The clouds you should watch out for – then rain will come

What do the clouds in the sky really mean?
Sometimes it can seem like showers come out of nowhere – but TV4’s meteorologist Madeleine Westin tells us which clouds mean rain is coming.
– If the clouds are higher than they are wide, you can expect rain showers during the afternoon, she says.

Did you know that you can make your own weather forecast – by looking at the clouds? Which clouds are in the sky varies worldwide, but over Scandinavia there are ten different cloud types, says TV4’s meteorologist Madeleine Westin.

They are divided into three different levels depending on how high above the ground they are.

– Cumulonimbus clouds are the most powerful clouds we have here. There is a lot of energy, there is a lot of wind both up and down and lightning, says Madeleine Westin.

This type of cloud is at least 2,500 meters up in the air and has a large vertical extent. During yesterday, these clouds were seen when there were downpours in many places in the country.

– Then they were connected to a cold front that passed by, but these may also be connected to the development of clouds for afternoon showers.

The cloud which means afternoon showers

It starts with the formation of small “stack clouds”.

– Sometime around eight or nine o’clock, we see those pussies that are starting to grow. They grow as the sun rises higher and higher, says Madeleine Westin.

This is because the sun begins to heat the ground and the ground heats the air just above. The warm air then rises through the atmosphere. Condensation occurs and a cloud is formed.

– Then these warm air bubbles rise, it’s like balloons that just keep growing. At lunchtime, if these are higher than they are wide, between twelve and one o’clock, then you can expect rain showers during the afternoon, says Madeleine Westin.

Then the cloud shows that the rain will come in twelve to 24 hours

In meteorology, we also often talk about warm and cold fronts. The former means that warm air replaces cold air. With a warm front, you can see a clear first sign of rain, says Madeleine Westin.

– The first thing you see are these thin circus clouds. They are quite a bit forward in the front itself. Then you can say that if you start seeing them here, for example, on Gotland, it’s raining in Gothenburg. Then the rain will come in twelve to 24 hours, says Madeleine Westin.