A nimbostratus cloud is characterized by a formless cloud layer that is almost uniformly dark gray. "Nimbo" is from the Latin word "nimbus", which denotes precipitation. It is generally a stratiform cloud of moderate vertical development (family D1) that produces precipitation, developing cloud bases between the surface and about 10000 ft (3000 m). This cloud typically forms from altostratus in the middle altitude range then subsides into the low altitude range during precipitation. Nimbostratus usually has a thickness of about 2000 m. Though found worldwide, nimbostratus is found more commonly in the middle latitudes.
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“It cannot be denied that for a society which has to create scarcity to save its members from starvation, to whom abundance spells disaster, and to whom unlimited energy means unlimited power for war and destruction, there is an ominous cloud in the distance though at present it be no bigger than a man’s hand.”
—Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882–1944)