
The real story of how clouds got their names
The real story of how clouds got their namesByMike Ellis,Caitlin Kaiser,Chris DeWeese,Jenn JordanandLisa Pringle•
September 10, 2026
Updated: September 10, 2026, 12:29 pm EDTPublished: September 10, 2026, 12:14 pm EDTThe cloud names we still use today were coined by Luke Howard, an English chemist with a love for looking at the sky. Here’s how Howard used Latin to create classifications for cirrus, cumulus, stratus and nimbus clouds that became the global standard every meteorologist still uses today.
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