NOAA and other weather forecasts are very important, and so is a barometer, but you can also get a reliable gauge on your local weather if you think of the sky as something like the face of an emotional person whose moods are shown right on his or her face. Reliable indicators are the changing shape and color of the clouds, which are created by the same natural phenomena that cause the weather itself: temperature and humidity. Here are some hints for predicting weather by reading clouds.
Isolated, wispy, or very high clouds are an indication of fair weather.
Crowded, dense, dark, and towering clouds indicate changing or worsening weather.
The sharper the edge of a thundercloud and the darker its color, the more violence it may contain. Don't go below or near it.
If cloud color, shape, and size change, so will the weather.
As puffy cumulus clouds darken, enlarge, and become dark cumulonimbus clouds, expect squalls within two hours.
