Scout Skills

Nature · Weather

Reading the Sky

You can read the coming weather from the clouds. They're grouped by height — high wispy cirrus, middle layers, low overcast, and vertically-building cumulus. The one to know cold is the cumulonimbus: tall, dark, often anvil-topped — that's a thunderstorm. Watch the trend, not just the moment.

Grouped by
Height
Danger cloud
Cumulonimbus
Low pressure
Clouds & rain
Respond to
The trend
High — cirrus Middle — altocumulus Low — stratus / cumulus Cumulonimbus = thunderstorm
Clouds group by height. The one to know cold is the anvil-topped cumulonimbus, towering through every level — that's a thunderstorm.

How to read the sky

  1. 1Look up regularly — note the cloud types and whether they're building or thickening.
  2. 2Identify the family — high (cirrus), middle (altocumulus/altostratus), low (stratus/nimbostratus), or vertical (cumulus/cumulonimbus).
  3. 3Spot the danger cloud — a darkening, anvil-topped cumulonimbus means a thunderstorm is coming.
  4. 4Read the trend — cumulus towering up, cirrus thickening and lowering, wind shifting, pressure falling = weather worsening.
  5. 5Think pressure and fronts — low pressure and fronts bring clouds and rain; high pressure brings clearing.
  6. 6Know watch vs. warning — prepare on a watch, act on a warning.
  7. 7Act on the safety side — for storms, get to safe shelter before it arrives.

Cloud families by height

  • High (above ~18,000 ft): cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus — wispy and icy; thickening, lowering cirrus often signals an approaching front.
  • Middle (~6,500–18,000 ft): altocumulus, altostratus.
  • Low (below ~6,500 ft): stratus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus — overcast; nimbostratus brings steady rain.
  • Vertical: cumulus (fair-weather puffs that can build) and cumulonimbus — the thunderstorm cloud.

Common mistakes & safety

  • A cumulonimbus means lightning — act early. Get to safe shelter before it arrives; the full storm and lightning response lives in the trail-weather and lightning pages.
  • Watch = prepare, Warning = act now. Respond to a warning immediately.
  • Weather changes fast, especially at elevation and along fronts. Keep watching the sky and be ready to turn back, descend, or shelter.
  • Flash-flood awareness — heavy rain uphill can flood gullies and streams with little warning; don't camp in them.

Going deeper

  • Cirrus first, cumulonimbus worst. High wispy cirrus often means change is a day or so out; a tall dark cumulonimbus means a storm is close.
  • Clouds tell the direction of change. Thickening, lowering, building = deteriorating; thinning, rising, clearing = improving.
  • Read pressure without a barometer. Falling pressure shows up as rising, building cloud — the sky itself is your barometer.

Official source

Weather Merit Badge study guide (PDF) — NOAA / National Weather Service →

Cloud families, cumulonimbus = thunderstorm, and pressure/front basics are from the NOAA/NWS guide. The storm-response detail lives in the trail-weather and lightning pages.

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