The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-07-28
CT I'D B.A 70 lie z ERs.
HOW TO sFoRETELL lew ATEi g
BYfLooKiNG OVERHEAD.


gYfLooKiNG OVERHEAD. s.s3 Y " "
cirrus Is the Highest of All Clouds,
1 and curnuIus Is Much the Biggest
of Any Form, of, CIoud-The Wettest
cloud of All Is NiInbus.
"It is clouding 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
| True, all clouds are composed Of water
vapor, but it is absurd to imagine that
because clouds become visible in 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
| rus, for instance, or curl cloud, as 1T is
often picturesquely called, is. as a rule
a fine weather harbinger. Cirrus Is
| the highest of all clouds. You can tell
that by the fact that its thin, twisty,
fibrous 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 n long continuance OF
settled weather. On the other hand,
II after SeVeral uue d1iS Gil 10 stp.'etiio
in long parallel bands stretching right
across the sky in the form popularity
known as mares tails there will al
most certainly be change Of wind
and probably rain to follow.
Unlike other clouds, cirrus is COM
posed not Of water vapor. but of tiny
CRYSTALS of ice. You can tell by its
motion what the pace and direction
Of the highest current of wind. Quiet
" rs it appears to be moving, careful
observation has proved that cirrus
sometimes travels at the rate of mile
in eighteen seconds.
Another form of cloud which is
usually an accompaniment of fine,
warm weather are those cottonlike.
whitisll balls which are scientifically
termed cumulus.
Early in the morning of Il fine sum
ner day cumulus begins to form as 4
few soft, scattered sDecks in the blue
above. These specks grow and enlarge
without. as Il rule. travelling very fast.
for they arc formed by vapor ascend
ing from the earth in columns. BY
early afternoon they often cover the
whole sky, but toward 4 or O'Clock
they usually decrease and finally van
ish by sunset. If they behave in this
way you may be almost certain that
the ensuing twenty-four hours will be
fine
On the other hand. il the cu!nuius
clouds increase toward sunset. turn
black in their centers and shine at tie
edges with an angry light. rain will
follow. or, in very hot weather. thunder.
Thunder IS specially foretold By the
cunnuI;is clouds showing rounded.
sharply n:.asei tops with silvery white
T-7S r7-hf f.l1 t,1rro
dark with black. shaggy edges. means
cold rain accom- panied by wind.
Cumulus is much the biggest of any
form OF cloud. y single cloud of this
description will measure six or even
seven miles from its fat. dark base &c
its rounded, :yiiS1ening sCnnit-tEGit is
to say. its hi!.k and height far c::cocd
those CT. earths greatest mountains.
The temperature in such Il cloud as
this has been measured to vary over
lJ0 GcGrees-that is. from 50 degrees
Fahrenheit at the base TO 10 degrees
below zero at its summit
Stratus%is still another form Of cloud
which presents no special i1di of
rain. 1t is more common at night tl:cA
in the day and consists of long. ho-i
zontal bands of dar,lisll cloud. which
lie very low and near the earth's sur
face 1t rises on calm. Clear evenings
after warm days and may often be
seen in mountainous districts slowly
creeping ", the h1lsides. If tie sun
rises through layers of stratus it IS
usually sign OF q fine, warm Cay &c
come. After sunrise, stratus. rs & rule.
rises higher into the air and slowly dis
appears
In early summer, when the weather Is
showery. you may perhaps notice.
through breaks in the rain clouds. an
appearance Of dense white clouiets
in small, irregular tufts brightly irr,;.:i-
ated by sunshine. The children call it
nackerel sky. It's real name is GIRO
cumuluS. and it is 4 sure sign of heat
and probably fine weather. Seen in
winter, macherel Sky portends a thaw
and wet. mild weather. II is the next
highest cloud to the cirrus and is so:n,-
times called sender cloud
\ sure prophet of wind and rain is
GIRO stratus or vane cloud. 1t consists |
of long, thin clouds with torn edges |
flying at q great height above the earth |
1t is dull in color and irregular In |
shape.
The wetteSt cloud of all is nimbus, |
which Is seen in it's most perfect form
during t!1nlarstOrn> - "a 81 "niT.;S--
of other Clouds a dense black or gray
sheet which often appears to come ,1rI