Angra do Heroísmo - Cloudscapes - Azores
Multi-layered dramatic clouds for striking sky photography
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What this forecast looks for
Plain-language explanation from the ruleThis forecast tracks dramatic cloud conditions over the Azores' volcanic archipelago, where Atlantic weather systems create ever-changing atmospheric drama across crater lakes, volcanic peaks, and mid-ocean landscapes. We analyze cloud types, coverage patterns, and system movement to predict when sky drama combines with the islands' distinctive geological features.
The Azores' mid-Atlantic position means constant interaction with weather systems moving from the Americas toward Europe. The islands' volcanic peaks—particularly Pico's 2,351-metre cone—pierce clouds and generate their own weather, creating lenticular clouds and dramatic clearing patterns. The notorious "four seasons in one day" weather produces rapidly changing cloudscapes.
What makes Azores cloudscape photography special:
- Pico mountain drama - Portugal's highest peak generates lenticular clouds and pierces Atlantic weather systems, visible from multiple islands
- Crater contexts - Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo calderas provide dramatic foregrounds for towering clouds and storm systems
- Island-hopping perspectives - Each island offers views of neighbors under changing weather—Faial to Pico, São Jorge to Pico, creating layered compositions
- Atlantic weather theatre - Mid-ocean location means unobstructed views of approaching and departing storm systems with rapid changes
Pico mountain dominates cloudscape photography—shoot from Faial, Madalena on Pico island, or São Jorge for different perspectives under dramatic skies. When lenticular clouds form over Pico's summit, multiple islands offer viewpoints. Sete Cidades caldera provides epic compositions when towering cumulus builds over the twin lakes and volcanic rim. Lagoa do Fogo's higher elevation means shooting at cloud level, with drama both above and below in inversions. Furnas valley works beautifully when storms move through—dark clouds, volcanic steam, and moody light combine. Post-frontal conditions bring the most spectacular cloudscapes. Autumn and winter bring the most dynamic systems.
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72-hour requirements breakdown
What passed or failed, hour by hourTime Atlantic/Azores | Cloud Drama Score ≥ 75.0% | Low Clouds ≥ 20.0% | Mid-Level Clouds OR1·B1≥ 30.0% | High Clouds OR1·B2≥ 40.0% | Visibility ≥ 5000.0m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, May 24 | |||||
| 04:00 | 14% | 12% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 05:00 | 15% | 12% | 0% | 5.1% | 24135m |
| 06:00 | 48% | 13% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 07:00 | 75% | 28% | 0% | 5.1% | 24134m |
| 08:00 | 62% | 18% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 09:00 | 29% | 3.3% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 10:00 | 33% | 5.8% | 0% | 5% | 24135m |
| 11:00 | 47% | 29% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 12:00 | 38% | 34% | 0% | 5.2% | 24135m |
| 13:00 | 36% | 39% | 0% | 5% | 24135m |
| 14:00 | 32% | 28% | 0% | 5% | 24135m |
