Comparison of CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS observations to trained student surface observations from the CloudSat Education Network.

Individual surface observations of cloud type taken by trained student observers participating in the CloudSat Education Network (CEN) are compared with observations from the CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS cloud classification product. The CloudSat Education Network consists of over eighty schools trained in cloud observations, and are located across five continents. Surface observations of clouds from the CEN are taken coincident with CloudSat overpasses of the CEN school location, facilitating direct comparison between the satellite-derived cloud type product and the surface observations. Agreement between the two sets of observations are comparable to studies using WMO observations made by trained meteorologists, making the near-global CEN network a potentially useful source for ground verification of satellite-observed cloud properties.