Photo of the week June 5th, 2013

We all notice the heat and the cold, the wet and the dry of the weather, yet we often fail to notice the cloud types associated with the conditions we enjoy or suffer.

This sort of cloud formation is often referred to as a mackerel sky. It is associated with short term weather. An old maritime rhyme goes 'Mackerel sky, mackerel sky, never long wet and never long dry.'

Mackerel sky appearances can come from two different cloud types : cirro cumulus or alto cumulus - even experts will look at the sky and argue over cloud classification since there are many shades of grey in the classification of such formations.

For the layman there are many online cloud identification resources.

Take a look skywards and spare a thought for all the rural dwellers who are suffering from the recent downpours, hoping for a dry day or two to be able to repair their homes.

photo courtesy of Medicine on the Move www.medicineonthemove.org