If you are in a survivalist situation you may have no way of really telling what is going to happen with the weather. There may be no television, no radio or newscaster. If this might be the case it is good to know that you can tell the weather by the shape of the clouds.
Being familiar with the different cloud formations and what they predict can help you take the action needed to protect you and your family from inclement conditions. It is also useful to know this skill if you think you might have to be avoiding toxic or radioactive rain.
Cirrus clouds are high clouds that look like thin streaks or curls and are usually at least six kilometres above the earth. They are a sign of fair weather. However if you are in a very cold climate and you see these wispy clouds multiplying it can mean there is a blizzard on the way. This is especially true if the wind is blowing from the north.
Cumulus clouds are the fluffy white clods that look like mashed potatoes. These also usually predict fair weather. They appear around midday on a sunny day looking like large cotton balls with flat bottoms. As the day goes on the clouds will pile higher and higher and turn dark at the top. The darker they come the more ominous the news is – a thunderstorm is on the way.
Stratus clouds are low, gray clouds that make the entire sky seem massed over with a gray layer. These clouds generally mean rain. Nimbus clouds are layers of uniform grayness that extend over the sky that are a bit thicker and they also forbode rain.
A Cumulonimbus is a hybrid cloud that extends to great heights and forms in the shape of anvil. This indicates that a big thunderstorm is on its way.
Cirrostratus clouds is fairly uniform lair of high stratus clouds that are slightly darker than the usual cirrus clouds but they still indicate good weather. Cirrocumulus clouds are small, round white clouds that exist at a high altitude and indicate good weather.
Finally there are scuds. These are loose clouds that look like wafts of drifting vapour and they mean that bad weather is on the way.
Knowing even a little bit of information about bad weather can do a lot to warn you to get inside before all of your survivalist gear is ruined by a violent storm.