How to Measure Height of Clouds with Binoculars, Camera, etc.

[pixel01]

Hi all

Clouds can be very high or quite low and we all just guess. How can we roughly identify the height of a cloud by using binoculars, camera or anything?

Thanks

 

[Danger]

If you know the winds-aloft speed, you can measure the angular movement against that.

 

[chroot]

Pilots usually gauge cloud height by their morphology. In other words, certain cloud shapes generally occupy specific altitudes.

- Warren

 

[pixel01]

I have heard somewhere they can approx. the cloud's height by its color, but I am not sure. Does anyone know this?

 

[chroot]

I have heard somewhere they can approx. the cloud's height by its color, but I am not sure. Does anyone know this?

I can't imagine this is possible. Your eye is too subjective an instrument to be of much use in accurately measuring color. I can tell you that, as a pilot, we do not consider color at all.

- Warren