Nimbostratus is a deep cloud. Its base can be low enough to scrape the treetops, while its top is up with the mid-level clouds. Its Latin name translates roughly as ‘rainy cloud that’s really spread out’. Sounds about right. It’s never likely to win any beauty contests. Nimbostratus stretches from horizon to horizon without break. It’s the cloud that has no beginning and no end, and it is, by definition, a precipitation cloud – one that rains and rains or snows and snows. This cloud doesn’t mess about forming pretty patterns or interesting shapes. Nimbostratus just does what it does: water the land more thoroughly than any other.