7 types of rare and amazing clouds (w/ pics and videos)
Thu, Apr 2, 2009
Post filled in: Feature Post, Great Pics, Other
Clouds have inspired poets since immemorial times and they’ve even puzzled scientists, it almost seems like there’s something out of this world about them. Well, just wait until you see these amazing clouds.
Mammatus clouds
These pouch-like clouds seem to be the harbringers of thunderstorms and tornadoes and (in many cases) that’s exactly what they are. They form after a long and warm periods and the intensely sheared environment in which Mammatus forms makes them every aviator’s nightmare.
Altocumulus Castelanus
These jellyfish clouds are formed a mass of moist air moves fast from the Gulf Stream and gets trapped between two layers of dry air. The part from the top rises while the evaporated rain drops form the lower part of the cloud.
Arcus clouds
They are the result a cold front of air or a thundestorm front, or of microburst activity. What happens is the cooler air sinks and spreads across the cloud and the outflow prevents the warm air from being drawn in the storm updraft and the cool air lifts the warm moist air, water condenses creating a cloud which often rolls with the different winds above and below (by wikipedia)
These clouds have two main categories:
a) Roll clouds
Roll clouds seem to be taken out of a new Stargate series or something and they’re an amazing sight to contemple.
And a video:
b) Shelf clouds
The main difference from roll clouds is that shelf clouds are attached to the base of the parent cloud, which as you could have guess, means thunderstorm.
Nacreous clouds
Nacreous clouds are also known as Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and they are formed in the winter polar stratosphere and they have a big impact in creating ozone holes as they further contribute to the depletion of ozone by supporting chemical reactions that produce active chlorine which catalyzes ozone destruction. Bad, bad clouds !!
Also called mother of pearl clouds or sun dogs, these rare clouds are rarely seen, but once you do, you most definitely won’t forget them. But if you haven’t, here are some videos.
Noctilucent clouds
In all fairness, noctilucent clouds should actually be called cloud-like phenomena as they are formed at very big altitudes, from 76 to 85 km (even 100 km by some), making them the highest formed phenomena that could be called clouds; yeah, they are formed on the border between our atmosphere and space. They are extremely rare and usually, even when visible, very very faint.
Their seem to be very luminous, but what they actually do is reflect the sunlight from the other side of the earth at night.
Mushroom clouds
Last but most definitely not least, we have mushroom clouds; these very distinctive clouds are the result of smoke, condensed water vapor, or other similar substances after an explosion or eruption. They are especially known from nuclear explosions, but any big enough blast can form them, including natural sources.
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Andrei is no scientist, but from an early age, he has been fascinated by science; that's why he went to college, and signed up for Geophysics. Feeling that there's a huge gap between science and average people, he rallied TP, started ZME Science, and gave it a green twist too.
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April 2nd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
The last cloud picture with a cloud over mount fuji is not a mushroom cloud. It is a Lenticular cloud.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
That last picture is actually a lenticular cloud.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 am
The last cloud (mushroomclouds3.jpg) appears to be more of a lenticular cloud, you might want to check that out.
Other than that, this is a great post.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:25 am
I humbly apologize and stand corrected. Thanks guys, you rock
April 7th, 2009 at 11:34 am
hi mom
April 21st, 2009 at 12:36 pm
these were awesome pictures
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 am
Very very nice pictures.Especially those Mammatus clouds , i haven’t seen anything like this in reality till now
June 16th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Incredible photos. The shelf clouds look ominous.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
some of the clouds are results of chemicals aerially sprayed a few days before. New types of clouds now why would that be? Chemicals are changing the atmosphere and higher. Sad but true. I do not speak of clouds from eruptions or northpole type aurora borealus phenomena
July 9th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
The roll and bubble clouds would be an interesting yet frightening site.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Humbly Sir, I must correct your wonderfully imaginative incaccuracies. In the first picture, you have incorrectly identified the feasting belly of the mother ship, as it lowers it’s feeding-udder-like protuberances to your lower atmosphere, where it delights on your early morning smog. In the second picture, what you see as jellyfish clouds are merely our dear mothership taking an “exhaust break” - what is termed in your vernacular, a “fart”. The third picture, (beautiful, no?) the roll clouds are merely “Mother” spinning off into the horizon, having a bit of fun, and if she has a bit of indigestion, it settles in your lower atmosphere looking like a “shelf”. Sigh, you guys had better clean up your air, where’s a UFO to get a good meal these days. As for the colored versions, you can be sure that’s when we lowered the udders over any place inhabited by majijuana smokers - what a treat for us!
Sincerely, Mother
July 29th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Glad I found this awesome website. I love this stuff.
August 10th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I took a few pictures of some of the first type, the Mammatus clouds, as they rolled in over southeast Kansas recently. The pictures can be found at http://www.bigsimon.com/2009/07/02/the-storm/ if you’d like to see them.
August 10th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I always photograph clouds that are unusual, and I’ve seen a few in my day. These were interesting.
August 18th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Amazing pics!
I actually saw the Mammatus clouds here in Ireland last month and was very freaked out by them! My friend and I had never seen anything like it, and as the weather had been very hot, and it was now a clammy but cloudy day we were convinced these clouds meant some big ass storm was on the way.
Apparently we were right but they passed out to sea so…
September 20th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Wow, those clouds almost look 3d created in some cases. Nature is such an amazing thing, one of my personal favorite clouds to look at are HTC clouds.
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:04 am
Mother sounds like an interesting Girl to talk to!!
Speak to me Mother.
October 17th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
The roll and bubble clouds would be an interesting yet frightening site.
“Mother sounds like an interesting Girl to talk to!!
Speak to me Mother.”