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I used to think all clouds were just white fluff until a trip to Arizona last month

I was driving near Sedona and saw these crazy, long, skinny clouds that looked like someone drew lines across the whole sky. I pulled over and looked them up, and they were called 'cirrus fibratus' clouds. I had no idea clouds had such specific names and shapes! For my whole life, I just called them 'streaky clouds' and never thought more about it. Now I'm trying to learn the different types, and it makes looking up way more fun. Has anyone else had a moment where they learned a cloud type that totally surprised them?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_west3mo ago

That moment when you realize clouds have a whole secret language, right?

the_reese3d ago

Three different cultures I've read about all had names for the same cloud that predicted a storm coming. It's just recognizing patterns, not some secret language that was lost. People still know what a dark sky means, we just don't need to call it a "mackerel sky" to get the point.

bethjackson3mo ago

Remember how sailors used to read the sky like a map before they had GPS. Makes you wonder what other everyday things we've forgotten how to understand.