There are specific signs that indicate rain is on the way. Watch the animals and what they are doing. They will tell you if change is coming. Birds, specifically swallows, will be flying low if no change is expected but if they fly high that means high pressure is moving in. Squirrels and other animals will start to scurry around just before a storm, making sure they have their shelters shored up and their food supply in order. Watch these animals and see what their activities are in relation to the weather so you can make better future predictions.

Rhymes to Remember
Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning sailors take warning.
- Refers to a red sky formed by sunlight shining through dry air. When air is dry in the west, the westerlies are moving in. When it's in the east, the storm has passed.

In the morning mountains in the evening fountains.
- Refers to towering cumulus clouds that almost always bring in rain.

When the moon or sun is in his house, likely rain without.
-  Refers to a sky filled with with cirrocumulus clouds and indicates that a front is approaching. When a cold front hits a warm front it usually brings rain.

If the clouds are gathering thick and fast, keep sharp lookout for sail and mast but if they slowly onward crawl shoot your lines and nets to trawl. 
- Refers to thick fast clouds, indicating a cold front is coming fast or a in-coming slow, warm front that won't move in for a while.

Short notice soon will pass. Long notice long will last.
- Refers to the speed at which fronts approach. If it comes in fast it will likely blow over quickly but if it takes a long time to roll in chances are it's going to be there for a while.
 
Types of Clouds

High clouds are clouds that exist between 20,000 feet and above. These clouds can exist as high as 200,000 feet in the air. High clouds include: Cirrus, Cirrocumulus, Cirrostratus.

 

Mid-level clouds are clouds that exist at an altitude between 6500 feet and 20,000 feet, including: Altostratus, Altocumulus

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Low clouds are clouds that exist lower than 6500 feet, including: Cumulus, cumulonimbus,   Stratus

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Low clouds consist of little drops of water but high clouds are the most dangerous. This is because high clouds are caused by serious winds. This wind will push the little water droplets into the upper atmosphere where they turn to ice and fall. If the wind pushes the droplets back up before they can fall to the earth the hail will continue to grow larger and larger, depending on how many times the drop goes up-freezes-falls and gets pushed back up.

If you have an anvil shaped cirrostatus cloud it is because the upper air current has blown the top of the cloud. 

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Clouds look like they are billowing because water is accumulating so fast you can see it, like a wave. When this happens it can turn into one heck of a thunderstorm.Watch which way the cloud is moving because if the bottom is low enough wind will start swirling that bottom and form a tornado. Tornadoes are more bothersome than hurricanes because the wind is more intense and unpredictable. 

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There are also miscellaneous clouds. Fog is actually microscopic water droplets floating close to the earth. Green clouds are actually light reflecting off the green vegetation below but these green clouds are also very closely related to severe weather. 

 

You have to know the weather patterns in your area, the surrounding area and any areas you may plan on bugging out to. Try to predict the weather the night before and see if you get it right on the next day.