Stratus nebulosus

Stratus nebulosus
Stratus nebulosus
Abbreviation	St neb
Symbol
Genus	Stratus (layered)
Species	Nebulosus
Variety	Opacus Translucidus Undulatus
Altitude	0–2000 m (0–7,000 ft)
Classification	Family C (Low-level)
Appearance	Full of vapor, lacking detail, gray, featureless low-altitude cloud capable of ground contact.
Precipitation	Uncommon; drizzle, freezing drizzle, Snow, snow grains[1]

Stratus nebulosus is a species of low-level stratus cloud. It is one of two species of stratus clouds, the other being fractus. ^[2] Translated from Latin meaning nebulous, their cloud abbreviations can be respectively written as ‘St neb’. For a cloud to be classified as nebulosus, there has to be zero sign of detail in the cloud.

Low-level fog is an example of stratus nebulosus. Its usual appearance is a sheet of gray sitting above the ground. Very dense fog can be classified as stratus nebulosus opacus, which translates to a stratus cloud that has no detail and is dark enough to block out sunlight. Stratus nebulosus clouds are commonly paired with cloud varieties opacus (opaque) and translucidus (see-through) and can produce precipitation (praecipitatio) on occasion.

The nebulosus cloud species is common, and more commonly found in stratus cloud formations relative to cirrostratus clouds.

See also

• List of cloud types

References

1. "Tabular guide: Genus - Guide for the identification of the genera of clouds". cloudatlas.wmo.int.
2. Graham, Edward (2025). "The Geometry of STRATUS". Clouds How to Identify Nature’s Most Fleeting Forms. Princeton University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780691266336.