Clouds - air mass

How do meteorologists forecast the expected cloud cover?

I’ve long known that the temperature and dew point spread at various altitudes can used to forecast expected cloud cover. What I didn’t know until recently was the rules of thumb used to make the forecast. Thanks to the USAF weather squadron in Germany, I was able to track down that info:

Temp/Dew Point Spread *C at altitude — Forecast Cloud Coverage — Description
0-2*C — 8/8 — Overcast (OVC)
2-3*C — 5/8-7/8 — Broken (BKN)
3-4*C — 3/8-4/8 — Scattered (SCT)
5+*C — 1/8-2/8 — Few (FEW)

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