![]() Pretor-Pinney points out the stationary altocumulus lenticularis cloud, Latin for “lentil,” which resembles a UFO. There are certain regions where you’re more likely to see certain types. Altocumulus lenticularis cloud over the east end of the French Pyrenees mountain range near the border with Spain, spotted by Ian Boyd Young and published in A Cloud A Day from the Cloud Appreciation Society. Then there are specific classifications based on characteristics that make the cloud distinct. Howard wanted a “language for the sky” to help communication between sky observers worldwide, Pretor-Pinney says.Ĭloud varieties into recognizable types, he says. ![]() In 1802, Luke Howard devised a Latin-based system, and developed names that are still used today, such as cumulus, stratus, cirrus and so on. The number of clouds in the world is infinite, and similar to a snowflake, each one is unique. If you add together all the droplets - same weight as 80 elephants - they're really heavy in terms of the water but they're in the form of tiny droplets so they all stay aloft in the air,” he says. ![]() “Typical cumulus clouds are low clouds you see on sunny days. (John Gale) Altocumulus lacunosus, spotted over Owens Valley, California, by Stephen Ingram and published in A Cloud A Day from the Cloud Appreciation Society. Cumulus fractus spotted from the flight deck over the Swiss Alps by John Gale and published in A Cloud A Day from the Cloud Appreciation Society. High clouds, such as altostratus or cirrus, are made from small ice crystals of water, he says, while low clouds, such as cumulus, are made from tiny droplets of water. Pretor-Pinney says most members snap overcast moments on their smartphones, then post to the society’s website picture gallery. These non-professional weather watchers with an affinity for clouds are linked through the internet. They were able to get the asperitas published in the new edition of the International Cloud Atlas.įor a cloud’s name to be official in the meteorological world, he says, it has to be published in the atlas. Asperitas clouds spotted over Burnie, Tasmania, Australia, by Gary McArthur and published in A Cloud A Day from the Cloud Appreciation Society. They’ve even helped the World Meteorological Organization to acknowledge a new type of cloud called asperitas - wavy, thick clouds that resemble snorkeling underwater on a turbulent day, Pretor-Pinney describes. Members of the Cloud Appreciation Society proudly walk around with their heads in the clouds.įounded in 2005, the group - which is comprised of more than 48,000 cloud marvellers and spans 120 countries - are everyday people on the lookout for “weird clouds,” founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney says. (John Bigelow Taylor) This article is more than 3 years old. Spotted over Arizona, US by John Bigelow Taylor and published in A Cloud A Day from the Cloud Appreciation Society. A formation of Altocumulus lenticularis, bathed in the glow of sunset, mimics the contours and strata of the Grand Canyon below.
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