Appendix 3 - History of cloud nomenclature
(Section A.3)Introduction
The following bibliography gives brief references to books, publications or documents in which, as far as is known, the various types of cloud are mentioned, described or studied for the first time.
Cirrus
| Cirrus | Howard 1803 (On the modifications of clouds, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrus fibratus | This type of cloud was initially called Cirrus filosus by Clayton in 1896 (Discussion of the cloud observations, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| The use of the term filosus was extended to Cirrocumulus and to Altocumulus by Besson in 1921 (La classification détaillée des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| The term filosus was applied to Cirrostratus by the International Commission for the Study of Clouds (CEN) in 1930 (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition for the use of Observers, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| In 1951, the Committee for the Study of Clouds and Hydrometeors (CCH) replaced the term filosus by the term fibratus, which is etymologically preferable. Furthermore, the use of this term was limited to Cirrus and to Cirrostratus (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrus uncinus | Maze 1889 Sur la classification des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2 |
| Cirrus spissatus | The appellation Cirrus spissatus was introduced by CCH in 1949 (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949), and replaced both the following two appellations: |
| Cirrus densus, introduced by Besson in 1921 (La classification détaillée des nuages en usage à l’Observatoire de Montsouris, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrus nothus, introduced by CEN in 1926 (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN, see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrus castellanus | The term castellatus (subsequently replaced by the term castellanus) was introduced by Ley in 1879, in the appellation Stratus castellatus (Clouds and weather signs, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| In 1903, Vincent described in detail Altocumulus castellatus (Études sur les nuages: III. Les variétés de l’alto-cumulus, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| In 1951, CCH replaced the term castellatus by the term castellanus, which is etymologically preferable to it. The use of this term was extended to Cirrus, Cirrocumulus and Stratocumulus (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrus floccus | The term floccus was introduced by Vincent in 1903, in the appellation Altocumulus floccus (Études sur les nuages: III. Les variétés de l’alto-cumulus, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| In 1930, CEN extended the use of this term to Cirrus (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| The term floccus was later applied to Cirrocumulus by CCH (Final report of the second session, Paris, June 1950, see Appendix 2) | |
| The WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas extended the use of the species floccus to Stratocumulus in the 2017 edition of the Atlas see Appendix 2 | |
| Cirrus intortus | The term intortus, applied to Cirrus, was introduced by CCH in 1951 (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrus radiatus | The term radiatus was introduced by CEN in 1926, and was applied to Cirrus, Altocumulus and to Stratocumulus (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN, see Appendix 2) |
| In 1949, CCH extended the use of this term to Altostratus (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949, see Appendix 2) | |
| During the final editing of the 1975 edition of the Atlas, the use of the term radiatus was extended to Cumulus, see Appendix 2 | |
| Cirrus vertebratus | The cloud form vertebratus was described by Maze in 1889, under the appellation striga pennata, which means: (cloud) band having the appearance of a bird feather, fern leaf, skeleton of a fish, etc. (Sur la classification des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| The appellation Cirrus vertebratus was introduced by Osthoff, in 1905 (Die Formen der Cirruswolken, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrus duplicatus | The appellation Cirrus duplicatus was introduced by Maze in 1889 (Sur la classification des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| In 1908, De Quervain described in detail Altostratus duplicatus (Beiträge zur Wolkenkunde, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| The use of the term duplicatus was later extended to Cirrostratus and to Altocumulus by CCH (Final report of the second session, Paris, June 1950, see Appendix 2) | |
| During the final editing of the 1975 edition of the Atlas, the use of the term duplicatus was extended to Stratocumulus (see Appendix 2) |
Cirrocumulus
| Cirrocumulus | Howard 1803 (On the modifications of clouds, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Renou 1855 (Instructions météorologiques, etc., see Appendix 2) |
|
| Cirrocumulus stratiformis | The term stratiformis was introduced by CCH in 1949, and was applied to Cirrocumulus, Altocumulus and Stratocumulus (Final report of the first session, Paris, August, 1949, see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrocumulus lenticularis | The term lenticularis was introduced by Ley in 1894, in the appellation Stratus lenticularis (Cloudland, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| In 1930, CEN extended the use of this term to Cirrocumulus, Cirrostratus, Altocumulus and Stratocumulus (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| CCH subsequently limited the use of the term lenticularis to Cirrocumulus, Altocumulus and Stratocumulus (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949, see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrocumulus castellanus | Ley 1879 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrocumulus floccus | Vincent 1903 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrocumulus undulatus | The appellation Cirrocumulus undulatus was introduced by Clayton in 1896. Although the author has not mentioned other genera, he stressed the fact that “this characteristic of clouds is found at every altitude” (Discussion of the cloud observations, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| The use of the term undulatus was explicitly extended to Cirrus, Altocumulus, Altostratus, Stratocumulus, Stratus and Cumulus, by CEN in 1930 (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| CCH subsequently limited the use of this term to Cirrocumulus, Altocumulus, Altostratus, Stratocumulus and Stratus (Final report of the second session, Paris, June 1950, see Appendix 2) | |
