In 1817, Luke Howard published Climate of London: a day by day account of weather over many years. This book had an influential effect on the painter, John Constable. Up until that time, painters had not really observed cloud patterns closely and their relationship to weather. Constable was so fascinated he made a series of cloud studies.

In 1842, Luke Howard published A cycle of eighteen years in the seasons in Britain. He was trying to understand why weather changes from one year to the next. Careful observations in Ackworth, Yorkshire and at his home in Tottenham revealed a cycle of weather patterns bringing alternate warmth and cold through successive years.