Autumn Is A Great Season For Cloud Tracking

By Mary Kay Carson

What are these clouds predicting? (credit: Tom Uhlman)

Have you noticed? There's a real change in the weather these days. It's snowy on the East Coast and in the mountain West. Frosty mornings have forced the houseplants back indoors and the furnace to kick on here in the Ohio River Valley. 

How's the weather where you are—is it cloudy? What kind of clouds, exactly? Most of us understand what clouds are. These puffy floating clusters of tiny water droplets or ice crystals form from rising, cooling, condensing water vapor in the air. But as my new book Inside Weather discusses, not all clouds are alike. And identifying the types of clouds out there is an important part of weather forecasting. Clouds move with the wind and change shape and color with changing temperature, air pressure, and the landscape below. Clouds look different because they are formed by different kinds of winds and mixes of ice and water. Clouds are affected by weather, create weather, and can give us an idea of what weather is on the way. 

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Even the names of clouds are full of information. Cirrus clouds are wispy and feathery. Stratus clouds are layered and flat. Cumulus are lumpy and fluffy. Longer cloud names begin with a prefix that often describes altitude. Cirro- is for high clouds, while alto- means mid-level. Adding nimbo to the beginning or end of a cloud name tells you it’s making precipitation. 

Cloud watching is a terrific way to connect the sometimes seemingly invisible forces of the atmosphere to something easily observable. Just look up! Clouds are overhead or just out the window. Tracking clouds over time takes it to the next level of science observation and recording. Here's a simple activity to identify clouds and track them over time, using the information gathered to make predictions about weather on the way. Here's hoping your forecast is a good one. Enjoy! 

ACTIVITY: Track Cloudy Weather 

1. Make a chart with these five headings:

• DATE/TIME
• CLOUD TYPE
• A.M. WEATHER
• P.M. PREDICTED WEATHER
• ACTUAL P.M. WEATHER (TIME)

2. Fill in the chart every morning for a week. Use the "Column of Clouds" poster below to identify the clouds and make predictions. 

3. How accurate were your forecasts?

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