Take a little time to watch the sky this spring and summer. You’ll see huge, towering white clouds that look like giant ice cream cones, and you’ll see thin lines of rippling clouds, like the waves in the ocean. Why are there different shapes? Do they mean it’s going to rain? You’re about to find out…
In this activity, kids learn they can predict the weather just by observing the clouds and wind direction, like farmers and outdoorsmen have done for centuries.
1. Get comfortable outside and pick a cloud to observe. Look at the shape. Is the cloud flat or puffy? Flat clouds are called Stratus; puffy clouds
are called Cumulus.
2. Observe the height of the clouds. High – Cirrus clouds are high, thin, wispy clouds. Middle – Alto clouds; they will be either Stratus or Cumulus in shape. Low – Stratus clouds are the ones closest to the ground and are usually flat and hazy.
3. Using your observations, add the word for how high the cloud is, to the word for its shape. Now you have the scientific name! An example: Cirrus
+ Stratus = Cirrostratus. (See our activity TIPS for more details.)
4. Mount the Mini Weather Station as instructed. Note the direction the wind is coming from.
5. Use the Cloud Chart to compare your cloud type and wind direction findings. The cloud results will tell you if it’s going to rain or not!
SHAPE | ||
HEIGHT | Stratus = Flat | Cumulus = Fluffy |
High = Cirrus | Cirrrostratus | Cirrocumulus |
Medium = Alto | Altostratus | Altocumulus |
Low = Stratus | Stratus | Stratocumulus |
Download the activity sheet for a formatted and ready-to-print version of this page.