Specific clouds photo gallery - In the Clouds Photography

In the Clouds Photography

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Specific cloud types

Besides the commonly-found photos of relatively large-scale cirrus, stratus, and cumulus clouds seen on the previous page, the sample cloud photos on this page reveal chaotic and turbulent air flow that is usually invisible to our eyes. Notice in this rotor cloud how the eddy circulates 360 degrees or more. Although rarely seen, the air flow pattern revealed by these cloud droplets is far more common than most think and simply hidden from sight. Fast airflow over complex and steep terrain increases the odds of seeing such a cloud formation. A more typical rotor cloud appears like a long, rolling cigar shape, sometimes with other eddies internally visible within the cloud.

Most air motions are more benign than these examples but can still be associated with turbulence that aircraft passengers regularly experience. Other specific cloud types often associated with turbulence and worthy of their own names are Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds, which sometimes appear like breaking ocean waves. The best examples of K-H clouds are usually found in the lower or middle levels of the atmosphere whereas cirrus-level clouds formed by the same instability are termed billow clouds. No matter their name, nearly all of these cloud forms are associated with wind shear, which is just a term for changing wind direction and/or speed with altitude.

Besides wind shear, the other primary mechanism to produce turbulence is convection, which is responsible for a myriad of dramatic and beautiful cumulus cloud forms. Within an immense cumulus cloud, an impressive example of mammatus clouds blanketed the sky overhead like an umbrella. Mammatus, also called mamma for short, clearly derive their name from the same source as mammary glands. They typically appear only when an especially strong thunderstorm has matured and passed its peak intensity and are commonly seen in the U.S. Great Plains states during severe weather season. Storm chasers often encounter impressive displays of mammatus clouds. Occasionally, these clouds appear adjacent to intense hail and/or rain and nearly reach the ground.

Another type of cloud usually associated with mountainous regions and wind shear is altocumulus lenticular, which have been mistaken for UFOs. They often look like a stack of pancakes or plates and are created by moist air flowing over mountains. If conditions are just right, there can be successive lenticular clouds as air rises, then descends downwind of a mountain range, then rises again to form a second cloud farther downwind. Then, as the sun sets, the bottom of these clouds turn scarlet red.