Cloudspotting, despite what my autocorrect thinks, is a real thing, and I’m here to talk about why I think everybody should try to become just a little bit obsessed with clouds.
Fluffy Complexity
Clouds may appear, at first glance, as a mash-up of fluffy white things that float in the sky. To some extent this is true, but they are so much more! I’m not going to go into detail about cloud taxonomy because quite frankly, you’ll just stop reading (if you do want to learn more, I recommend this book). With that said, I’m going to use less than 200 words to try and provide an overview of cloud taxonomy for the sole purpose of illustrating how much of a mind-f#ck it is, and how little you know about clouds. Here goes nothing:
Clouds are broken into two general groups: tropospheric clouds and high-altitude clouds. Within the tropospheric group, which are the standard, weather-forming clouds, there are 10 broad families called genera. These genera can exist on their own or as hybrids with additional features called species, of which there are 15. Four species appear in more than one genus, resulting in a total of 29 unique cloud types.
In addition to this, there are 9 cloud varieties that further modify the appearance or behavior of these 29 types, two of which have a variety inherently “baked in”.
Finally, there are 10 supplementary cloud features that alter a cloud’s structure or behavior in such a way as not to constitute a separate cloud genera or species, and 3 accessory clouds that only form in association with specific genera.
The second general group includes the high-altitude clouds that form in the stratosphere and mesosphere. These are divided into two categories: stratospheric clouds (with 3 types) and mesospheric clouds (with just the 1).
So in total we have 29 Main Cloud Forms in 9 Varieties with 10 Supplementary Clouds which can show 3 Accessory Clouds followed by 4 High-Altitude Clouds for a grand total of…I don’t actually know, it’s over 100 (33 distinct forms multipled by those forms which can be modified by varieties and supplementary clouds)!
So if by some miracle you have still got energy, or capacity, to carry on reading, this is why I think more people should pay attention to clouds.
What is cloudspotting
Cloudspotting is exactly what it says on the tin. When you’re out and about, you look for clouds and TRY to describe them. Contrary to most of the -spottings, cloudspotters are usually more interested in trying to describe the clouds they see as opposed to just pinning them with an identification and ticking them off a list. This is because clouds are more complex than figuring out a species and moving on. There are unique conditions in which each type of cloud can form, they can be modified by conditions around them, and can even change between types as you look at them; clouds are in a constant state of flux.
Come to think of it, cloudspotting is quite similar to gull identification; hours staring at white things in the sky trying to figure out what the hell you’re looking at…
Furthermore, cloudspotters are interested in general meteorology and as such may be observing other phenomena at the same time. For example, cloudspotters might be out looking for Cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds because they are hunting lighting strikes! Or, if like me, I’m trying to photograph an some elusive bird and get distracted by none other than a patch of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds! Suffice to say, there is more to it than just looking at white fluffy things.
Why cloudspot?
Cloudspotting is great for getting people outside and paying attention to their surroundings. Clouds are around almost all the time, and most people just ignore them. But up there we see some really remarkable things going on.
There is a deeper meaning to this, taking something which is perceived as mundane, and revealing its secrets which serve to uncover it’s beauty and complexity. In doing so we start to pay more attention to things around us which in turn makes us more present and aware of our surroundings. All this begins to bring us into nature and the outdoors and to appreciate the boring fluffy things in the sky.
Of course, cloudspotting can have real world benefits too. Clouds allow us to see the invisible. We take the air we breath for granted, it’s the one thing without which we would die immediately. Air drives global scale processes and is responsible for much of the environment we live in today. Yet it’s invisible to humans. We cannot see the air moving around us, flowing into our bodies and feeding the fires that keep us warm and fed. Clouds help reveal some of this invisibility by marking air as it moves across the sky.
We often think of clouds as moving across the sky, but of course the clouds are not moving themselves, it is the air within which they form that is moving. By observing how clouds move, when and where they form, and which form they take on we can learn a lot about the conditions around us. Clouds can offer clues as to which kind of weather events might be on their way. Cloudspotters who learn these signs can make use of that knowledge to better predict the conditions in the near future.
My final reason for paying more attention to clouds is more illustrative than beneficial. Clouds appear to be plain, maybe a bit boring, and definitely annoying when you are wanting to spend the day by the lake or observe the Aurora. But in paying more attention to clouds, we can move ourselves from accepting what is around us, to asking questions on what is around us. It serves as a reminder that the world is full of secrets and hidden obsessions just waiting to sink their hooks into you. I think there is nothing more refreshing, energising, and fundamentally rewarding as nerding out on topics which to the majority seem mundane.
Are you a cloudspotter yet?
I’ve bee cloudspotting for ages now. I’m placed 29 on the world leaderboard for spotting clouds (cloud appreciation society); yes there is a leaderboard. I find them fascinating, both from the ground and from the sky. But my question to you is are you a cloudspotter yet? Take a look outside, can you see any clouds? Do you know what clouds they are? Are you not even a tiny bit intrigued to know? Do some internetting, see if you can pin down a description for the cloud you’re looking at right now.
And if you can’t see any clouds for whatever reason, I’ve got one for you.
☁️