Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds)

Θέμα: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 17:53

The Witch's Brew of Bizarre Clouds

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Photos (which are probably the weirdest of all weather phenomena pics),

taken from the top of local TV broadcasting tower (source: KSNTV)

both the lenticular and mammatus clouds combine in one crazy rippled texture, hanging all over the city.

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Starv

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Starv

Θέμα: Απ: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 17:57

Bizarre Clouds

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 30477682798ea17cc4fo094

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 288046154f9cc3d54c0o091

Θέμα: Απ: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 17:59

Bizarre Clouds

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Cc6

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Cc7

Θέμα: Απ: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 18:01

Lenticular Clouds Above Washington

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Rainiercloudsthompson20

Are those UFOs near that mountain? No -- they are multilayered lenticular clouds.
Moist air forced to flow upward around mountain tops can create lenticular clouds.

Water droplets condense from moist air cooled below the dew point, and clouds are opaque groups of water droplets.
Waves in the air that would normally be seen horizontally can then be seen vertically, by the different levels where clouds form.

On some days the city of Seattle, Washington, USA, is treated to an unusual sky show when lenticular clouds form near Mt. Rainier, a large mountain that looms just under 100 kilometers southeast of the city.

This image of a spectacular cluster of lenticular clouds was taken last December.

Credit & Copyright: Tim Thompson

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Starv

Θέμα: Απ: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 18:02

A Lenticular Cloud Over Hawai'i

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Lenticularhawaiibig3335

Can a cloud do that? Actually, pictured above are several clouds all stacked up into one striking lenticular cloud.

Normally, air moves much more horizontally than it does vertically.
Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a mountain or a hill, relatively strong vertical oscillations take place as the air stabilizes.

The dry air at the top of an oscillation may be quite stratified in moisture content, and hence forms clouds at each layer where the air saturates with moisture.
The result can be a lenticular cloud with a strongly layered appearance.

The above picture was taken last week near Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA.

Credit & Copyright: Peter Michaud (Gemini Obs.)

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Starv

Θέμα: Απ: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 18:03

A Lenticular Cloud Over New Zealand

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Lenticularpicking378348

What's happening above those mountains? Several clouds are stacked up into one striking lenticular cloud.
Normally, air moves much more horizontally than it does vertically.

Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a mountain or a hill, relatively strong vertical oscillations take place as the air stabilizes.
The dry air at the top of an oscillation may be quite stratified in moisture content, and hence forms clouds at each layer where the air saturates with moisture.

The result can be a lenticular cloud with a strongly layered appearance.
The above picture was taken in 2002 looking southwest over the Tararua Range mountains from North Island, New Zealand.

Credit & Copyright: Chris Picking (Starry Night Skies Photography)

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Starv

Θέμα: Απ: Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) 08.03.10 18:03

Mammatus Clouds Over Mexico

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Cloudsaguirre2901830

Normal cloud bottoms are flat because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a very specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height.

After water droplets form that air becomes an opaque cloud.
Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate.

Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm, being seen near the top of an anvil cloud, for example.
Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side.

These mammatus clouds were photographed over Monclova, Mexico.

Credit & Copyright: Raymundo Aguirre

Clouds (a wide collection of bizzare clouds) Starv