Clouds: What Are They Made of and How Do They Form?

I've always been fascinated by weather and climate. As a child, I would always look forward to Winter because that was the season that brought the more exciting and diverse weather systems and patterns. From a meteorological point of view, sunny and fair weather is rather boring. It may feel nice and make great weather for a whole sleuth of outdoor activities, but nothing beats thunder, lightning, rain, and snow in terms of weather-generated excitement. As a person who took a fair number of weather and climate courses in junior college, I have learned a great deal about the atmosphere in which we live. One of the most basic things that I learned in one of my early weather and climate classes is the simple ways in which clouds form. I had always wondered what was inside clouds and how they formed; how those big, beautiful, and billowy things could float in the air like that. What were they made of, and why so many different shapes and sizes?