Cumulus congestus cloud (No official abbreviation) is a free convective cloud associated with volcanic eruptions and large-scale fires. Pyrocumulus isn't recognized by the WMO as a distinct genus or species, but is, in essence, cumulus congestus formed under special circumstances that can also cause severe turbulence. Cumulus congestus will mature into cumulonimbus calvus under conditions of sufficient instability. This transformation can be seen by the presence of smooth, fibrous, or striated aspects assumed by the cloud's upper part. This cloud type produces precipitation, often in abundance. These clouds also produce fair weather waterspouts. An approaching weather front often brings mid level clouds such
Cloud seeding is used to increase precipitation in areas experiencing drought, to reduce the size of hailstones that form in thunderstorms, and to reduce the amount of fog in and around airports. In the summer of 1948, the usually humid city of Alexandria, Louisiana, under Mayor Carl B. Close, seeded a cloud with dry ice at the municipal airport during a drought; quickly 0.85 inches of rainfall occurred. Cloud seeding is occasionally used by major ski resorts to induce snowfall. Eleven western states and one Canadian province (Alberta) have ongoing weather modification operational programs. In January 2006, an $8.8 million cloud seeding