Old Weather Forum

Detailed descriptions of the cloud types:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 4_0097.JPG
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 4_0098.JPG


Mentions of cloud types in Directions for keeping the ship's log:

• US Navy
  • 1882
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 94_004.jpg
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 94_005.jpg
  • 1908
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 5_0002.jpg
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 5_0003.jpg
  • 1943
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 9-0003.jpg
  • 1947
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 3-0005.JPG
• US Revenue Cutter Service / US Coast Guard
  • 1921
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 1-0004.JPG
  • 1950
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorag ... 3_0004.JPG

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Unless otherwise specified, cloud types should be transcribed as they appear in the log.
Admittedly, this is often easier said than done!
If the cloud type is illegible, feel free to make your best guess or use a tilde (~) to indicate the letter(s) you cannot read.
Don't be shy about asking for help with reading the cloud type in the forum.
Your ship's discussion topic is generally the best place to post these questions.

External resources

• Illustrative Cloud Forms For The Guidance Of Observers In The Classification Of Clouds (US Navy, 1897)
• International Cloud Atlas (World Meteorolgical Organization) with Video introduction
• Cloud spotting guide (British Met Office)
• Sky Watchers Guide To Cloud Identification (Environment and Climate Change Canada)
• Cloud Types: common cloud classifications (U of Illinois)
• Images and descriptions of clouds (weatherscapes.com)
• List of cloud types (Wikipedia)
• A history of cloud codes and symbols (Weather, Royal Meteorological Society) (PDF)
• The Cloud Appreciation Society
• Viral video of 'tube-like' cloud
• UFO-like cloud hangs over Niagara

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Please post questions and suggestions for additions or changes in Weather, sea, and ice (past, present, or future -- on Earth or elsewhere): discussion.