c/cloud-spotting-pics

eva243•10h ago

My brother convinced me mammatus clouds aren't actually storm predictors

He showed me a paper from NOAA that says they just form from sinking air, not necessarily tornadoes. Has anyone else had their cloud knowledge totally shattered by a random family member? I feel like a beginner again.

2 comments

river_adams25•20h ago

Used to just glance up and move on. Now I keep my phone pointed at the sky half the day.

Changed about two months ago. Was at the loading dock at work and saw this massive shelf cloud rolling in. Looked like someone cut the sky open. Grabbed a quick pic before a customer came in. Stared at it later on my break. Now I have like 300 cloud pics on my phone. Mostly cumulus and some weird lenticulars. Anyone else get hooked after one good photo?

2 comments

grant130•1d ago

Always thought lenticular clouds were just photoshopped internet pics

I spent like 3 years thinking those UFO-looking clouds people posted were fake edits from some hobbyist forum lol. Then I drove through eastern Colorado last summer and saw a stack of them hovering over Pikes Peak for a solid 45 minutes. Has anyone else been totally wrong about a cloud type until you caught it in person?

2 comments

evan_harris14•2d ago

Rant: My cloud timelapse camera battery died right when the supercells rolled through

Last Sunday I had my GoPro set up for a 3-hour timelapse of some promising storm clouds building over the ridge near my place in Ohio. I checked the battery at noon and it was at 80%, figured that was plenty (big mistake). By the time those beautiful mammatus clouds started forming around 3:30, the camera had already shut off. I scrambled to grab my phone but by then the best shelf cloud structure was gone. Anyone else ever miss a rare cloud formation because your gear failed?

2 comments

abbyl49•2d ago

My buddy said "just look up after it rains" and it actually works for finding lenticular clouds

I was complaining to my friend Mike that I never see those cool UFO looking lenticular clouds. He's been into weather stuff for years and told me to just check the sky an hour or two after a good rain passes, especially near mountains. I blew him off for like a month but finally tried it last Tuesday after a big storm came through near the mountains outside Denver. Sure enough, I saw three of them stacked up right over the peaks around 4pm, they looked exactly like smooth flying saucers. Has anyone else had luck with a weird specific time or condition that actually works for spotting rare cloud types?

2 comments

keith116•2d ago

Cirrus vs. Cumulonimbus debate - which cloud is more interesting to spot?

I saw this huge cirrus cloud last week near Denver on Tuesday. Looked like thin white streaks way up high. Beautiful but kinda plain. Then my buddy sent me a pic he took three years ago in Oklahoma. Massive cumulonimbus towering up like a mountain. Dark bottom, flat top. Looked like it could dump hail any second. I told him cirrus is cooler because it's delicate and rare to see clearly. He argued cumulonimbus wins because it's dramatic and shows weather changing right in front of you. Which cloud type do you all prefer to spot and why?

2 comments

the_brooke•4d ago

Chatted with a storm chaser at a gas station and he told me lenticular clouds are way more dangerous than I thought

He said those smooth lens-shaped ones over mountains can hide violent turbulence that'll rip a small plane apart, so now I'm rethinking all those times I just thought they looked cool, has anyone else had a casual conversation completely change how you see a certain cloud?

2 comments

emma_murray49•5d ago

Drove out to the desert near Joshua Tree last weekend and every single cloud looked the same

I went out there hoping to see some wild lenticulars or something interesting but it was just flat gray stratus from horizon to horizon for like 3 hours straight. Has anyone else had a spotting trip totally flop because the weather just refuses to cooperate?

2 comments

faithj10•24d ago

Found out that a single cumulonimbus cloud can weigh as much as 100 elephants

I was scrolling through some weather science blog my buddy linked me to, and it said a typical thunderstorm cloud holds around 500,000 tons of water. That blew my mind because I always thought clouds were just this light fluffy stuff floating around. Been roofing for years and I look up at clouds every day, never realized each one has that much mass behind it. Has anyone else stumbled on a cloud fact that totally wrecked how you see them?

2 comments

drew791•25d ago

Spent $45 on a cloud identification guide book and it's been a letdown

I bought the Peterson Field Guide to Clouds and Weather last month from a local bookstore. The photos are small and black and white, which makes it really hard to match up what I'm seeing outside. Anyone have a better recommendation for a cloud spotting reference that's actually useful for someone starting out?

2 comments

elliotw37•27d ago

Had to choose between watching a storm roll in or grabbing my camera...

I was out walking my dog around 2am last Tuesday after my shift and saw this massive shelf cloud coming in fast. I had to pick between running home to get my phone or just standing there and watching it with my own eyes. I chose to just watch it because sometimes you gotta soak it in, you know? The lightning was hitting every 10 seconds and the wind picked up so hard I almost lost my hat. Has anyone else ever skipped the photo just to enjoy the moment?

2 comments

aaron197•28d ago

Appreciation post: that $30 cloud filter app I almost skipped

Bought a cheap cloud spotting filter app for my phone camera for $30 after seeing a weird lenticular formation over the job site, and it actually pulled out details I couldn't see with my bare eyes. Anyone else found a cheap tool that made a difference in your pics?

2 comments

river_adams25•28d ago

Bummed about the clouds over Denver this summer

I swear the sky here went from big fluffy cumulus all through June to nothing but hazy flat gray for the last 3 weeks straight. Must be from all the wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada again. Anybody else noticing their local cloud patterns getting wrecked by smoke season?

