Meteorology: Naming Clouds
 

Can someone give me a website which is good for learning names of clouds with good pictures of the clouds to help me?

Thank you

Hope this helps....

http://www.metoffice.com/bookshelf/clouds/index.html

Obviously the met office has a lot of other very useful info on this site as well....well worth a look around. Register to get regular forecasts etc.

Cloud Names

Anyone know the derivation of CLOUD NINE ?

Best I have heard is that it comes from an early WW2 US Army Air Force method of cloud naming and Cloud Nine was the highest.

As far as I know, this is what happened:

"The father of modern meteorology" an English pharmacist named Luke Howard originally gave cloud types their names in 1803. He first introduced 3 cloud types; Stratus (layered), Cumulus (meaning "heaped" in Latin) and Cirrus (curled). He then added a forth slightly later; Nimbus (Latin for "cloud") for the rain bearing variety. This allowed him to classify virtually any type of passing cloud using a combination of these words, and a bit of a legend in meteorological circles.

This system was added to over the years and eventually was combined to produce the encyclopaedic "International Cloud Atlas" which runs to 2 volumes! This was fortunately condensed in 1896 and divided clouds into 10 basic types, of which the most comfortable, cushiony.....plumpest looking one was number 9; Cumulonimbus. This is where I believe the saying came from originally.

Please correct me if you know differently, as I'm always looking to expand my "useless information" quota!
:D

Close, but no cigar - Nimbus is, in fact, the Latin for rain.

Yeah, that would make more sense actually.....thank you :ok:

Go www.australiasevereweather.org for a superb collection of named cloud photos

tarbaby
did you mean this
certainly very impressive and well done.
thanks
:ok:

Hmm! Don't seem to remember them being .com before. Sorry. could have been a senior moment.