A cloud is not just a thing. A cloud is what comes out of a process of conditions and forces. Clouds and other natural phenomena are not static entities. They are dynamic systems of relationships that we see as patterns. We can see patterns in nature.
Nature is layers of patterns interwoven with each other, forming systems.
Each individual element is really the state of a system or relationships between systems at any given point in time. The way we perceive patterns defines what we see. Nature captures our attention because we can see its unfolding patterns. We can see, and even describe, these patterns of relationships in nature. But there is a limit to our ability to predict the outcome of the forces that cause them.