Definition
A low, ragged, broken cloud that has been torn apart by wind, typically forming below a layer of nimbostratus or other precipitating cloud. It appears as detached, irregular shreds of stratus cloud rather than the smooth, sheet-like layer that defines normal stratus.
Plain English
Low, broken-up shreds of cloud — like a stratus layer that has been ripped into pieces by the wind, often seen drifting below rain-bearing clouds.
Context Anchor
Pilots may encounter stratus fractus in weather reports, during preflight weather planning, or visually while flying near low clouds and rain.
Derivation
From Latin stratus, meaning 'spread out' or 'layered,' and fractus, meaning 'broken' or 'shattered.' Together they describe a layered cloud that has been broken into pieces — which is exactly what you see in the sky.
Why Pilots Care
Signals possible turbulence, precipitation, and low ceilings that can force a pilot to divert or delay.
Grounding Statement
Picture ragged gray cloud scraps hanging low under a darker cloud layer on a damp day.
Intuition Check
Do not read “stratus” here as always meaning one smooth blanket of cloud. “Fractus” means the stratus is broken into ragged pieces.
Example Sentence 1
On final approach, ragged patches of stratus fractus drifted below the overcast, dropping the visibility well before we reached the runway.
Example Sentence 2
As light rain started, stratus fractus began to form and drift beneath the main deck.