Stratus clouds are dull, flat, heavy horizontal clouds that lay low in the sky. They are commonly gray but can be white. Stratus clouds often bring a drizzle or they can bring snow. The altitude of stratus clouds indicate how fast a storm is approaching. Low stratus clouds usually mean rain will begin soon. Stratus…
Weather
Cirrus Clouds—Fair Weather, Perhaps a Storm Approaching
Cirrus clouds generally occur in fair weather, but they can also hearld the leading edge of a far-away storm or may mark the edge of a storm passing to the north. Cirrus clouds are transparent wispy curls or filaments of cloud floating high in the sky. They commonly point in the direction of the air…
Cumulus Clouds–Fair Weather to Rain
Cumulus clouds commonly indicate fair weather. Cumulus clouds are often seen on bright summer days. Cumulus clouds are flat at the bottom and billowy above. They are formed by a mass of unstable air, usually air warmed at the ground that is rising. As the warm air rises from the earth—often the air is rising…
Clouds and Predicting the Weather
Clouds often indicate weather changes. The source of clouds is water that evaporates into the air. The water can come from oceans, lakes, and rivers. Plants also give off water vapor. Clouds form when water vapor cools and condenses. Condensed water droplets ride air currents as clouds. Water droplets riding air currents may (1) simply…
Weather and When to Plant
Vegetable garden planting is simply based on the premise that cool weather crops need cool weather to mature and warm weather crops need warm weather. Most vegetable gardeners need a year or two of trial and error plantings and attentive record keeping to know when is the best time to plant in their garden. To…
Predicting Frost in the Garden
Frost in the garden happens when the surfaces of plant leaves or fruit—or other solid objects in the garden—are colder than freezing and moisture in the air condenses on the surfaces to form ice crystals. A light frost or white frost happens when the air temperature drops to around 32°F. If you know frost is…
