Anyone know how the speed and direction of movement of clouds is determined?

Question

When my sister asks me questions like this , I always get stuck.Don't you think clouds are fascinating?

Answer 1

You sound like a potential meteorologist. It takes that sort of fascination with weather to become one.

Clouds flow with the movement of air. So they move with the wind. Surface wind is measured (for weather purposes) at a elevation of 10 meters using an anemometer. There are several types. The most common use a 3 cup spinner to measure the wind speed. In the case of upper level winds. Aircraft can measure wind speed and direction using on-board instrumentation and this information is now routinely radioed to the ground for weather forecasting purposes.

The main way winds aloft are measure are the weather balloons that are launched from many locations across the U.S. twice daily. They now use GPS information to determine their location and drift with the wind as the rise through the atmosphere. The computers use the GPS information to determine the wind speed and direction.

Another way is to use satellite information from the geostationary weather satellites. This method offers a near continuous monitoring of winds in areas where there are clouds. If there are not any clouds, well back to the balloons and aircraft.