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It is amazing how much of 'it' is going on in the skies once you start noticing.

There was a thread this winter on solstices, with commenters expressing wonder at how could humans figure those out. If you notice sunrises/sunsets day after day over the years, it is inescapable. It's sad that we the modern humans spend so much time hunkered below opaque ceilings.

But I will say this, having interest in cloud-spotting and amateur astronomy is very very rewarding. Clouds stop being an impediment to you and grow into a phenomena worth appreciating on their own terms.

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Hear hear :)
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During my time in Antarctica we had a (Turbo Pascal, I think) program on the met computer that prompted for weather conditions and sent it off to the satellite terminal. The UI was not great, it was surprisingly easy to report sandstorms.
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Are you able to know and/or predict things about the weather by knowing the different clouds?

Like cumulonimbus = thunderstorm, stratus = maybe rain, sure. But what about the others?

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I wouldn't say conclusively, but certainly they're an indicator for things like what you mention. Nimbostratus are typically associated with rain, cumulonimbus for thunderstorms: both of these are indicators for the atmospheric conditions and thermal upwellings that will cause sudden precipitation and / or electrostatic discharge.

We also did air observations for pilots. If you saw certain types of cumulus near peaks, called lenticulars, pilots wouldn't go near them because they're caused by pretty dangerous winds dynamics.

It's all connected, which is why it gets so fascinating. Sadly, I never pursued meteorology beyond hobbyist, but I'd love to!

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Not offline for me
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