Clouds

Clouds are fascinating things. They float about our heads, tiny droplets of water vapour being carried on currents of air. White ones are fluffy and pretty – it’s the heavy, dark grey ones that you’ve got to watch out for!

What are Clouds?

They’re visible accumulations of water droplets or ice crystals high up in the atmosphere, formed when relatively moist air rises.

Water vapour is liquid water (H20) that’s evaporated into a gas and is around us all the time to varying degrees. Clouds form when there’s too much water vapour for the air to hold in gas form. The gas condenses into tiny water droplets high in the air which are small enough to stay suspended up there and we see as clouds. Air pressure is generally lower higher up in the sky so it allows the moist air to expand. When it gets too heavy the droplets come down as rain!

They’re classified and named according to where they are in the sky.

• High level usually begin with ‘cirr…’ for example cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus. Usually they’re thin and white to look at.
• Mid level clouds are the altocumulus, altostratus and nimbostratus types. Usually they’re made of water droplets but if it’s cold enough they can be made of ice.
• Low level – cumulus, stratocumulus, stratus – are composed of water droplets and include those pretty, fluffy white ones!

Types of Clouds

Have you ever sat with your head back and just watched the sky? It’s absorbing and calming, watching the changing shapes drifting overhead.

There are many different types of clouds – and many skies are made up of multiple types. Here on the Fylde Coast the big skies over the flat landscape and sea make ideal cloud watching territory. There’s a huge variety of forms to spot and many of them are a magnificent sight to see. We’ve shared just a few of them here.

Mackerel Sky

Obviously known as Mackerel Clouds because the undulating, rippling pattern resembles the scales on a fish. They’re usually made of high-level cirrocumulus and mid-level altocumulus clouds.

These clouds are generally formed from plates of cloud, masses or rolls, regularly arranged in a pattern of small elements. Altocumulus are a common type of mid-level cloud and multiple layers can often appear at the same time, and often with other types too. They’re caused by high altitude atmospheric waves.

Pretty during the bright daylight hours, they take on a whole new dimension with the golden shades of the setting sun.

But a mackerel sky is usually an indicator that the weather is about to chance. Cirrocumulus appears almost exclusively with cirrus some way ahead of a warm front and is a reliable forecaster that the weather is about to change. When these high clouds progressively invade the sky and the barometric pressure begins to fall, rain is likely about six to 12 hours away. 

There’s usually truth in the old rhymes and “Mackerel sky, not twenty-four hours dry” is one of them! “Mackerel sky, mackerel sky. Never long wet and never long dry” is another – and no doubt there are plenty more.

Nacreous Clouds

We bet you’ve never heard of these, which form beautiful shades of pearlescent sky.

On Monday 1 February 2016, the Fylde Coast was in the grip of Storm Henry. It was the eighth storm in what felt like as many weeks! The wind had been blowing all day, and it kept raining on and off. Pretty typical stormy stuff. But for a brief quarter of an hour or so at just gone 5pm the sky was just so beautiful. We’ve never seen anything like it.

First of all, a thick black cloud cleared to reveal strands of sunset with a bright pinky, pearly centre. Pastel colours tinged with pearlescent shimmers. It looked just like the Northern Lights, but apparently wasn’t.

Have a look at this video clip – it’s very wobbly because standing upright was a challenge. But you can see the gorgeous colours in the sky. Better a wobbly clip and to be able to see it than nothing at all! These rare clouds had also been seen on Friday morning on the east coast of Scotland, as reported on the Times website.

What are Nacreous Clouds?

Nacreous clouds form much higher than normal clouds. They form high in the stratosphere about 15 miles from ground, whereas normal clouds are usually about 6 miles up. And, they usually form in polar regions, in special atmospheric conditions during the cold of winter. When temperatures in the stratosphere drop below minus 78C (-108F).

Apparently, the stratosphere is also extremely dry, so clouds do not usually form there. But in the polar regions, often near mountains, just enough moisture can be lifted up from the lower atmosphere to penetrate the stratosphere. There it’s turned into tiny ice crystals. When the Sun is below the horizon at dawn or sunset, the clouds catch the sunlight and glow with multicoloured patterns. You have to hand it to the weather here on the Fylde Coast. It’s always providing us with a different view.

Other Clouds

We’ll come back to this article over time, and add other unusual cloud types and formations as they happen.

Meanwhile, here are some cloud photos to keep you going 🙂

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