WEATHER · HIGH CLOUD
High Cloud
High cloud only — the icy cirrus and cirrostratus above ~20,000 ft, the thin veils that halo the Sun and streak ahead of an approaching warm front. The cloud deck split out from total cover.
What it shows
High cloud is the ice-crystal cloud that forms above roughly 20,000 ft — cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus. This layer shows only that top deck, split out from the total cloud field, so you can see the thin veils aloft on their own.
How to read it
Bright streaks mark thickening high cloud. A spreading sheet of cirrostratus — the cloud that puts a halo around the Sun or Moon — often runs hundreds of miles ahead of an advancing warm front, so high cloud thickening from the west is a classic early sign of a change on the way.
SEE IT LIVE
Open the full weather console with high cloud on, then stack other overlays and scrub the forecast.