Current Cloud Cover

Two AI-assisted reads of our live webcam images, one looking East by South over the Tasman Sea and one looking due South, giving a quick plain-English sense of current sky conditions and whether things are clearing or clouding over. See "How this works" at the bottom of this page for details.

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Clouds are classified by their height in the atmosphere and appearance.

Clouds form at three height layers:
High Level Clouds form at 16,000 - 45,000 ft (5 - 13 km) - Cirro Prefix
Mid Level Clouds form at 7,000 - 25,000 ft (2 - 8 km) - Alto Prefix
Low Level Clouds form at land surface - 7,000 ft (0 - 2 km)

Clouds are also classifed by appearance containing the following words:
Cirrus - wispy and thin.
Cumulus - Puffy appearance.
Stratus - Flat and/or layered.
Nimbus - Contain Precipitation.

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Cloud Base Coverage :  Realtime Current Cloud base (Above Ground Level - AGL):  677 m  (Station is approx 18m ASL.)
No Metar (Onsite Data)View Detail	Metar (Launceston (YMLT))View Detail	This CloudBase script has been adapted from Bashewa's original Ver 2.1 script. The Original was for Weather Display, Virtual Weather Station and WUHU.) This version for Cumulus was developed from the Original Bashewa script without reference to, or code from, any other Cloudbase script. Cloudbase CU Script The left most image (No Metar) uses only our onsite data for calculating Cloud Height (Above Sea Level - ASL) Station is approx 18m ASL. The next image (Metar) uses only Metar data from Launceston Airport for calculating other cloud conditions, though too far away to be relevant. (Approx: 89.44 km Line of Site).

Convert Metres to feet and inches :

Enter metres :      =    feet + inches Original source for these and many other calculators may be found at CSG Network

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High Level Clouds :
	Cirrus (Ci) Cirrus are high clouds which are composed of ice cystrals that originate from the freezing of supercooled water droplets. They are thin and have a wispy appearance, and are often transparent. Usually indicates a change in weather will occur within 24 hours.
	Cirrocumulus (Cc) Cirrostratus are high clouds, composed of ice crystals. Appear as small individual cloudlets in rows. No shading can be seen on the lower surface. Usually indicate fair weather for the near future.
	Cirrostratus (Cs) Cirrostratus are high clouds, composed of Ice Crystals. Thin and uniform appearance, Often covering the whole sky. A halo of the sun or moon can usually be seen through the cloud. Usually indicate rain or snow within the next 12 - 24 hours.

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Mid Level Clouds :
	Altocumulus (Ac) Altocumulus are Mid level clouds composed of water droplets. Similar to Cirrocumulus, but have larger individual cloudlets, and shading can be seen. If seen in the morning, prepare for a thunderstorm in the afternoon.
	Altostratus (As) Altostratus clouds are mid level clouds composed of ice crystals and water droplets. Generally uniform and grey in appearance, and frequently cover the entire sky. The sun or moon may also be seen through them, but is usually quite fuzzy. Tend to indicate a storm some time in the very near future.

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Low Level Clouds :
	Stratocumulus (Sc) Stratocumulus clouds are low level clouds composed of water droplets Appear as low patches or sheets of grey to white cloud, with individual rolls or rounded masses. Do not usually bring precipitation.
	Stratus (St) Stratus clouds are low level clouds composed of water droplets. Appear as a uniform greyish layer and often cover the entire sky. They can sometimes cover hill tops. Often bring drizzle or light snow.
	Nimbostratus (Ns) Nimbostratus clouds are low level clouds that might consist entirely of cloud droplets or raindrops, or of ice crystals and snowflakes. They are thick grey clouds with a ragged base. Sometimes they cover the entire sky. Indicate rain in the very near future.
	Cumulus (Cu) Cumulus clouds are low level clouds, composed of water droplets. They are have a puffy appearence, a flat base and are white or light grey. Indicate fair weather unless they grow vertically.

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Vertically Developed Clouds :
	Cumulonimbus (Cb) Cumulonimbus clouds are Vertically Developed Clouds which are composed of water droplets and ice crystals. Appear dark and very tall often extending through all the levels of altitude, and can be several miles wide. They often appear in a shape similar to a mushroom. Usually indicate a storm in the near future. Rain, hail, thunder, lightning.

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Other Clouds :
	Contrails Contrails are visible trails of condensed water vapour made by the exhaust of aircraft engines.

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How the Cloud Cover reading above works

Every 15–30 minutes during daylight hours, our two onsite webcams' latest images are sent to an AI vision model, which assesses how much cloud is visible and gives a short plain-English description — the same way a person glancing outside would describe the sky. The AI also compares each new reading against the last few hours of readings to note whether cloud cover has been building, clearing, or staying fairly steady.

This is a supplementary, automated read of the sky — not a substitute for our official onsite weather station data or the Bureau of Meteorology's forecasts. Overnight, the cameras (and this reading) simply show a "Night" status, since there's nothing meaningful to assess in the dark. Occasional misreads are possible, particularly around dawn/dusk lighting or fast-moving cloud, so treat this as a helpful at-a-glance indicator rather than a precise measurement.