2 comments

evan_anderson•29d ago

Picked a phone camera over a DSLR for cloud pics and it worked out

I was deciding between hauling my DSLR or just using my iPhone 14 for a storm chase last month. The phone caught a mammatus formation way better because I could adjust exposure fast without fiddling with lenses. Has anyone else ditched big gear for a phone shot that surprised you?

2 comments

dylanh81•1mo ago

Hit 500 cloud pics in my gallery today and got annoyed

I was scrolling through my phone trying to clear space and noticed I have exactly 503 cloud shots saved since last summer. Thats wild because I only meant to grab one or two for a weather project I started in June. Now I cant delete any because I keep seeing new shapes or colors I missed before. Anyone else end up with way more cloud pics than they planned on?

2 comments

beth_stone•1mo ago

Warning: I used to ONLY photograph dramatic storm clouds for years, now I'm obsessed with boring flat stratus layers instead

For like 8 years straight I ONLY pointed my camera up when there were big towering cumulonimbus or scary shelf clouds rolling in. I thought those were the ONLY clouds worth posting here because they had drama and shape. Then about 6 months ago I was sitting in my backyard in Cleveland on a completely gray overcast day, and I decided to take a shot of this endless flat gray ceiling just to see. Something clicked. Now I mostly look for subtle texture in those boring layers, like faint ripples or slight color shifts near sunset. The old me would have laughed at that. So which side wins for you guys, do you chase the big dramatic storms or do you find beauty in the plain flat days too? Has anyone else made this switch and regretted it or loved it?

2 comments

kim.dylan•1mo ago

Finally got why you should never chase a storm cell for photos

I spent 4 years chasing every big thunderhead I saw until last June when I parked right under a supercell near Omaha, Nebraska and got nothing but whiteout rain for 20 minutes. My buddy stayed 5 miles back and got the whole structure with clear shelf clouds. Anyone else learn the hard way that distance makes the cloud shot better?

2 comments

shane_perry29•1mo ago

Pro tip: Those fluffy white puffy clouds are not cumulus clouds

I keep seeing people post pictures of big flat-bottomed fluffy clouds calling them cumulus. But if they look like someone flattened the top into an anvil shape, that's a cumulonimbus. I noticed it in the cloud ID thread last month and it bugged me because my grandpa was a weather spotter for the county and he drilled that into my head. Can we start linking to a simple cloud chart so new folks know the difference?

2 comments

luna_sanchez•1mo ago

Friend said my lenticular cloud shots were too dark and boosted the shadows, now I feel like they look fake

They told me the clouds should pop more so I cranked the exposure in Lightroom but now the pics look overprocessed and I can't tell if I'm ruining the natural feel or making them better, anyone else struggle with this editing balance?

2 comments

evan_anderson•1mo ago

Hit 50 different cloud types this year and now I'm wondering if the counting actually matters

I started keeping track of all the cloud formations I spotted back in January. Made a little list in my phone with dates and locations. Hit 50 different types last week with a shelf cloud that rolled through. But now I'm asking myself if this counting thing is just a hobby or if it means something real. Does hitting a number like that make you a better spotter or is it just showing off to yourself? Some people say you should just enjoy the sky without the scorekeeping. Others say the numbers help you learn more. What do you all think?

2 comments

kim_brown•1mo ago

The lenticular cloud over Mount Rainier that made me rethink my whole setup

I was at Paradise last summer when that lens cloud sat perfectly still for 45 minutes, and my phone camera just couldn't capture the layers right. Has anyone else found a decent budget camera that handles those stacked altocumulus lenticularis formations without breaking the bank?

2 comments

luna_sanchez•1mo ago

Got skunked on a great cloud photo because of my old phone camera

Last Tuesday I saw this amazing lenticular cloud forming over Mount Hood around 4 PM. It looked like a perfect flying saucer with these layers of pink from the sunset. I pulled over to grab a shot but my phone camera just couldn't handle the contrast. The cloud was crisp and defined in real life but the picture came out as a blurry white blob against a washed out sky. I stood there for maybe 10 minutes trying different settings but nothing worked. Has anyone else had a great cloud spotting moment ruined by bad camera gear?

2 comments

lily89•1mo ago

Is it just me or do lenticular clouds always ruin a perfectly good sky photo?

I was out near Mount Rainier last Tuesday trying to get a clean shot of some altocumulus, and then this massive lenticular cloud sat right on the mountain for 3 hours and blocked everything. It looked cool on its own but totally wrecked my composition. Do you guys try to crop them out or just lean into the UFO look?

2 comments

aaron197•1mo ago

Picked watching from my backyard over driving to the dark sky park last weekend

I had to choose between seeing the lenticular clouds over Mount Rainier from my yard or driving 45 minutes to the official dark sky park near Enumclaw. I stayed put and got a killer view around 7 PM when the sun hit them just right. The colors turned orange and pink for about 20 minutes straight. Anybody else pick a spot close to home and get surprised by how good it looked?

2 comments

the_abby•1mo ago

The sky over my town looked totally different after the new wind farm went up

I've been taking pictures of the clouds from my back porch for about three years now. Last spring, they finished building that big wind farm about 15 miles west of here. Ever since, I've noticed the clouds look... flatter. I used to get these amazing, puffy cumulus formations rolling in from the west almost every afternoon. Now, a lot of days, they just seem to spread out into a thin, hazy layer before they even get here. I know people say wind turbines don't affect the weather, but I have a whole folder of 'before' photos and my 'after' shots from this summer tell a different story. I think all those spinning blades are messing with the air flow enough to change how the clouds form. Has anyone else near a big wind project seen a change in their local cloud patterns?

2 comments