Why is the earth covered in so much cloud right now?

Has anyone noticed how much cloud there is on flashearth right now (www.flashearth.com) I can’t remember seeing so much. I only noticed after checking out the cyclone about to hit my neck of the woods.

Perhaps it’s not unusual – do you know.

MJ2

Nope not unusual at all mate

Hopefully that cyclone stays off the coast for you. The models are going for it to cross near Mackay but you know hopw unpredictable they are

Hi, also from Australia, and yesterday I asked if anyone else noticed how cloudy it is lately (most obvious at night - haven't been able to see a single star for many days when previously you could see at least a few no matter what cloud clover).

But then the satellite images were showing clear skies.

No one seemed to care or answer my question though. Good to see I'm not the only one who was uncertain with the cloud cover.

Of course there is rational scientific explanations for why clouds are there etc.
But I have to admit its an interesting question.
Why is there more cloud at one time than another?
Now we know why and how the clouds form.
But what actually changes this on a large scale?
What decides how much cloud there is at any one time?
I guess it comes down to, what actually controls the weather, on a global scale?

Originally posted by Nventual
But then the satellite images were showing clear skies.

Satellite images arent up to date images. They are taken every three or six hours, depending on which satellite you are using. That is why it may be showing cloud when you have clear skies and vice versa

Maybe the universe holographic projection system is down.

guess its just another glitch in the matrix.

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
Nope not unusual at all mate

Hopefully that cyclone stays off the coast for you. The models are going for it to cross near Mackay but you know hopw unpredictable they are

Thanks Ozweatherman - My son is in Mckay and I'm south of there. Well find out by morning I guess.

fingers crossed

ps still looks like a lot of cloud though

MJ2

reply to post by majestictwo


Now worries

Another point to consider is that a lot of the cloud will be the high cloud types such as cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus and also contrails. These cloud types will show up very well on the satellite pictures, but may be almost transparent when observing on the ground. The reason for this is because the usual satellite imagery used is infra red, meaning that it shows the clouds by temperature. The higher cloud types, being the coldest will show up as bright white streaks, layers etc

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Thanks for the last post.
Looks like this thing is going to keep us hanging for a few more days yet.

(Newcomers – we are referring to the huge cyclone off eastern Australia)

reply to post by majestictwo


I don't know, the eggs are blue noosphere.princeton.edu...

Maybe North Korea is going to get peeved next week and do something that Ed Dames (Major Head Games) has been cluckin' about for years.

The stock market could crash too. There is something in the air.