No new cloud type has been officially classified since 1951 but Gavin Pretor-Pinney who runs the Cloud Appreciation Society believes that there is a new cloud that deserves international recognition. He calls it asperatus, which means rough in Latin. [via]
Top: Schiehallion, Scotland.
Middle: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US.
Bottom: Hanmer Springs, South Island, New Zealand. [Previously posted here.]
Apparently the unusual cloud formation is benign, not related to precipitation, violent weather or mass extinctions.
Tags: clouds, meteorology, Undulatus Asperatus, weather
Monday, 25 June 2012 at 8:17 PM
I guess ‘holy-s#!t clouds’ was taken, eh?
Monday, 25 June 2012 at 8:26 PM
Watcher– That was the working title, after “Holy F*** Clouds.” Kids read here, and they’re used to crap.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012 at 3:21 AM
wow – they are really fantastic
Tuesday, 26 June 2012 at 8:04 PM
nursem– Aside from some screaming red pre-storm sunsets, funnel clouds are the most dangerous that I’ve seen – and watched.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012 at 9:24 PM
That first photo puts me in mind of “Starry Night.” The last one puts me in mind of a couple movies that had scenes of demonic invasions from space or other dimensions.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012 at 11:20 PM
wheels– It’s all demonic mnemonic in my Book of Possessions, whatever the hell that means.
Sunday, 30 September 2012 at 2:21 PM
Scary but beautiful. The sky is angry!
Sunday, 30 September 2012 at 3:44 PM
myword– If I saw that I’d wonder which one of my neighbors pissed off the gods.