The present international system of cloud classification was base on a system originally proposed in 1803 by Luke Howard, a retail chemist and amateur meteorologist. Howard become known by some people as 'the father of British meteorology', and his pioneering work stemmed from his curiosity into the vivid sunsets in the late 18th century following a series of violent volcanic eruptions. They had ejected dust high up into the atmosphere, increasing the amount of condensation nuclei, and subsequently producing spectacular cloud formations and sunsets.
Howard recognised four types of cloud and gave them the following Latin names.
By including another Latin word altum meaning height, the names of the 10 main cloud types can be derived.
Cloud types are split into three groups according to the height of their base above mean sea level. Note that 'medium' level clouds are prefixed by the word alto and 'high' clouds by the word cirro (see table below). All heights given are approximate above sea level in mid-latitudes. If observing from a hill top or mountain site, the range of bases will obviously be lower.
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