help with Russian Weather Report

[Jeff Leach]

I have been seeing a lot of Russian weather reports and there is one word I am having trouble with

Погода: облачность 8-10 баллов, высота 500 - 1200 мт., слабая дымка, видимость 1-2 км., временами слабий снег

Weather: cloud cover 8-10 баллов, ceiling 500 - 1200 mt., Slight haze, visibility 1-2 km., light snow at times.

It seems that баллов might be Okta in English

[GregSingh]

I think this measurement is in points of cloudiness.
0-8 oktas translates to 0-10 points.

Eg.
0==>0
1-2==>1-3
3-4==>4-5
5-7==>6-9
8==>10

[ayovtshev]

Бал is a visual measurement unit for cloud cover.
Fully clouded sky is 10 баллов, while clear/cloudless sky is 0 баллов. Measurement is done visualy, by comparing the cloud-covered portion of the sky with the cloud free portion of the sky.