Cirrostratus Splash

Cirrostatus Splash

Night or Day?

May 29th - Tranquility among the Turmoil

The sky was black and turbulent as a thunderstorm approached - but when I looked up this heron soared across the sky in a perfectly straight line seeming not to notice the weather around him...

April 28th - Golden Moon

 There was definitely some kind of alchemy going on in the sky tonight! Perfect for casting magic spells...

April 10th - Sun or Moon?

Cirrostratus clouds create a sheer blanket over the sun -  it's hard for the camera to tell if it's night or day! Maybe we can get a moontan...

February 19th - Billowing Smoke

Swirling billowing smoke...

February 17th - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan bows his head over his hands on the keyboard - left profile close-up. This would be a great shot for an album cover!

February 11th - Genie on the Loose!

There must be one huge lamp behind those trees...

December 30th - Cirrostratus Cloudfingers

Cirrostratus cloudfingers in the winter sky...

Popeye in Victory!

These cumulus clouds against a cirrostratus background took me back to my cartoon childhood - Popeye raising his arms in victory! Thank heaven for spinach!

November 9th - Hurricane Rainbow

There is a very unusual late season hurricane Ida in the Gulf Coast which is creating some unusual weather here in the outer bands...



I think this upper level rainbow was from light refracted in ice vapor. It sounds pretty good anyway...

September 14th - Cirrostratus Cloud Dance

Cirrostratus clouds in the background of this skyscape seem to intertwine in a swirling dance with the lower level clouds. The light near sunset gives a beautiful pink cast to the scene.

August 26th - Mushroom cloud, breaking waves, and grey sky

It has been raining pretty much all day, and the sky is basically grey - I did manage to eek out one photo just to stay honest. The other 2 pictures are from my archive. They were taken with a Sony Cybershot about 18 months ago. These were also taken from my yard, but it was at a different house about a mile from where we live now.


High Clouds:
One of the types of high clouds are the cirrostratus clouds like the grey background in this first photo. These clouds appear in sheets that have non-distinct features. They are usually thin enough for the sun or moon to shine through.

Middle Clouds:
The clouds in the foreground of the same photo are Altocumulus (I'm pretty sure). They are either scattered or in linear bands.


Multi-layer clouds:
Cumulonimbus clouds are the most dramatic type of cloud, and produce severe weather including thunder, lightning, hail and tornadoes. They expand at the top forming an anvil shape. This is caused by the stronger winds in the higher atmosphere.

This cumulonimbus cloud looks like waves crashing upon the rocky shore.

This cumulonimbus cloud, dramatically offset by the sudden appearance of the sun could almost be mistaken for a UFO or an atomic mushroom cloud.