Cool Clouds and Weather Observations

After Illusion‘s first storm experience a few weeks ago, I have been paying extra attention to the weather and the various cloud formations in the sky. I am constantly pointing out cumulous cloud formations to Brian (perhaps to the point of annoyance), including the occasional cumulonimbus, whose name I love to say. Part of this fascination with cumulous clouds can be traced back to my younger years and my father’s incredibly long explanations of weather patterns concerning aviation (he works in aeronautic safety). Although perhaps only half paying attention back then, I always remember that cumulous clouds hold moisture and are formed when hot air rises quickly. Cooling as it reaches higher atmospheric levels, the air condenses and begins to drop, full of water vapor. The air warms again in the lower atmosphere and rises to the top again, leaving the moisture at the bottom and creating a circular effect. When the air reaches a certain height (and cold temperature), the moisture will drop out of the cloud as rain. These clouds are fascinating to me because they grow vertically and can reach towering heights. I saw many of these formations over the coastline, when we sailed offshore from South Carolina.

When I first started reading about weather a few weeks ago, I flipped through a book on the boat that Brian had acquired a while back called Weather at Sea by David Houghton. Brian’s version (I am not sure which edition it was) was the British version, which was an earlier version and admittedly left us both wanting, but I did learn a few interesting facts. For example, I was pleased to discover that many of the old sailor sayings about weather are true. One night during our offshore-sailing adventure, Brian noticed a ring around the moon. There is an old saying that goes: “When halo rings the moon or sun, rain’s approaching on the run.” Upon further reading, we discovered that the ring around the moon can be seen when a thin layer of cirrus clouds forms across the sky. Cirrus clouds indicate that a low pressure system is on its way. When the low comes in contact with warmer air, it creates storms and brings colder temperatures. Similarly the saying: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight, red sky at morning, sailors take warning,” also holds some truth. It is based on an old shepherds’ observations concerning the sun’s angle to the clouds, the direction the light reflects off of them (to the east or to the west), and the visible spectrum of light (red).

I recently ordered two more books on this subject: Mariner’s Weather by William Crawford and the Weather Wizard’s Cloud Book: A Unique Way to Predict the Weather Accurately and Easily by Reading the Clouds by Louis D. Reuben, Sr. et al. The former is a more in depth look at weather, but with a focus on practical information for sailors, and the second book focuses on the study of clouds and what they can tell us about the weather. To ease some of our sailing worries (isn’t there already enough to worry about?), we also acquired a radar that we will install here in Virginia, generously donated to Illusion‘s great (mis)adventures by Brian’s family and a close family friend. After consulting the cruiser’s forum and asking other veteran sailors and cruisers their opinion on the matter, we determined that the radar would be more useful to us than satellite weather. I am eager to try it out because I’ve never used one before. We do, in fact, have a barometer (floating around the boat somewhere), which I plan to hang up and put to good use in the future. I hope that a better understanding of the weather will ease some of my fears and help me make more informed decisions in regards to travel plans, routes, and generally what to expect of the weather.

These are some cloud formations that I observed during our trip up the North Carolina ICW.