Cloud gazing: Turn the sky into your next story
- 6 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Have you ever found yourself feeling curious about clouds? Looking up to the sky can open up a world of imagination where different shapes and hues form pictures and stories that play out in your mind.
It can be fun to get lost in the wonder of the clouds in the sky. And best of all, it is very easy to get started. All you have to do is get outside and look up!
Tell a story!
The clouds can help us create and tell stories. Looking to the sky can reveal a range of shapes that can look like different images. And a special thing about cloud gazing is that each cloud can look differently based on your own unique perspective.
What one person imagines when they look up to the sky can be different from what you imagine even when looking up at the very same sky! What shapes and stories do you see in the clouds when you use your imagination?
You can try cloud gazing whenever and wherever you go outside on a cloudy day. The fun stays fresh because each day brings new cloud shapes for your imagination to explore!
When you're ready to level up your new cloud-gazing hobby, you can try keeping a cloud journal. In a journal, or even on any piece of scratch paper, you can sketch the clouds you see in the sky. Then, use your imagination to draw in extra shapes and jot down your thoughts about the cloud. This way, you can easily remember what you saw in the sky from day to day.
By drawing the clouds on paper, you can remember the stories you made and easily share them with your friends and family!
Reading the future!
Cloud gazing can be more than just a fun hobby to stretch your creativity. Gazing up at the sky can help us to figure out what the weather is in the moment and, with a bit of practice, can even be used to predict the future!
Words to know
Condense: To make more dense or compact.
Hue: Color.
Precipitation: The falling of rain, snow, or hail from the atmosphere.
Looking at how the clouds are moving in the sky, you can figure out which direction the wind is blowing and if it is moving quickly or slowly.
After trying out cloud gazing for a little while, you might begin to notice that different clouds bring different kinds of weather. You can find different patterns between the clouds and the weather, like how the weather stays pretty consistent on days with light, wispy clouds. And on days where the clouds look dark and dense, there usually is rain on the way!
What other weather patterns have you noticed with the clouds you’ve seen?
Wondering about the weather
Clouds are great indicators of the weather that is on its way. In general, dark gray clouds bring heavy rain, snow or other precipitation. This is because clouds themselves are made of tiny water droplets.
As the water droplets pile up more and more, the cloud becomes darker in color. When the cloud becomes very condensed, it may become too heavy to stay in the sky, so the water droplets fall down as precipitation.
Becoming a weather whiz is all about practice and watching the weather patterns along with the clouds in the sky. You can read more about how clouds show us the weather from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