| 15:00 | 45% | 30% | 0% | 25% | 24134m |
| 16:00 | 64% | 36% | 0% | 53% | 24134m |
| 17:00 | 70% | 32% | 0% | 21% | 24134m |
| 18:00 | 89% | 35% | 0% | 28% | 24134m |
| 19:00 | 100% | 32% | 0% | 29% | 24135m |
| 20:00 | 93% | 16% | 0% | 56% | 24134m |
| 21:00 | 32% | 8.8% | 0% | 100% | 24135m |
| 22:00 | 87% | 19% | 0% | 52% | 24134m |
| 23:00 | 10% | 48% | 0% | 5% | 15505m |
| Mon, May 25 | |||||
| 24:00 | 15% | 67% | 0% | 5% | 4300m |
| 01:00 | 15% | 86% | 0% | 5% | 525m |
| 02:00 | 15% | 97% | 0% | 5% | 519m |
| 03:00 | 15% | 81% | 0% | 5% | 384m |
| 04:00 | 14% | 92% | 0% | 5% | 321m |
| 05:00 | 10% | 99% | 0% | 5% | 313m |
| 06:00 | 41% | 91% | 0% | 4.8% | 302m |
| 07:00 | 44% | 89% | 0% | 0.3% | 325m |
| 08:00 | 45% | 83% | 0% | 0% | 390m |
| 09:00 | 56% | 69% | 0% | 1.2% | 3687m |
| 10:00 | 56% | 59% | 0% | 2.1% | 11497m |
| 11:00 | 48% | 37% | 0% | 2.1% | 11658m |
| 12:00 | 32% | 40% | 0% | 0% | 24135m |
| 13:00 | 32% | 42% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 14:00 | 30% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 15:00 | 20% | 9.7% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 16:00 | 21% | 1.2% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 17:00 | 24% | 5.9% | 0% | 0% | 24135m |
| 18:00 | 30% | 7.2% | 0% | 0.5% | 24134m |
| 19:00 | 38% | 4.2% | 0% | 6.8% | 24135m |
| 20:00 | 32% | 9.6% | 0% | 97% | 24134m |
| 21:00 | 50% | 17% | 0% | 100% | 16833m |
| 22:00 | 47% | 26% | 0% | 100% | 17517m |
| 23:00 | 15% | 27% | 0% | 100% | 24134m |
| Tue, May 26 | |||||
| 24:00 | 13% | 28% | 0% | 89% | 24135m |
| 01:00 | 15% | 27% | 0% | 93% | 24134m |
| 02:00 | 15% | 32% | 0% | 17% | 24135m |
| 03:00 | 9% | 42% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 04:00 | 11% | 47% | 0% | 0% | 24134m |
| 05:00 | 2.3% | 51% | 0% | 0.3% | 24134m |
| 06:00 | 62% | 53% | 0% | 4.6% | 24135m |
| 07:00 | 70% | 56% | 0% | 5% | 24134m |
| 08:00 | 64% | 55% | 0% | 2.1% | 24135m |
| 09:00 | 85% | 34% | 0% | 11% | 24134m |
| 10:00 | 41% | 11% | 0% | 4.9% | 23219m |
| 11:00 | 59% | 8% | 86% | 59% | 21705m |
| 12:00 | 39% | 16% | 100% | 100% | 22674m |
| 13:00 | 36% | 11% | 100% | 64% | 23327m |
| 14:00 | 31% | 14% | 100% | 88% | 24135m |
| 15:00 | 44% | 18% | 47% | 80% | 24135m |
| 16:00 | 48% | 17% | 5% | 5% | 24134m |
| 17:00 | 76% | 24% | 5% | 50% | 24135m |
| 18:00 | 94% | 32% | 11% | 1.9% | 24134m |
| 19:00 | 61% | 21% | 7.5% | 1.3% | 24134m |
| 20:00 | 34% | 11% | 3.7% | 0.63% | 24135m |
| 21:00 | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 24135m |
| 22:00 | 44% | 0.03% | 33% | 0% | 21633m |
| 23:00 | 0% | 0.07% | 66% | 0% | 19131m |
| Wed, May 27 | |||||
| 24:00 | 0% | 0.1% | 99% | 0% | 16629m |
| 01:00 | 0% | 0.07% | 68% | 0% | 19131m |
| 02:00 | 0% | 0.03% | 37% | 0% | 21633m |
| 03:00 | 0% | 0% | 5.8% | 0% | 24135m |
| 04:00 | 0% | 0.1% | 3.9% | 0% | 24135m |
| 05:00 | 0% | 0.2% | 1.9% | 0% | 24135m |
| 06:00 | 9.8% | 0.3% | 0% | 0% | 24135m |
| 07:00 | 25% | 0.2% | 0% | 9% | 24135m |
| 08:00 | 47% | 0.1% | 0% | 18% | 24135m |
| 09:00 | 45% | 0% | 0% | 27% | 24135m |
| 10:00 | 46% | 0% | 1.8% | 21% | 24135m |
| 11:00 | 26% | 0% | 3.6% | 15% | 24135m |
What does Cloud Drama Score mean?
Inputs that drive the scoreThis derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.
