Clouds in Motion: But where is the rain?
Clouds near my cabin in the Ozarks
With the nation-wide drought continuing this summer, can we not keep watching the clouds?
This was prepared for the SquidWoot (on Squidoo.com) challenge of "Motion" but the subject of drought, clouds and rain can be dead serious. We are hurting where I live, but we are far, far from being the most hard hit. Are you suffering from this long heat wave and drought? I'll try to provide some useful and interesting information for you to consider in this lens.
I am updating this at the end of February 2013, and we've had several good rains and a bit of snow! It has been about right, for us, but we could still use more rain. We keep hoping. ;-)
I took the Intro photo myself, earlier today.
Do you have a Weather Station? Get one, today, here
Are you watching the clouds for rain? - Has it helped?
Are you watching the clouds for rain?
Cumulonimbus clouds in Oklahoma - is this what you are looking for to break the heat?
Some rain and storm cloud links of interest
The photo above came from the first link below; courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The other links provide further information on storm clouds you might find useful and of interest.
- Nimbus Cloud information
The Numbus cloud is the one you often see before a rain fall. - Storm clouds
Some storm clouds can be very dangerous. It is useful to be able to recognize different clouds.
Photo of the effects of severe drought
Severe Drought
I hope your place doesn't look like this photo - this is extreme drought. Drought is defined as an extended period with weeks, months or years with much less than normal rainfall. Here in nearby Spingfield, MO, the weatherman recently mentioned we are 10 inches behind normal rainfall so far this year. This is serious, but certainly not extreme.
In our little housing area, we are under a 'water usage' alert - restrictions are placed on how much water we can use and when... we don't want the well to run dry. That is for sure! ;-) Are you facing shortages?
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought; photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I enjoy watching the clouds in the sky
Weather forecasting - can they really predict when rain will come?
I have the utmost respect for our current weather forecasters. With the current equipment including satellite imagery, they do an amazing job. I got to take a forecasting class as part of my Air Science (AFROTC) program at Iowa State University, many years ago. Ever since, I have been fascinated by the whole process, and enjoy watching what they do.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_forecasting; Photo image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The marestail clouds show moisture at high altitude signalling the later arrival of wet weather. Needless to say, we haven't seem many of these, lately.
