So, what is/are your fav. cloud genera, species, etc.?

[CAS News]

Being fond of clouds at an early age I, like most young boys, thought Cumulonimbus was the coolest (pun sort of intended).

These monstrosities remain my favourite years later. They’re so formidible and come in many cool forms. The accessory clouds associated with Cumulonimbus clouds are immense, not to mention the lightning ( <3 ) and tornadoes. Plus their shape – especially Cumulonimbus capitallus – looks insane. This cloud really is a beast. It’s an added bonus when one can spot a pileus formation briefly lurking above a Cumulonimbus or Cumulus congestus cloud, though, that’s for sure!

I also love Altostratus. I find it funny how Gavin perceives it to be the most boring of all cloud types. I love them – especially when they feature mammatus. :) They have a nice dark mood to them, too, even though they are benign.

Cirrocumulus is another mega one… Haven’t seen any in a while, unfortunately, though last year I did manage to take a nice photograph of irridescence being refracted off of a Cirrocumulus cloud, which was awesome.

I really do love clouds. <3

[CAS News]

This is one of many pictures I had taken of the aformentioned iridescence in the Cirrocumulus cloud, :)

[Michael Lerch]

I live in the desert,,where they like to boast 285+ days a year of sunshine. On average we can go 2 weeks without seeing cloud..any kind of cloud..Talk about blue sky thinking! So…any cloud is my favorite cloud. Any cloud will get my attention.

Weather systems tend to hurry along here in the desert. Think of systems rolling in from the Pacific as a huge whip and what makes it over the Sierra Nevada is already drained of most of its moisture and is at the end of the whip ..so it ” snaps” over the Upper Sonoran Desert here.Weather systems can arrive and leave within a 4 hr period. So I see the high cirrus,to alto to cumulus and back again in less than a day. Theres no time for favorites,,I have to pay attention to them all, especially if there is photographic opportunities manifesting themselves.

I’ve learned to read the clouds in order to anticipate and thus be prepared for an cloud event. Speed, elevation tells me if Im even going to have a chance. I use satellite images to gauge duration. There is something about large perlucidus being heralds for Asperitas… Undulatus orientated in different direction at the same time suggest some wild coming my way. The easiest read is contrails. If they even exist for more than a smidge means theres moisture in the atmosphere way up there, which is a good start.

Favorite cloud? Yes, they are.

[Howard Brown]

Daniel, I voted for cumulus recently, so had better stick with that. Here in the UK I would say they are by far the most common, but perhaps for that very reason they tend to be overlooked. However their variety is endless, size, shape, shine, shadow and tone etc. across all three levels.

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