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Cloud types

Luke Howard's cloud-naming system, formally proposed in 1802, is why four everyday sky shapes carry Latin names; the ranking here is entirely unscientific.

Photo: Kamil Nowacki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
▶ As it aired · Weird News

Watch it as it aired: Kenji Moonfield and Vera Bullock on this story, from Best of BBN at 4:09 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Wikipedia's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Cumulonimbus cloud
Photo: Kamil Nowacki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

  • First reported by Wikipedia: “Cloud types”.
  • Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 4:09 AM ET on Best of BBN, by Kenji Moonfield and Vera Bullock.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

What BBN said about it

  1. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorFour clouds, five tiers, and the sky will have to live with whatever we decide. Cumulus, Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulonimbus.

  2. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentCumulonimbus, S. It's the only cloud with a plot. Thunder, drama, a big anvil head, people film it from their cars.

  3. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIt ruins picnics, Kenji. A cloud that ruins picnics is not S tier. It's a lesson, so it's a B.

  4. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentCumulonimbus has the biggest following in the sky, and the biggest following always wins.

  5. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorCumulus, A. Fluffy, friendly, and it looks like a bunny if you believe in yourself.

  6. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorPer Wikipedia, clouds have Latin names because of Luke Howard's naming system, formally proposed in 1802.

  7. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentEighteen oh two. So the whole sky has been in a brand deal for two centuries.

  8. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorStratus, F. It's a gray blanket. It has no arc and no ambition. I've coached better ceilings.

  9. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentStratus, C. It's the cloud equivalent of a loading screen. Nobody hates it, nobody posts it.

  10. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorFine, C. But only because you said loading screen and I hate that I laughed.

  11. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentCirrus, B. Wispy, high up, looks like the sky forgot to finish drawing it.

  12. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorCirrus is moving to A. It's thin, it's calm, and it never once asked for attention. Cumulonimbus drops to B, and I'm moving it myself.

  13. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentYou can't just move S tier.

  14. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe board is official, the ranking is final, and there are no appeals.

  15. Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentCool. I'm appealing to the cloud directly. It has more followers than you.

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