Weatherwatch: How English summer clouds can warn of trouble ahead

An old English proverb teaches that certain cloud patterns warn of coming weather. Per The Guardian, 'mackerel skies' and 'mare's tails' are distinctive cloud formations that signal the arrival of warm fronts pushing moisture high into the atmosphere. Mackerel skies appear as cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds in regular, patchy rows resembling fish scales. The trick to distinguishing them is simple: cirrocumulus clouds are narrower than your finger held at arm's length, while altocumulus clouds span roughly three fingers wide. As the traditional saying goes, 'Mare's tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships to carry low sails' — an old weather-watcher's guide to reading the summer sky.

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