Plain English Meaning

Fracto means the cloud is torn into ragged, irregular shreds rather than appearing as a smooth, continuous shape. It is a label added to a cloud's name to show that the cloud is broken up and wind-tattered.

Full Definition

A prefix used in cloud classification to indicate clouds that are broken into ragged, fragmented, or shredded pieces by strong or shifting winds. Applied to certain low cloud types, it produces names such as fractostratus and fractocumulus.

Context Anchor

Seen in cloud descriptions such as ragged low clouds near an airport or beneath a larger cloud layer.

Derivation

From the Latin fractus, meaning 'broken' (the same root as 'fracture'). The name tells you directly what is happening to the cloud: it has been broken into pieces.

Why Pilots Care

Fracto clouds usually signal turbulent, unstable, or rapidly changing air. Ragged low clouds often appear ahead of or beneath weather fronts and storm cells, warning of , reduced , and bumpy flying .