Cloud watching trick I swear by near the airport

For months I couldn't tell which clouds were rain clouds vs just dark ones. Then a pilot buddy at a BBQ in Phoenix told me to look for flat bottoms. Apparently cumulonimbus clouds have that flat base called a shelf cloud. Tried it last week during monsoon season and I nailed 4 storms before they hit. Anyone else have a simple cloud trick like this that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_adams3d ago

Man I used to think flat bottoms were just some old weather myth people threw around to sound smart. I'd look at clouds and guess wrong like half the time, especially during monsoon season where everything looks dark and mean. But then last summer I saw this massive shelf cloud roll in over the I-10 and it had that PERFECT flat bottom like someone took a knife to it. Ten minutes later the rain was dumping so hard I had to pull over. Now I actually check for that before I bother grabbing an umbrella.

ryan_coleman213d ago

Flat bottoms help but mostly for big storms. Small dark ones just mean dust or altitude.