Learning to read the wind and the clouds

Even meteorologists look at the sky in the morning, for the shape of the clouds and the direction of the wind can help to forecast the weather.

The sun is the biggest influence on our weather. Under the heat of its rays the water in the earth evaporates and is absorbed into the atmosphere by way of warm air currents. This water vapor slowly cools and becomes visible in the shape of clouds. This process becomes very simple to understand in winter, when you can actually see your breath as it cools instantly.

The minute droplets of water which constitute a cloud are too small to fall in the form of rain. Rain is produced only when solid particles form inside the cloud — this generally happens when the top of the cloud freezes in the cold air.

The shape, color and height of the clouds can tell us quite a lot about the weather for the next few hours or even longer.

Our photographs show some common cloud formations which you can learn to recognize and from which you can make your own rough and ready weather forecasts.

If you are interested in clouds and how they affect the weather, you may like to get two excellent wall charts produced by BP Educational Service. Illustrated in full color, one is on The Formation and Types of Clouds and the other on the Associations of Clouds and Weather. For further details contact BP Educational Service, PO Box 5 Wetherby, West Yorks LS23 6YY.

Quite apart from what they tell us about the weather, clouds are fascinating to watch. Lie on the grass on a warm day and watch the white masses above you moving and constantly changing formation. With a little imagination it's possible to distinguish shapes in the clouds; animals, human faces, turrets come and go and merge into each other and suddenly the expression "castles in the air" takes on a new meaning.