Spent $80 on a cloud identification app that got almost every guess wrong

I was so excited to find an app that promised to name any cloud formation from a photo. I downloaded it, paid the full $80 for the 'pro' version, and spent a whole weekend in my backyard in Springfield testing it. I'd snap a picture of a clear cumulus, and it would call it a cirrus. A big, puffy altocumulus layer came back as 'stratus fractus'. It was wrong more than nine times out of ten. On one hand, I feel like I wasted that money on a tool that just doesn't work. On the other, maybe I learned to trust my own eyes and a good old field guide more than a phone. Has anyone else tried a cloud ID app and had it actually be useful, or are they all a bit of a scam?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakotaknight4d ago

My buddy's app called a sunset a "mammatus cloud.

derekcarr4d ago

That app needs an update, @dakotaknight. Mammatus clouds are those bumpy, pouch-like shapes underneath a storm cloud. A sunset is just light hitting the atmosphere at an angle. They look nothing alike. I’ve seen some weird app mistakes before, but that’s a pretty basic mix-up. Your buddy might want to try a different weather source.