CLOUD COVER MAP
Cloud cover map – your current and reliable cloud forecast & cloud prediction
You have planned a trip to the countryside and want to enjoy the sunshine and the blue sky? Then you should take a look at our cloud cover map first! Using this weather radar, you can get an overview of the current cloud cover in your region and quickly find out if you can catch some rays of sunshine.
With the cloud forecast for the next few hours, you can see how the cloud cover will develop. Especially if you are chasing some sun rays, our cloud cover map is therefore very suitable to provide you with an insight into the current cloud cover.
In yellow-colored areas, the sun is shining. Gray color indicates light cloud cover, while a white color means heavy cloud cover.
Where is it cloudy? Where is the sun shining? This is how you read the cloud cover map:
On our cloud cover map, cloud areas are displayed visibly for you by a gray-white coloring. The whiter and clearer the coloration is, the denser the cloud cover is here. The chances of catching a glimpse of the sun in this area are therefore very poor. Conversely, a gray area indicates relatively light cloud cover with occasional sunshine.
Using the button at the top right of the cloud cover map, you can select the type of cloud cover. You can distinguish between high, medium, and low clouds. To do this, simply click on the corresponding button.
With the cursor at the bottom left of the cloud cover map, you can visualize the future course of the clouds. This will tell you how the cloud cover will change over the next 36 hours.
Move the cloud marker with the mouse (smartphone: simply tap on the white dot of the marker using your finger) to your target region and find out how likely the sky will be cloudy there.
What else you need to know about our cloud cover map:
How to detect rain clouds:
In addition to information about cloud cover, our radar also tells you where cloud cover occurs in combination with precipitation. You can also recognize precipitation by a colored shading on the cloud cover map. While blue indicates weak precipitation, red/purple-colored areas are expected to have severe rain and hail. You can find our rain radar with rain forecast here.
Types of clouds in the cloud cover map:
Beyond general cloud cover, you can also filter by cloud type or height. To do this, simply click on the “Clouds” button at the top right of the map. You can then choose whether you want the cloud radar to display low, medium, or high clouds.
Interesting facts on the cloud
The height of clouds always depends on the strength of solar radiation and the amount of water vapor. Small clouds move at a height of about 3 km, while thunderclouds in areas with high solar radiation can reach a height of up to 14 km.
For comparison: when you go on vacation by airplane, you find yourself at an altitude of about 10 to 11 km.
In practice, airplanes often change their original course to avoid thunderclouds and resulting turbulence.
So the next time you are on your way to vacation, you can use our cloud radar to check in advance whether high clouds will cross your path on the travel route. By the way, our storm radar or lightning strike map is also suitable for this purpose.
How clouds form
We see them floating across the sky over our heads every day – and yet many people know very little about them: Clouds. They range from the harmless veil cloud that floats across the deep blue summer sky to the large thundercloud that rapidly causes a cooling effect.
All clouds have one thing in common: they consist of water, or more precisely, water vapor.
This vapor is created by solar radiation, which causes the water in lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water around us to evaporate. Once evaporated, the water then quickly makes its way upwards along with warm air. Once it gets there, the water vapor begins to condense. This is due to the temperature of the surrounding air, which continues to decrease as altitude increases. The condensation of the water vapor then leads to the gradual formation of more small water droplets, allowing the cloud to form.
The cloud cover in the USA
4.5 hours… – This is how long the sun shines on average per day in the USA
However, sun lovers beware – if you are seeking a lot of sunshine, then you should visit Las Vegas. There, you can expect an average of more than 6 hours of sunshine per day!
Residents of Seattle can only dream of that many hours of sunshine: the often cloudy sky in this area only allows for an annual average of 3.5 hours of sunshine. At peak times, you get to see the sun there for 6 hours. And in winter, you are lucky if you catch a single ray of sunlight at all.