SP w4 Cloud atlas

HildeMaassen
Oct 17, 2019
2 min read

Updated: Aug 15, 2020

The world of the weather and clouds still has secrets and new weather phenomenon are still discovered. With the rise of modern meteorology, there was also a desire to identify cloud types. The first meteorologists tried to understand cloud deformation because they believed that weather forecasts could become more accurate the more people knew about cloud formation, A clear, understandable classification was needed for this purpose.

1802 the Brit Luke Howard presented the first classification system for clouds. He was inspired by Carolus Linnaeus ’classification of the animal kingdom. Based on their shape,

Howard distinguished three main species and four subspecies, including the cirrocumulus (sheep cloud) and cumulus (staple cloud). All kinds of clouds he gave Latin names. His classification had three types of clouds: curly clouds (Cirrus), accumulated clouds (Cumulus) and scattered clouds (Stratus). A combination of these properties could then form new types of cloud. The Cirro-Cumulus, for example, consisted of loose and thin clouds that are visible together.

In 1890 the first cloud atlas with 26 colored plates was published by Hildebrandsson.

Today, the Hildebrandsson system is considered the world standard. However, small adjustments have been made over time. For example, a number of names have been changed. In the case of a special discovery, a new cloud type is added.

It is intriguing to see what the symbols are because that is how the clouds become visual

Today, weather experts use ten main species, depending on how and at what height the cloud originated. By adding Latin words, meteorologists can make a further distinction: praecipitatio for rain, undulatus for undulating.

The newest Cloud atlas is an online version since 2017 (see intro video)

This infographic shows the name based on the height of the clouds. I don't think I have the feeling to go all the way. I did learn that the low clouds are better for climate changes, while the high clouds make the process worse.

Homogenitus

The modern cloud atlas also proposes some new “special clouds,” such as Homogenitus this are the man-made clouds that we saw some of in the images of Henk Wildschut at Unseen. Its common names include Contrails (from aircraft).