Just posted this photo on the Cloud Appreciation Society website with a plea for help identifying the clouds that appeared just ahead of the rains on Wednesday night here in Olympia, WA. Just a few hours later, I got this reply:

"Maria, that is a lovely cloud mix. Here is my attempt at ID: Cumulus humilis (wider than they are tall), altocumulus at top center, and altocumulus lenticularis showing between the cumulus."

So, disregard my identifications from previous post--though I nailed altocumulus, I msised the rest. Eventually, I hope, I will be able to call out cloud types as easily as the letters of the alphabet. Maybe someone should write a catchy song naming the cloud types in altitudinal order--from A (fog) to Z (cirrus).

The Cloud Appreciation Society maintains one of my favorite websites. Don't wait for a rainy day to check it out: http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/