| During the final editing of the 1975 edition of the Atlas, the use of the term undulatus was extended to Cirrostratus (see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrocumulus lacunosus | The cloud form lacunar was described by Vincent in 1903, and this term was applied to Cirrus, Cirrocumulus and Cirrostratus (Études sur les nuages: I. Les nuages lacunaires, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| The term lacunaris was introduced by CEN in 1930, and only applied to Cirrocumulus and to Altocumulus (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| In 1951, CCH replaced the term lacunaris by the term lacunosus, which is etymologically preferable to it (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) | |
| During the final editing of the 1975 edition of the Atlas, the use of the term lacunosus was extended to Stratocumulus (see Appendix 2) |
Cirrostratus
| Cirrostratus | Howard 1803 (see Appendix 2) and Renou 1855 (see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrostratus fibratus | Clayton 1896 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrostratus nebulosus | The appellation Cirrostratus nebulosus was introduced by Clayden in 1905 (Cloud studies, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| The term nebulosus was later applied to Stratus by CCH (Final report of the second session, Paris, June 1950, see Appendix 2) | |
| Cirrostratus duplicatus | Maze 1889 (see Appendix 2), De Quervain 1908 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) |
| Cirrostratus undulatus | Clayton 1896 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1953 (see Appendix 2) |
Altocumulus
| Altocumulus | Renou 1870 (Bulletin de l’Observatoire de Montsouris, Paris, 1870) |
|
| Hildebrandsson 1889 (Rapport sur la classification des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) |
||
| Altocumulus stratiformis | CCH 1949 (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949, see Appendix 2) |
|
| Altocumulus lenticularis | Ley 1894 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1949 (see Appendix 2) | |
| Altocumulus castellanus | Ley 1879 (see Appendix 2), Vincent 1903 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) |
|
| Altocumulus floccus | Vincent 1903 (Étude sur les nuages: III. Les variétés de l’alto-cumulus, etc., see Appendix 2) |
|
| The WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas extended the use of the species floccus to Stratocumulus in the 2017 edition of the Atlas (see Appendix 2) | ||
| Altocumulus translucidus | The term translucidus was introduced by CEN in 1926, in the appellation Altostratus translucidus (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN see Appendix 2) | |
| In 1930, CEN extended the use of this term to Altocumulus and to Stratocumulus (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) | ||
| The term translucidus was later applied to Stratus by CCH (Final report of the second session, Paris, June 1950, see Appendix 2) | ||
| Altocumulus perlucidus | The term perlucidus, applied to Altocumulus and to Stratocumulus, was introduced by CCH in 1951 (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) | |
| Altocumulus opacus | The term opacus was introduced by Besson in 1921, in the appellation Altostratus opacus (La classification détaillée des nuages en usage a l’Observatoire de Montsouris, etc., see Appendix 2) | |
| In 1930, CEN extended the use of this term to Altocumulus and to Stratocumulus (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) | ||
| The term opacus was later applied to Stratus by CCH (Final report of the second session, Paris, June 1950, see Appendix 2) | ||
| Altocumulus duplicatus | Maze 1889 (see Appendix 2), De Quervain 1908 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) | |
| Altocumulus undulatus | Clayton 1896 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) | |
| Altocumulus radiatus | CEN 1926 Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN see Appendix 2 |
|
| Altocumulus lacunosus | Vincent 1903 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) | |
| Altocumulus volutus | The term volutus was recommended by the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas to identify detached roll clouds of Altocumulus and Stratocumulus as separate from the supplementary feature arcus (Final report of the first session, Geneva, November 2013); introduced in the 2017 edition of the Atlas see Appendix 2 |
Altostratus
| Altostratus | Renou 1877 (Bulletin de l’Observatoire de Montsouris, Paris, 1877) |
| Hildebrandsson 1889 (Rapport sur la classification des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) |
|
| Altostratus translucidus | CEN 1926 (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN see Appendix 2) |
| Altostratus opacus | Besson 1921 (La classification détaillée des nuages en usage a l’Observatoire de Montsouris, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Altostratus duplicatus | Maze 1889 (see Appendix 2), De Quervain 1908 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
| Altostratus undulatus | Clayton 1896 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
| Altostratus radiatus | CEN 1926 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1949 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
Nimbostratus
| Nimbostratus | CEN 1930 (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) |
Stratocumulus
| Stratocumulus | Kaemtz 1840 (Vorlesungen über Meteorologie, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus stratiformis | CCH 1949 (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949 see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus lenticularis | Ley 1894 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1949 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus castellanus | Ley 1879 (see Appendix 2), Vincent 1903 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus translucidus | CEN 1926 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus floccus | The WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas extended the use of the species floccus to Stratocumulus in the 2017 edition of the Atlas (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus volutus | The term volutus was recommended by the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas to identify detached roll clouds of Stratocumulus and Altocumulus as separate from the supplementary feature arcus (Final report of the first session, Geneva, November 2013); introduced in the 2017 edition of the Atlas (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus perlucidus | CCH 1951 (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus opacus | Besson 1921 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1951 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus duplicatus | Maze 1889 (see Appendix 2), De Quervain 1908 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1953 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus undulatus | Clayton 1896 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus radiatus | CEN 1926 (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN, see Appendix 2) |
