretching across the sky. These ripples are generated by high level atmospheric waves, caused by wind sheer.

Cirrocumulus clouds appear as white patches or spherical masses, known as elements. These elements can occur in undulating rows and patterns, like small ripples, often resembling the small ripples found on a sandy beach.

The main difference between cirrocumulus and altocumulus is the small size of the individual clouds, and the great height at which they form.
In isolation cirrocumulus clouds do not have any great meteorological significance, although a steady increase in these clouds may indicate the approach of a frontal system. However this is only a loose connection and in forecasting terms cirrocumulus clouds aren't really a reliable indicator. They can sometimes appear when a high pressure system is beginning to weaken but don't tell much beyond that.

The temperature of the atmosphere is around - 40 C (which is also -40 F) at the cirrus level and this explains why cirrocumulus clouds consist entirely of ice crystals.

And so to summarise, cirrocumulus clouds:

1. Are located between 16,500 and 40,000 feet
2. Consist of ice crystals as they form at a temperature 40 below freezing
3. Are a poor indicator for any weather forecasting puposes (a very basic indicator of collapsing high pressure, or an approaching frontal system)
4. They produce spectacular sunsets and are considered the most attractive of all types of clouds.
5. Appear as fine ripples in the sky, generated by wind sheer.
6. And finally, cirrocumulus clouds are common in all latitudes.