Cumulus congestus cloud any rain may be accompanied by thunderstorms. Turkey tower is a slang term for a narrow, individual towering cloud from a small cumulus cloud which develops and suddenly falls apart. Sudden development of turkey towers could signify the breaking or weakening of a capping inversion. Cumulus congestus cloud Cumulus congestus clouds, also known as towering cumulus, are a form of cumulus cloud that can be based in the low or middle height ranges. They achieve considerable vertical development in areas of deep, moist convection. They are an intermediate stage between cumulus mediocris and cumulonimbus. Cumulus congestus clouds are characteristic of
Cloud physics air containing invisible water vapor to rise and cool to its dew point, the temperature at which the air becomes saturated. The main mechanism behind this process is adiabatic cooling. Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, so the rising air expands in a process that expends energy and causes the air to cool, which makes water vapor condense into cloud. Water vapor in saturated air is normally attracted to condensation nuclei such as dust and salt particles that are small enough to be held aloft by normal circulation of the air. The water droplets in a cloud have a normal radius