| Stratocumulus lacunosus | Vincent 1903 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1951, CCH 1953 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
Stratus
| Stratus | Howard 1803 (On the modifications of clouds, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Hildebrandsson 1887 (Remarks concerning the nomenclature of clouds for ordinary use, etc., see Appendix 2) |
|
| Abercromby 1887 (Suggestions for an international nomenclature of clouds, etc., see Appendix 2) |
|
| Stratus nebulosus | Clayden 1905 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratus fractus | This type of cloud was initially called Fractostratus by CEN in 1930 (International Atlas of Clouds and States of the Sky, Abridged Edition, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| In 1949, CCH replaced this appellation by Stratus fractus, which is more in accordance with other appellations of species (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949, see Appendix 2) | |
| Stratus opacus | Besson 1921 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratus translucidus | CEN 1926 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2) and CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) |
| Stratus undulatus | Clayton 1896 (see Appendix 2), CEN 1930 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1950 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
Cumulus
| Cumulus | Howard 1803 (On the modifications of clouds, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Cumulus humilis | Vincent 1907 (Atlas des Nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Cumulus mediocris | The term mediocris, applied to Cumulus, was introduced by CCH in 1951 (Reports of the third session, Paris, January 1951, see Appendix 2) |
| Cumulus congestus | Maze 1889 (Sur la classification des nuages, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Cumulus fractus | This type of cloud was initially called Fracto-Cumulus by Poey in 1863 (Sur deux nouveaux types de nuages observés a La Havane, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| In 1949, CCH replaced this appellation by Cumulus fractus, which is more in accordance with other appellations of the species (Final report of the first session, Paris, August 1949, see Appendix 2) | |
| Cumulus radiatus | CEN 1926 (see Appendix 2), CCH 1953 (see Appendix 2) and WMO 1975 (see Appendix 2) |
Cumulonimbus
| Cumulonimbus | Weilbach 1880 (Formes des nuages en Europe septentrionale, etc., see Appendix 2) |
| Cumulonimbus calvus | CEN 1926 (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN, see Appendix 2) |
| Cumulonimbus capillatus | CEN 1926 (Reports of the session in Paris, April 1926, published in Circular 47 of CEN, see Appendix 2) |
Upper atmospheric clouds
New classifications introduced in this (2017) edition of the International Cloud Atlas
| Asperitas | This cloud feature was initially proposed in 2008 by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, and popularised on the Internet as a possible new cloud variety called asperatus, or undulatus asperatus. A description of the feature was given in a MSc Dissertation by Graeme Anderson, University of Reading, United Kingdom (Asperatus - the application of cloud classification to a suggestive new cloud type). The WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas recommended that asperatus should be adopted as a supplementary feature at its first session, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.1 and Recommendation 3); Final Report (section 10.8)). It was introduced as a supplementary feature in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas, but with the name changed to asperitas. A study of asperitas by R.G. Harrison, et al, (Asperitas - a newly identified cloud supplementary feature) was published in the Royal Meteorological Society journal 'Weather', May 2017, Vol. 72, No.5 : 132-141. |
| Cataractagenitus | The special cloud classification cataractagenitus was introduced by the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas into the 2017 edition of the Cloud Atlas. |
| Cauda | The supplementary feature cauda was proposed at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.3 and Recommendation 5c). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas. |
| Cavum | The supplementary feature cavum was recommended at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.6 and Recommendation 9); Final Report (section 10.19)). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas. |
| Flammagenitus | The special cloud classification flammagenitus was recommended at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.7 and Recommendation 4); Final Report (section 10.21)). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas. |
| Fluctus | The supplementary feature fluctus was recommended at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.10 and Recommendation 7); Final Report (sections 10.27 - 10.28)). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas. |
| Flumen | The accessory cloud flumen was introduced by the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas into the 2017 edition of the Cloud Atlas. |
| Homogenitus | The special cloud classification homogenitus was recommended at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.2 and Recommendation 8); Final Report (sections 10.10 and 10.22)). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas with the modification that Cirrus homogenitus applied only to aircraft contrails, with homomutatus applying to cirri-form clouds formed as a result of the spreading of contrails. |
| Homomutatus | The special cloud classification homomutatus was introduced by the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas into the 2017 edition of the Cloud Atlas |
| Murus | The supplementary feature murus was proposed at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.3 and recommendation 5a)). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas. |
| Silvagenitus | The special cloud classification silvagenitus was introduced by the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas into the 2017 edition of the Cloud Atlas. |
| Volutus | The species volutus was recommended at the first session of the WMO Task Team on the Revision of the International Cloud Atlas, Geneva, November 2013 (Report on Task 6 (section 2.2.9 and Recommendation 6); Final Report (section 10.25)). It was introduced in the 2017 edition of the International Cloud Atlas. |