In a previous article, we explored the different types of clouds we can find in our sky. Meteorology is a science that has been studied for centuries. Therefore, today we travel back in time to learn about the scientist who first named clouds: Luke Howard. A Londoner by birth, a pharmacist by profession, and a meteorologist by vocation, he was the man who became obsessed with clouds from childhood.
Here you can learn about the entire biography of Luke Howard and how he came to name the clouds and identify them. Do you want to know more about the history of meteorology and clouds?
Luke Howard story
From childhood, Luke spent many hours a day at school gazing out the window at the clouds. His passion was the sky and meteorology. He was born in 1772 and, like almost everyone at that time, didn't understand how clouds formed. That clouds float in the sky has always been a mystery worthy of being solved by humanity. Spongy objects that grow and turn gray until it rains. Many people were interested in clouds, but no one like Luke Howard.
And it is that since childhood he enjoyed observing their movements and decided that the clouds should have a name depending on their shape. He himself accepted that he did not pay much attention in class. However, luckily for the future of meteorology, this man learned quite a bit of Latin.
Compared to other sciences, meteorology has developed later. This is because the knowledge and technology required to assess and track weather and climate is more complex. It was later when meteorology emerged as a science and thanks to it we have a lot of knowledge about the dynamics of the planet.
No one can simply pick up a piece of cloud and analyze it in a laboratory or take samples of rainbows. Therefore, understanding clouds required a different approach, one that Luke Howard brought to this field.
Basic types of clouds in the sky
His vision of the clouds developed after years of continuous observation of the sky focused in several ways. Although clouds could take many forms on an individual level, in the end they corresponded to a pattern. It can be said that they belong to a base of figures that clouds have in common.
All of the clouds present belonged to the three main families that Luke Howard identified.
The first is the cirrus cloud. Cirrus, from the Latin word meaning fiber or hair, refers to high-altitude clouds formed by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Its shape corresponds to its name. For more information about these clouds, you can visit our article on cirrus clouds.
On the other hand, we find cumulus clouds. In Latin, it means heap or pile and refers to their shape.
Finally, there was the stratus family. It meant layer or sheet, which you can learn more about in our article on stratus.
For Howard the clouds were constantly changing. Not only in shape but also they went down and up in height, they merged with each other and spread through the atmosphere. Clouds are constantly moving and it is very rare that they have the same shape and height for many minutes at a time.
Any type of cloud classification had to take this into account. Therefore, to delve into the three cloud families, intermediate and compound types were added. This was done to include the normal transitions between one family and another and to have more precision in the weather forecast.
Cloud types identified by Luke Howard
Howard identified seven types of clouds, including the cumulonimbus, also known as the powerful storm cloud. This is the origin of the expression "to be on cloud nine." A high cirrus cloud that descends and spreads out is called a cirrostratus. This means it has characteristics of both cumulonimbus and cirrus clouds and is a transition between them. Furthermore, the formation of this cloud can provide information about the meteorological conditions that led to its formation.
On the other hand, we also find a group of cumulus clouds that merge and spread together. He called this type of cloud stratocumulus. This cloud occurs under different atmospheric conditions and can provide information about meteorological variables simply by observing it. If you're interested in learning more about altocumulus clouds, feel free to visit our article on altocumulus.
Howard's ranking had an immediate international impact. Once the clouds were named and classified, understanding the clouds became easier and clearer. In addition, many other atmospheric processes could be perceived thanks to the types of clouds.
For Luke Howard, clouds describe a perfect diary in the sky, allowing us to understand the patterns of atmospheric circulation. Cloud types are still used today for weather forecasting.
Since then nephology arose. It is the science that studies clouds and is still a great hobby for those who are sky watchers.
The clouds today
Since technology and science have advanced, we look more at the smartphone application to know the weather than at the sky. Now we forget that our sky can give us a lot of information about whether we have to take the umbrella or the sunglasses.
However, our grandparents didn't know that cloud shapes had any predictive value. They did, however, use their own terminology, different from Latin. You've probably heard the saying, "A sky of wool. If it doesn't rain today, it will rain tomorrow ." This saying refers to the sky formed by cirrocumulus clouds. These clouds resemble sheep's wool and indicate that the weather will change within about twelve hours. Therefore, it's said that if it doesn't rain on the day these clouds appear, it will take another day for it to rain.
We must not forget that the atmospheric dynamics is constantly changing and that the weather forecast from clouds is not always reliable.
