The Rain Cloud / or, An Account of the Nature, Properties, Dangers and Uses of Rain in Various Parts of the World

by Charles Tomlinson

THE STRATUS, OR FALL-CLOUD.

As the Cumulus belongs to the day, so does the Stratus to the night. It is the lowest of all the clouds, and actually rests upon the earth, or the surface of water. It is of variable extent and thickness, and is called Stratus, a bed or covering. It is generally formed by the sinking of vapour in the atmosphere, and on this account has been

called Fall-cloud. It comprehends all those level, creeping mists, which, in calm evenings, spread like an inundation from the valleys, lakes, and rivers, to the higher ground. [85] But on the return of the sun the beautiful level surface of this

cloud begins to put on the appearance of cumulus, the whole, at the same time, rising from the ground like a magnificent curtain. As the cloud ascends, it is broken up and evaporates or passes off with the morning breeze. The stratus has long been regarded as the harbinger of fine weather; and, indeed, there are few days in the year more serene than those whose morning breaks out through a stratus.