Excellent Reasons Why You Need to Discover Cloud-Watching

The Right Type of Cloud Is Easy to Identify — Hypnotic, Article 2 of a 3-article series.

Altostratus

This is article two of a three-article series. In this article, we will look at many types of clouds. I will provide you with information with respect to a dichotomous cloud-type key, and we will begin my journey and cloud gazing. I look forward to sharing this information with you and hope you enjoy reading it. Let’s get started.

Altostratus

The picture above is an Altostratus cloud. It is a middle-altitude opaque or translucent non-convective veil of gray/blue-gray clouds. It can comprise water droplets, ice crystals, or a mixture.

This cloud forms when large masses of warm, moist air rise, causing water vapor to condense. These clouds can produce virga and light sprinkles or rain showers, though they do not produce significant precipitation. Cloud. (2023, October 6). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud

Nimbostratus

The Nimbostrati cloud is a diffuse, dark gray, multi-level stratiform layer with great horizontal extent, moderate to deep vertical development, and looks lit up inside. The “nimbo” part of its name refers to its ability to produce continuous rain or snow over a wide area ahead of a warm front. Cloud. (2023, October 6). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud

Contrail Clouds

Some people believe that Contrails come from chemicals emitted into the atmosphere. Others do not subscribe to this school of thought. Many believe they form because of water vapor released from aircraft exhaust.

When aircraft release hot water vapor at a high altitude, it becomes trapped in a frigid environment. Here, it condenses and forms a cloud. Depending on how dry the upper atmosphere is, the contrail cloud may stick around for seconds or spread out and become cirrus clouds for hours. These clouds are not associated with any weather. Cloud. (2023, October 6). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud

Lenticular

The lenticular cloud is unusual; most appear in the western part of the United States, especially in the Rocky Mountains. This cloud resembles a lens or saucer, typically over a high hill or mountain. As the wind blows against the mountains, it forces the cloud upward, and moisture condenses, forming a stable cloud until the uplift or moisture feed ends.

Although these clouds could produce precipitation if dense enough, they indicate air turbulence downstream. However, due to their unique shape, they have often been mistaken for UFO sightings! Lenticular cloud. (2023, May 26). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_cloud

Mammatus

Mammatus clouds look like little pouches or bubbles hanging from the above cloud deck. These clouds are generally associated with severe weather. They extend from cumulonimbus clouds.

The best advice if you see clouds of this type is to be prepared for strong thunderstorms. Pilots who see these clouds must know that turbulent winds and hazardous flying conditions are possible. They must avoid these clouds. Mammatus cloud. (2023, October 9). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud

Dichotomous Cloud-Type Key

Did you know that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology developed a dichotomous cloud-type key? It is a simple questionnaire that lists eleven questions to which a person can answer yes or no. When the person gets asked the question and the answer is yes, the type of cloud is determined.

If the answer is no, the list takes you to the next question until you can locate the cloud type. See the following website for the dichotomous key chrome-extension://hbgjioklmpbdmemlmbkfckopochbgjpl/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/dichotomouskey_handout.pdf.

At this point in the article, we should now know what the different types of clouds are, why they are different from each other, what makes them appear and, what they look like when they occur, what they mean to us concerning the weather. We also looked at the dichotomous cloud type key developed and used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

Cloud Dreaming

The article by Sahil Patel stated, “Imagine lying on a grassy field, looking up at the sky. Describe the clouds you see. What shapes or stories do they tell? How does watching them make you feel?” The remainder of this article will do just that, but first, consider the following:

Travel

In my mind’s eye, I chose to travel for this exercise. I am going on vacation and going to a beautiful country. I have looked at many pictures of this location.

I have seen pictures of two different and distinct choices for the weather there. Some pictures show the geography of the area being lush green. Other pictures show snow covering everything.

I hope to catch the sky in a favorable weather period where I can lay back in a beautiful green field, let my mind wander, and conjure up thoughts and images. It is not unusual to imagine hearing music when I relax and drift into the clouds.

