Weatherwatch: the man who classified the clouds

Before Luke Howard's cloud naming scheme, clouds were thought to be too changeable to be classifiedDo you know a cirrus cloud when you see one? Can you differentiate your cumulus from your stratus, and are you up to speed on what a nimbostratus looks like?The names we use to classify clouds were developed in 1802 by a man called Luke Howard. Prior to Howard's cloud classification scheme, clouds were thought to be too changeable to be classified, and they tended to be described according to their colour or shape, with names often reflecting the way that farmers or sailors viewed them. Some of those descriptors, such as woolly clouds and mackerel skies, have become embedded in common language. Continue reading...