Cloudspotting During Monsoon

Cumulonimbus building over Southern Arizona.

“I’ve always loved looking at clouds. Nothing in nature rivals their variety and drama; nothing matches their sublime, ephemeral beauty.”    The Cloudspotters Guide

For most of my life I have lived in the wooded Midwest, where sunlight streamed through thick leaf cover and the sky was hidden by tall branches of elm and maple. That is why, once a year, I always drove west across the Missouri River to get my fill of big-sky country. There I discovered a world where the distant, flattened landscape could barely contain the endless western sky. That is where I learned to “look up” and see the clouds. I didn’t know it then, but I was becoming a novice “cloudspotter,”a person who watches and enjoys the many shapes, formations and beauty of clouds.

When I was young, I had a child’s view of the sky. I remember summer days leisurely lying on my back watching cloud formations. I took the time to watch them evolve into dogs, or horse’s heads, dragons and other figments of my imagination. What I didn’t know then was that my ability to project recognizable shapes onto the clouds is a phenomenon known as “pareidolia.”All the more reason to allow children to have unstructured time to discover themselves and the world around them.

But as I got older, I spent more time looking down than up; cell phones and computer screens absorbed my attention day and night and turned me away from the sky. My schedule changed and I no longer had time to visit big sky country. But I made a promise to myself that someday, I would retire where I could watch the cloud formations develop from all directions. And when that time came, I stayed true to my dream and settled in the Sonoran desert of the American Southwest in the shadow of the Santa Rita Mountains.

As a retirement gift, a friend gave me a copy of The Cloudspotter’s Guide, a book to help me re-immerse myself in the wonder and versatility of clouds. My 3,000-foot elevation gives the desert sky a Cinerama feel like you can feel its movement and almost touch it. My line of sight north to south and east to west spans a view of 36,000 square miles. When I watch the International Space Station glide overhead I can calculate its speed compared to my GPS and its direction and know that when the ship disappears from my view to the northeast, it is somewhere over Colorado!

So now I watch the metamorphosis of cloud formations from their birth at dawn when I may see sweeping feathered strokes of cirrus clouds which look like a painter just took a brush to a wild blue canvas. Then cumulus clouds billow along the ridge line of the Santa Rita’s looking like a horse’s mane moving with the wind. As the earth continues warming to the desert sun, the cumulus build to towering vertical heights to dominate the summer sky. They develop throughout the day, often reaching super cell status by evening when they will either rain or dissipate. Their size and billowing design command the monsoon sky teasing everyone with the hope of rain in this desert region. In the Southwest, the monsoon season, June through September, is definitely the Olympics of cloudspotting.

Clouds form as warm air rises and then cool as humidity increases. As the air becomes saturated, water vapor condenses on particles like smoke or dust and millions of tiny water drops collect to form a cloud. Cirrus clouds are the wispy-white, high-altitude flyers that are made up of ice crystals which create a wide range of shapes and sizes. Stratus are lower-level horizontal clouds which form a repetitive pattern across the sky. Cumulus are the puffy white clouds most thought of as “cotton balls” but can grow in volume to majestic heights.

There are so many different cloud formations and they can each reflect a different set of meteorological conditions. But apart from the science, I am a stickler for the awesome views. And while meteorologists index different genera and varieties of clouds, cloudspotters follow a more reflective pursuit that can lead to a deeper understanding of the natural world and a greater ability to disconnect from hectic routines and focus on the present moment.

Cloudspotting, or the act of simply looking up at the clouds and observing their shape and movement, may seem like a simple and mundane activity. But according to medical professionals, cloudspotting can lower your blood pressure, reduce your anxiety, increase mindfulness, and enhance your mood. Dr. Krish Tangella from the DoveMed Team said in a recent article, “When you pay attention to the clouds and the way they move and change, you become more aware of your surroundings and more in tune with your own thoughts and emotions. By taking a few moments to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of daily life and simply focus on the present moment, you can let go of any racing thoughts or worries that may be causing you stress.” The peaceful and serene nature of the activity can help to lift your spirits and bring a sense of contentment.

“If a glorious sunset of altocumulus clouds were to spread across the heavens only once in a generation.” the Cloudspotter’s Guide notes, “ it would surely be amongst the principle legends of our time.” People around the world would want to see it. They would travel to the best place for viewing like they did for the solar eclipse. Yet day-to-day many people barely seem to notice sunsets, much less cloud formations. The other evening my husband and I were filming a spectacular sunset of pearly gold and orange highlights shining through the broken cloud formations left behind by a rainstorm. None of our neighbors were out watching this particularly beautiful sunset and several passing walkers didn’t bother to look up, oblivious to the meteorological magic unfolding in the western sky. Life is short, so take a moment to “look up” and let cloudspotting enhance your health and your appreciation of the beauty around you.