| Time Atlantic/Azores | Air Pressure hPa | High Clouds % | Mid-Level Clouds % | Precipitation Chance % | Relative Humidity % | Solar Elevation ° | Total Cloud Coverage % | Wind Gusts m/s | Wind Speed m/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, May 24
Sunrise 06:30
Sunset 21:01 | |||||||||
| 13:00 | 996hPa | 5% | 0% | 0% | 74% | 70° | 39% | 2.3m/s | 1.8m/s |
| 14:00 | 996hPa | 5% | 0% | 0% | 72% | 72° | 28% | 2.5m/s | 1.7m/s |
| 15:00 | 996hPa | 25% | 0% | 0% | 71% | 66° | 33% | 2.5m/s | 1.7m/s |
| 16:00 | 996hPa | 53% | 0% | 13% | 72% | 56° | 53% | 2.6m/s | 1.7m/s |
| 17:00 | 995hPa | 21% | 0% | 26% | 76% | 45° | 40% | 2.8m/s | 1.7m/s |
| 18:00 | 996hPa | 28% | 0% | 39% | 80% | 33° | 40% | 2.9m/s | 1.7m/s |
| 19:00 | 996hPa | 29% | 0% | 37% | 82% | 22° | 36% | 3.1m/s | 1.8m/s |
| 20:00 | 996hPa | 56% | 0% | 36% | 84% | 10° | 56% | 3.3m/s | 1.9m/s |
| 21:00 | 996hPa | 100% | 0% | 34% | 90% | 0.03° | 100% | 2.7m/s | 2m/s |
| 22:00 ☾ | 996hPa | 52% | 0% | 36% | 91% | -10° | 52% | 3.3m/s | 2.4m/s |
| 23:00 ☾ | 996hPa | 5% | 0% | 37% | 92% | -19° | 48% | 3.4m/s | 2.4m/s |
| Mon, May 25
Sunrise 06:29
Sunset 21:02 | |||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 996hPa | 5% | 0% | 39% | 94% | -25° | 67% | 3.7m/s | 2.4m/s |
| 01:00 ☾ | 995hPa | 5% | 0% | 37% | 95% | -29° | 86% | 4.3m/s | 2.6m/s |
| 02:00 ☾ | 995hPa | 5% | 0% | 35% | 96% | -30° | 97% | 4.5m/s | 2.6m/s |
| 03:00 ☾ | 995hPa | 5% | 0% | 33% | 96% | -28° | 81% | 4.8m/s | 2.5m/s |
| 04:00 ☾ | 994hPa | 5% | 0% | 35% | 96% | -23° | 92% | 4.8m/s | 2.4m/s |
| 05:00 ☾ | 994hPa | 5% | 0% | 37% | 97% | -15° | 99% | 4.5m/s | 2.2m/s |
| 06:00 ☾ | 994hPa | 5% | 0% | 39% | 97% | -5.8° | 91% | 4.2m/s | 2.1m/s |
| 07:00 | 994hPa | 0% | 0% | 26% | 97% | 4.7° | 89% | 4.2m/s | 2.3m/s |
| 08:00 | 995hPa | 0% | 0% | 13% | 96% | 16° | 82% | 3.9m/s | 2.2m/s |
| 09:00 | 995hPa | 1% | 0% | 0% | 95% | 27° | 69% | 4.2m/s | 2.3m/s |
| 10:00 | 995hPa | 2% | 0% | 0% | 92% | 39° | 59% | 4.7m/s | 2.8m/s |
| 11:00 | 995hPa | 2% | 0% | 0% | 88% | 50° | 37% | 4.9m/s | 3.1m/s |
| 12:00 | 995hPa | 0% | 0% | 0% | 83% | 61° | 40% | 5.3m/s | 3.3m/s |
| 13:00 | 995hPa | 0% | 0% | 1% | 81% | 70° | 42% | 5.4m/s | 3.5m/s |
| 14:00 | 995hPa | 0% | 0% | 2% | 79% | 72° | 25% | 5.9m/s | 3.9m/s |
| 15:00 | 995hPa | 0% | 0% | 3% | 76% | 66° | 10% | 6.1m/s | 4m/s |
| 16:00 | 994hPa | 0% | 0% | 2% | 73% | 56° | 1% | 6.4m/s | 4.1m/s |
| 17:00 | 994hPa | 0% | 0% | 1% | 74% | 45° | 6% | 6.3m/s | 3.9m/s |
| 18:00 | 994hPa | 0% | 0% | 0% | 76% | 33° | 8% | 5.9m/s | 3.7m/s |
| 19:00 | 994hPa | 7% | 0% | 1% | 78% | 22° | 7% | 5.6m/s | 3.6m/s |
| 20:00 | 994hPa | 97% | 0% | 2% | 82% | 10° | 97% | 5.8m/s | 3.5m/s |
| 21:00 | 994hPa | 100% | 0% | 3% | 90% | 0.14° | 100% | 5.5m/s | 3.1m/s |
| 22:00 ☾ | 995hPa | 100% | 0% | 2% | 94% | -10° | 100% | 5.7m/s | 3.1m/s |
| 23:00 ☾ | 995hPa | 100% | 0% | 1% | 94% | -19° | 100% | 6m/s | 3.3m/s |
