Cloud classification, plate IX

Plate IX from 'The weather book' by Robert FitzRoy. Taking Luke Howard's FRS classification of clouds into Cirrus, Cumulus (or Nimbus), and Stratus as his starting point, FitzRoy further develops the classification system into 'more minute distinctions', adding combinations and abbreviations and introducing the 'augmentative termination onus, or the diminutive, itus' which he considered 'sufficient to convey distinct ideas of every variety of clouds'. The celebrated captain of the HMS Beagle was the forefather of weather forecasting based on the study and understanding of the elements, including the behavior of winds and clouds.