Suddenly, I hear music coming from somewhere. The words to the song are: “Hello, Muddah, Hello Fadduh, here we are in Camp Granada. Camp is very entertaining. They say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining. Just as I thought about where I would go and what I would do when I got to Switzerland, this song started playing in my head.

This song was a parody of a fictional “Camp Granada” set to the tune of Amilcare Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours from the opera La Gioconda. Allan Sherman and Lou Busch wrote the words — enough talk. If you are the least interested, I recommend going to YouTube and listening to the master as he sings the infamous song.

After all, where can you hear such insightful music that scored №2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in August 1963? It hit №1 in Hong Kong, with no summer camps. What. Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp). (2023, October 11). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_Muddah,_Hello_Fadduh_(A_Letter_from_Camp)

Lucerne

September, and I am on vacation visiting Lucerne, Switzerland. I am lying on a blanket in a field. I hear that song with those words starting back up again, but I will ignore them now.

The clouds are floating above my head, and I am starting to get visions of all sorts. Okay, now I remember, we were supposed to go to a tranquil place, peace surrounding us.

We were to envision clouds and talk about shapes or stories they tell. Also, we could write about how watching them makes us feel. My vector check is working now; we can start this party.

Cloud-watching

Cloud-watching is a restful activity, so I might not spend too much time doing it because of all there is to do and see here. Looking closely at the sky, I get dizzy and am glad I have this blanket and field to lie in. I would fall if I stood and looked intently at the sky.

The pictures in this article are like what I am seeing now. For example, I see cumulus clouds when I look at the sky. When I close my eyes and start drifting with the clouds, my mind takes me to a faraway kingdom where enemy forces have threatened the King. He has led his minions into a foreign land to fight a battle.

The King wants to prove that he is a leader amongst leaders. Indeed, he is leading the charge. The soldiers are following him; all but the King are on horseback. The King rides his trained dragon.

He has hundreds of men and women supporting him and heading into the same battle he is to fight alongside him. They are spirited and proud and demand the best effort from themselves and their horses. The cumulus clouds represent dust the horses’ hooves churn up while running.

The King has trained his soldiers to operate as a team and separate entities. Some pictures of cumulus clouds show them grouped, while others show them split apart. The King already knows they will be victorious if his soldiers listen to him and do what he says.

That is why there is a blue sky when cumulus clouds appear. The King and his soldiers are being battle-tested. Nobody seems to be overconfident.

Moving on, my vision in the clouds begins to take on the form of Cumulonimbus Clouds. What could be the meaning of these clouds? I am unsure what is happening, but the weather is changing.

The King and his soldiers are heading in the same direction where the clouds appear to be growing. He knows that this sometimes means that a storm is coming soon. I take shelter, hope, and pray that the King and his people will do the same.

As I gaze toward these clouds, I see lightning, hail, heavy rain, and even tornadoes. I will bet that the King did not expect to run into thunderstorms or weather that behaves as bad as this weather is doing now.

This is the end of article two of our three-article series. In this article, we examined the different cloud types, provided you with a link to a Dichotomous Cloud-Type Key, and shared my vacation and cloud-watching dreams. I hope you enjoyed this article and will stay for the next one. You will enjoy reading all three of the articles in this series.

I would love to give a Big Shout Out to Joe Merkle for his article https://readmedium.com/trees-speak-to-you-f5eea87ffd28. He provides a Haiku on trees and then explains how trees are important to him. I found the article easy to read and believe I understand what he is talking about regarding trees. Any reader who loves nature will love this article. Great job on this article, Joe!

I would love to give a Big Shout Out to Gauri Sirur for her article https://readmedium.com/how-i-arrived-at-my-golden-rule-of-de-cluttering-3ae914d200ed. In this article, she tells us a story about how she came to the conclusion that decluttering after 5 years has served her well. This is a great story. I am not a hoarder, but I can keep things for much longer if things have sentimental meaning. Decluttering is a great way to keep things you want to keep safe and secure. This article is a great read for anyone wanting to learn how to declutter. Great job on this article, Gauri!