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Before we begin, do you know your cumulus from your cirrus? Start here: the Ten Basic Clouds. Keen connoisseurs can consult the Cloud Atlas to further distinguish species (shape and structure) and varieties (arrangement and transparency).
Who decided on this system, anyway? Enter Luke Howard, Namer of Clouds. Portrait of an autodidact. “His simple but penetrating insight, based on years of direct observation, was that clouds might have many individual shapes, but they have few basic forms.” (1,903 words)
To sharpen your cloud-watching skills, you could learn How to Paint Clouds. An insight into artistic thinking. “Go outside on a cloudy day and try to “see” the clouds as basic shapes and forms. Do this enough and it’ll eventually become second nature — you will be seeing the world as an artist.” (2,373 words)
What is it like to see a storm cloud from the inside? In short: bad. While involuntarily Riding On The Storm after his engine failed, Lt. Col. Rankin “began to worry about the very strange — but very real — possibility of drowning in the sky.” Don’t try this at home. (1,546 words)
Cloud-gazing matters in a world that is Cloudy With A Chance Of Warming. A sober, wide-ranging update on what we (don’t) know about clouds and climate. Warming is affected by — and affects — cloud coverage, altitude, thickness, timing, and composition. Polluting aerosols are cooling us down, and ‘marine cloud brightening’ might (might) be able to alter clouds in our favour. (3,447 words)
Meanwhile, cloud seeding is an ongoing quest. This recent BBC primer is ostensibly about How China Became Fixated On Cloud Seeding, but it’s also a useful summary of the state of play. Results unclear. “We can’t make the same cloud happen twice. So we can’t do a controlled experiment.” (2,281 words)
Finally, take a trip Sky Gazing On Mars. An imagined jaunt across the red planet. Clouds are not always present here, but today they are in view, as “it is aphelion season, when Mars is as far from the warmth of the Sun as it can get”. (1,369 words)
While we’re on the subject:
A book: The Cloud Spotter’s Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney
A poem: The Cloud by Percy Bysshe Shelley
A painting: Approaching Thunderstorm On The Hudson River by Albert Bierstadt
Miscellania: The original speech by Luke Howard to the Askesian Society
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