Quiz: Name that Cloud!

| by The Weather Channel Meteorologists

Select the name of the cloud formation pictured below. Post your scores in the comments below!


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191 Comments

  1. I am a weather expert from the NH Seacoast,I specialize in remembering everything significant weather event since I was a kid. Clouds are not my specialty but I do know the important ones so I am very satisfied with my 8.

  6. ‘Got one wrong and that one was “iffy”… I was right my first inclination but didn’t use it…

  8. 8 out of 10 and yes I love the window seat on the plane. Always taking pictures!!! Especially of the sunsets!

  12. Sorry Jen, I only scored 5 🙁 , couldn’t remember Stephanie A. Humbuger layers but made me hungry thinking bout it, love you guys. Tim Williams Omaha Ne

  17. I didn’t realize that there are so many different types! Things have changed since my days in science class in school! There wasn’t as many different names back then!

  18. Dang, some of the clouds I only knew the “layman’s terms” and of course I got them wrong while trying to guess their scientific names.

    1. Misty—I was an observer (USAF) in the 50’s —Now “nimbo status ” sounds to me like some kind of a Carribean dance—

  23. Missed 3 out of 10. I will call that a victory since I have never had any “official” meteorological training.

  25. It’s been FIFTY years since I studied this, and I still got 5 right…should have had more. Guess I need a “mid-century” refresher!!

  29. I should of gotten a 2 or 3 because I don’t know clouds that much the only ones that I kid the the thunderstorm ones and white fluffy clouds. Instead I got a 9

  31. I really bombed. I wish I could come up with a believable excuse, but ‘dumb’ is the unfortunate truth.

  33. I actually did better then I thought I might. Mostly guess work.
    Fun! Send more quiz’s.

  35. The one picture that you had the correct answer as cumulus…should have been cumulonimbus because of the shower falling out on the right side. Not obvious…but usually means some ice top on the cloud and thus cumulonumbus

    2. Pinky—I don’t want to go back and look, because I don’t want to lose my place in this interesting thread—If I remember correctly from my USAF observer training and experience of sixty five years ago, Cumulonimbus implies that beautiful “anvil head” that we seldom see from the ground because of all the other stuff in between—

  43. Hello Ms Jenn. Big fan of yours. Faithful weather channel watcher. Thank you for all the good work you do at the weather channel.

  44. I had 5right the same first time and8 8right the second time I did. I used to farm. with my father when I was growing up.

  49. Not a very helpful learning tool. You have to make a choice in order to see the description, but if the description doesn’t match the picture, you can’t change your choice. At the end, you get a score (mine was 8 out of 10), and you can see which ones were wrong, but you can’t see why they were wrong or what would have been the right answer. Seems as if the only way to learn is to retake the quiz several times!

    1. jb—Don’t feel bad—Cloud classification is only an attempt at useful reporting for forecasting and flying safety purposes—I was an observer (USAF) in the ’50’s and I still haven’t seen everything (I still look up and often marvel at the “artwork”)— Just a week ago I spent an hour watching a classic MAMMATUS formation such as I had never seen, but there was no wind or rain—-never heard of such a thing—