The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-12-27
CLOUD BAL OlIETERs.
HOW TO FoREIEtlsTHE WEATHER
BY LOOKING OVERHEAD.
Cirrus Is rhe Highest OF AN Clouds.
md cumuIns LIS MUCK the BiSEess
of Any Form OF c1oud-T,,< wettest
Cloud of All Ia Sf1nbus.


Cloud OF An Ia Si,nbus.
cit is cIoudinS up. 1t must be going
to rain This is q remark you may
hear constantly. and few people seem
to realize that The one thing IS by no
means consequence Of the other
Trpe. all clouds are composed of water
xapor. but it is ab.urd 10 imagine that
because clouds become visible II the
sky they are therefore going to dis
charge their contents upon our heads.
On the contrary. some clouds are
actually prophets OF fine weather. Cir
EEs. for Instance, or curl cloud as 1t Il
often p!ctureSquely called, is as rule.
. fine weather harbinSer. Cirrus Is
the highest of all clouds. You can tell
that by the fact that its thin twisty,
Ebrous streaks are Illuminated by the
Last rays OF the setting sun long after
the earth below is wrapped in shadow.
Threads and groups OF cirrus clouds.
the finer the better. appearing after
gale. preSaGe 4 Ion. continuance OF
settled weather. On the other hand,
II after several fine days cirrcS appears
IN long parallel bands stretching right
across the sky in the form popularity
known as mares tails there VIII al
rlost certainly be 4 change OF wind
and probably rain TO follow
Unlike other clouds. cirrus is com
posed not CT water vapor. but OF thy
CRYSTALS of ice You can tell by its
motion what the pace and direction
of the highest current OF wind Quiet
y. as it appears to lie moving carefu!
observation has proved that cirrus
sometimes travels at the rate OF nile
IL eighteen seconds.
Another form OF cloud which is
usually IN accompaniment OF fine.
warm weather are those cottoIiike.
Iyhitish balls which GTe scientifically
termed cumulI:S.
Early IN tie morning % a fae sum
rner day cuInaluS begins to form as =
Jew soft. scattered SpecIzS IN the blue
above. These Specks Srow=lnd enlarge
without. IS :, rule. travelling very fast
for they are formed by vapor ascend
ing from the earth in columns By
early afternoon they often cover The
whole Sky. but toward or O'Clock
they usually decrease and Gr@Iiy vaD,
fish by sunset II they behave in this
way you may be almost certain that
the ensuing twenty-four hours viii be
6ne-
On the other hand, II tie cc-n1.I>
clouds Increase toward sunset. turn
black in their centers and shine ct the
edges with an angry light rain viii
follow or. In very hot weather. thunder
Thunder is specially {oretold by tie
cumuIrs clouds showing rounded.
sharply r.:eked tops with silvery white
edges. Cu.nulus. which turns very
cold rain accompanied by wind
Cunulus IS much the biggest OF any
form OF cloud y single cloEd of this
description VIII measure six or even
seven miles from its flat. dark base TO
its rounded. ;<liSteninS Suu1ulit-that is
to say. its bulk and height far exceed
those Of carth's greatest mountains
The temperature in such 4 cloud us
this has been measured to vary over
80 dc=rees-that is. from so degrees
Fahrenheit at the base to > degrees
below zero at its summit.
Stratus is still another form OF cloud
which presents no special indication OF
rain. 1t IS more common ut night thar
in the day and consists Of long. horI
Zontal bands OF darkish cloud. whict
lie very low and near the e:,rth's sur
face. 1t rises on calm. clear evenings
after warm days and may often be
seen in mountainous districts slowly
creeping Up the hillsides- II the SUE
rises through layers of stratus 1t is
usually Il sign of fine. warm day &C
come. After sunrise, stratus as q rule
rises higher into the air and slowly dis
appears.
In early summer. when the weather i
showery. You may perhaps notice.
through breaks in the rain clouds. aU
appearance of dense white cloudlets
IN small. irregular tufts brightly irraGl.-
ated by sunshine. The children call II
mackcrcl sky. Its real name is GIRO
cumuluS. and Il IS sure sign of heat
and probably fine weather Seen IN
winter. mackerel Sky portcndS i thaw
and Wet. mild weather. II is the next
highest cloud TO the cirrus and Is som"
times called sender cloud.
y sure prophet OF wind and rain ls
GIRO stratus or vaue cloud 1t consists
of long. thin clouds with torn edges
dying at great height above the earth.
It IS dull In color and irregular IN
shape.
The wettcSr cloud Of all Is nimbus.
which Is seen In its most perfect form
during t!"DIIerstorpI =. "a ~ "IIrtp--
of other clouds. 4 dense black or gray
sheet which often appears TO come up
against the wind. Usually when il first
appears driving up over the horizon.
its edges arc fringed and tipped with
rolling masses of cumuluS. The most