I hope you have enjoyed being outdoors and observing the sky.
Did you SEE, THINK and WONDER?
I was left wondering what some of the clouds shapes were called.
Some people choose to observe the sky as a job, they are called Meteorologists.
Mrs Still ,as well as being one of our wonderful PSAs, is a Meteorologist Observer.
She has kindly written this guide to the clouds for us, isn’t that fantastic!
I have had a go at writing a sky journal.
I’m not finished, now that I have Mrs Still’s book I am going to have a go at writing about different cloud formations, I will share on Friday.
Mrs Still I loved your information today. I reminded me of studies I did at school and I’d forgotten how interesting I find cloud names and facts . I do love looking at the sky so will be doing that more this week. Thank you.
Thank you Mrs Fraser. It is a wonderful job to do as the weather is always changing and you get to be outside some of the time. I love looking at the clouds. Did you know there are at least 100 different types of weather too.
Wow- I did not know that. I bet we get a lot of them in one day here in the wonderful land of Scotland 🙂
Thank you for sharing this Mrs Still
I have never really thought about cloud formation before, except how pretty and calming they can be.
I certainly didn’t know all the different names and levels, I will try and remember them the next time I look outside.
Thank you Mrs Webster. I know the names are long and tricky but as far as I know they are the only names we have for the clouds. Did you know that they are from the language of the Romans from 2000 years ago! It is called Latin.
Wow I really enjoyed that Mrs Still. This morning we can see stratus clouds and some cumulus clouds.
That’s brilliant Dee. I am so pleased you can now spot the clouds. I can see some of those too. Can you see the bright higher layer cloud above it?
We called Grandad because he used to have to check the skies when he was flying aeroplanes. We learned that clouds can be stratiform, meaning it is kind of like a stratus cloud but has some different features to it. Some clouds, if you fly through them, you will have ice on your aeroplane. Cumulonimbus clouds can be dangerous for aeroplanes.
Henry and Dee
Thank you for sharing this Henry and Dee. I am fascinated to learn this.
Your Grandad is quite right, Henry and Dee. Stratiform is a way to describe that the clouds are in a layer and is usually when the weather is not good like rainy or drizzly. Cumulonimbus clouds are sometimes dangerous for planes and pilots often try to fly round the rather than through them.
Mrs Still, I have a question for you. What is the correct Latin name for a funnel cloud? I saw two of these a few years ago and thought they looked like tornadoes, however I believe it is only classed as a tornado if it actually touches the ground. Is that correct?
Ah Ms Rees! This is where it gets a bit tricky. A funnel cloud really is a way to describe what a part of the large cumulonimbus is doing. A small part at the bottom of the cloud swirls around and makes a mini-tornado in a funnel shape. So that is why it is called a funnel cloud.
Thank you, Mrs Still, that’s very interesting!
Mrs Still I am fascinated by this, I will never look at the clouds in the same way again. Right now I think I am looking at a Stratocolumbus because they are covering all the sky and I can’t see the sun, maybe it will rain later on. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Very good Miss Maturana. You are correct. The cloud is thicker and greyer to the North at the moment and that is where it will probably be raining.