| Tue, May 26
Sunrise 06:29
Sunset 21:03 | |||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 994hPa | 89% | 0% | 0% | 95% | -25° | 89% | 7.2m/s | 3.5m/s |
| 01:00 ☾ | 994hPa | 93% | 0% | 13% | 94% | -29° | 93% | 7.9m/s | 3.7m/s |
| 02:00 ☾ | 993hPa | 16% | 0% | 26% | 94% | -30° | 43% | 8.3m/s | 4m/s |
| 03:00 ☾ | 993hPa | 0% | 0% | 39% | 94% | -28° | 42% | 8.6m/s | 4.1m/s |
| 04:00 ☾ | 992hPa | 0% | 0% | 45% | 93% | -22° | 47% | 8.7m/s | 4.3m/s |
| 05:00 ☾ | 991hPa | 0% | 0% | 50% | 93% | -15° | 50% | 8.9m/s | 4.5m/s |
| 06:00 ☾ | 991hPa | 5% | 0% | 56% | 92% | -5.7° | 53% | 9.2m/s | 4.5m/s |
| 07:00 | 991hPa | 5% | 0% | 43% | 91% | 4.8° | 56% | 9.6m/s | 5m/s |
| 08:00 | 991hPa | 2% | 0% | 31% | 90% | 16° | 55% | 9.9m/s | 5.2m/s |
| 09:00 | 991hPa | 11% | 0% | 18% | 87% | 27° | 34% | 9.8m/s | 5.3m/s |
| 10:00 | 991hPa | 5% | 0% | 27% | 84% | 39° | 12% | 10m/s | 6m/s |
| 11:00 | 990hPa | 59% | 86% | 37% | 80% | 50° | 86% | 11m/s | 6.7m/s |
| 12:00 | 990hPa | 100% | 100% | 46% | 79% | 61° | 100% | 11m/s | 6.8m/s |
| 13:00 | 990hPa | 64% | 100% | 51% | 79% | 70° | 100% | 11m/s | 6.8m/s |
| 14:00 | 989hPa | 88% | 100% | 56% | 80% | 72° | 100% | 11m/s | 6.9m/s |
| 15:00 | 988hPa | 80% | 47% | 61% | 75% | 66° | 82% | 11m/s | 7.3m/s |
| 16:00 | 987hPa | 5% | 5% | 68% | 73% | 56° | 17% | 12m/s | 7.9m/s |
| 17:00 | 986hPa | 50% | 5% | 76% | 73% | 45° | 50% | 12m/s | 8.1m/s |
| 18:00 | 986hPa | 2% | 11% | 84% | 77% | 33° | 33% | 14m/s | 8.5m/s |
| 19:00 | 994hPa | 1% | 7% | 67% | 79% | 22° | 22% | 13m/s | 9m/s |
| 20:00 | 1002hPa | 1% | 4% | 50% | 80% | 11° | 11% | 12m/s | 9.6m/s |
| 21:00 | 1011hPa | 0% | 0% | 33% | 82% | 0.25° | 0% | 12m/s | 10m/s |
| 22:00 ☾ | 1011hPa | 0% | 33% | 31% | 79% | -10° | 33% | 11m/s | 9.9m/s |
| 23:00 ☾ | 1011hPa | 0% | 66% | 30% | 77% | -19° | 66% | 11m/s | 9.7m/s |
| Wed, May 27
Sunrise 06:28
Sunset 21:03 | |||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 1011hPa | 0% | 99% | 29% | 74% | -25° | 99% | 11m/s | 9.5m/s |
| 01:00 ☾ | 1011hPa | 0% | 68% | 31% | 75% | -29° | 68% | 11m/s | 9.2m/s |
| 02:00 ☾ | 1012hPa | 0% | 37% | 34% | 76% | -30° | 37% | 10m/s | 9m/s |
| 03:00 ☾ | 1012hPa | 0% | 6% | 36% | 77% | -28° | 6% | 9.9m/s | 8.8m/s |
| 04:00 ☾ | 1013hPa | 0% | 4% | 45% | 76% | -22° | 4% | 10m/s | 9m/s |
| 05:00 ☾ | 1013hPa | 0% | 2% | 54% | 75% | -15° | 2% | 10m/s | 9.2m/s |
| 06:00 ☾ | 1014hPa | 0% | 0% | 64% | 74% | -5.6° | 0% | 10m/s | 9.3m/s |
| 07:00 | 1014hPa | 9% | 0% | 47% | 73% | 4.9° | 9% | 11m/s | 9.6m/s |
| 08:00 | 1015hPa | 18% | 0% | 30% | 72% | 16° | 18% | 11m/s | 9.8m/s |
| 09:00 | 1015hPa | 27% | 0% | 13% | 71% | 27° | 27% | 12m/s | 10m/s |
| 10:00 | 1016hPa | 21% | 2% | 42% | 71% | 39° | 21% | 11m/s | 9m/s |
| 11:00 | 1016hPa | 15% | 4% | 71% | 72% | 51° | 15% | 9.5m/s | 8m/s |
| 12:00 | 1016hPa | 8% | 5% | 100% | 72% | 61° | 8% | 8.3m/s | 6.9m/s |
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