Weather Forecasting and Clouds

Weather refers to the conditions of atmosphere at a given time. It is determined mostly by the Sun, the winds and the clouds. Of them, both the winds and the clouds are driven by the Sun. So basically, 'weather is driven by the sun' atleast for most of the time. Weather has a big impact on our day-to-day work and lifestyle. Knowing what might next happen is very helpful in our work. From Earth, we can look upto the sky and see this for ourselves...

We can see the Sun and the clouds. Though it is difficult to get a feel of the winds up there, we can have an indirect measurement by studying the motion of clouds. So, there we go; we got everything to get a read on weather. Infact, Our ancestors had been doing this for a long time.

Not just the weather at the moment, clouds hold information on changes that are about to come into play. The amount, the colour and also the formations and shapes of clouds can reflect these.


High altitude clouds can give clues on weather forecasts for the next 24 hours.

 Cirrus clouds

Cirrocumulus clouds

   fair weather to come
   increase indicates warmer weather

 Cirrocumulus
   probability for stormy weather
   common in winter: indicates cold weather

 Cirrostratus
   probability for rain/snow


Forecasts based on Medium level clouds usually arrives in a few hours

 Altostratus
   warm weather and probability for rain

 Altocumulus
   Rainy weather and thunderstorms


Low level clouds can express changes that are about to happen quite soon.

Cumulus clouds

 Cumulus
   fair, dry conditions
   might bring light rain
   * can develop into cumulonimbus clouds

 Stratus
   Drizzle or fine snow

 Stratocumulus
   Dry weather
   Sometimes light precipitation



 Cumulonimbus
   Heavy rain, thunderstorms, tornadoes

 Nimbostratus
   Chances of lasting rain/snow

Conclusion

Forecasting weather using clouds allow predictions for the next 24 hours. Although it seems very easy and simple, it requires much experience to be accurate. Not just the types of clouds, cloud cover is also a big factor. However, most significant weather changes imprinted on clouds are not easily misread. So, the next time you peek at the sky, try not to ignore what clouds might have to say to us.

References and Further Reading

Predicting the Weather with Clouds - Instructables
Forecasting by Clouds:
     http://www.infoplease.com/cig/weather/forecasting-by-clouds.html
     http://www.theweatherprediction.com/basic/clouds/
Why is forecasting cloud cover so difficult?