Extraordinary Clouds

[FeralSheryl]

I feel the urge to share my amazement. They're called Mammatus Clouds and often [size=-1]accompany severe thunderstorms. [/size]You're more likely to see these in the US than in Europe but what a sight!
[size=-1]
[/size]Jorn Olsen's photography (above link) is extraordinary. Have any of our US based members seen them for themselves, I wonder?

It leads me to wonder how many of us have any knowledge of clouds generally and what they mean to prevailing weather conditions ahead? Could it be a rather neglected area of bushcrafting we should really be learning about - along the lines of 'Red Sky at night...' and all that?

 

[innocent bystander]

WOW. They look almost unreal. Kinda airbrushed. Awesome...

 

[FeralSheryl]

Keep clicking 'next'. He's taken dozens of em. But then you would get into a bit of a photo frenzie if you saw those hanging overhead and you had a camera to hand.

A few have been Photoshopped (just the usual photo clean ups usually) but Google searches reveal they really do look just like that.

Is it just me or does anyone else hear the Ghostbusters theme!

 

[Toddy]

Ye Gods, but that'd scare me! Armageddon comes and all that. Makes our grey skies seem placid, don't they?

How about a thread on weatherlore? Sea, shore, moor, wood and hill sort of thing.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[FeralSheryl]

Weatherlore? What a brilliant idea. Nice one Toddy!
Blimey, which forum would we start a thread off in though?

 

[Toddy]

Ah ....where's a mod?
Y'know they're awfully useful, aren't they?

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[arctic hobo]

Incredible pictures... d'you know how they're created?
A weather thread is cool... I flatter myself I'm a bit of a weather man, although I seem to get it wrong half the time Actually thinking about it, the weathermen always get it wrong so maybe I'm closer than I think
Oh and use the Bushcraft and Survival skills forum

 

[FeralSheryl]

Now I come to think of it Weatherlore (as coined by Toddy) is really a rather important part of Bushcraft isn't it.

Any Mod's out there looking in, let us know your thoughts.

arctic hobo, here is a basic description of how Mammatus clouds form. If I find anything more informative I'll add it to this post tomorrow. The effects of my 'Weekend wine' are kicking in rather rapidly now, so I think it advisable to resist posting at this point, until tomorrow at least.

 

[RovingArcher]

I had the opportunity to see some very similar, but not as pronounced. Something like that is rare here in California.

Now, while in Idaho, I managed to get a good look at a halo that looked like a smile (upside down rainbow) in the sky and what was really strange about the sight, was the clouds seemed to move through it, like smoke through light. Sorry, no photos, but it sure was a sight to behold.

 

[Daniel]

Those clouds are fantastic, it must be amazing to see them first hand rather than in a photo!

On the subject of 'weatherlore', I noticed, flicking through Wildwood Wisdom, there is some info on clouds and what they mean in regard to coming weather, from page 401!!

 

[storm]

i've seen the mammatus clouds dozens of times, in california, maine, washington, alaska, and especially minnesota. when i worked in minnesota for six summers at an ecological field station, the storms would roll in late afternoons. i would hop on my bike (pedal-powered), strap on the ol' hail-deflecting helmet, and pedal off toward or in-amongst the swirling winds, crashing trees and *&#%$ hail, hoping to catch a glimpse of funnel clouds (saw about a dozen) and tornadoes (saw two, heard and felt one of them). right on the Isanti/Anoka county border. it was awesome! the mammatus clouds preceeded and followed the violent weather.

took these pics a few weeks ago here in california...

 

[stotRE]

I have seen similar cloud formations in Northern spain on the med coast.

 

[FeralSheryl]

...Oh and use the Bushcraft and Survival skills forum

Just posted a new thread on Weatherlore there

 

[tomtom]

Sheryl.. why not join CAP
i have been very interested in clouds for as long as i can remember.. i used to have some pictures in my Blog befor the big crash! thanks for showing us.. did you see some of these? check out the morning glory cloud on the CAP web site.. quite amazing!! We, most of us, live in a great place for cloud spotting, The UK that is, and i feel they are greatly under apreciated! we have been treated to some wonderful Cirrus down here in south devon this week!

check out Cloud man's site too!

 

[Moonraker]

Ahh! That's there name. Thanks FS

I can tell you that they ARE scary!! During the hot summer of 2003 one late afternoon I suddenly noticed the whole village outside the window turn orange
I figured it was one the of the Scirocco winds blowing up from Africa across the Med into Southern France, which carry red Saharan dust which gave the air and clouds a haunting colour. But when I went outside and saw the developing clouds I was freaked

Truly a Martian skyscape

 

[Kepis]

Wow, they are amazing, now this is not a Mammatus cloud, i still think it is fairly impressive, took the photo at 39000ft on my way home from Ethiopia.

 

[FeralSheryl]

Sheryl.. why not join CAP
i have been very interested in clouds for as long as i can remember.. i used to have some pictures in my Blog befor the big crash! thanks for showing us.. did you see some of these? check out the morning glory cloud on the CAP web site.. quite amazing!! We, most of us, live in a great place for cloud spotting, The UK that is, and i feel they are greatly under apreciated! we have been treated to some wonderful Cirrus down here in south devon this week!

check out Cloud man's site too!

My goodness, there really is a site for everything out there. Cheers tomtom, will check them out more thoroughly at the weekend.

 

[Ts1spoc]

We get a lot of weird cloud formations in the mid-west US. Usually from severe weather moving in. Having lived here and on the Gulf Coast, I have seen both tornadoes and hurricanes. Do you have such severe weather your countries? And how often?For me,we have anywhere from 14 to 116 tornadoes a year and usually during the months between April and October. Hail is another concern with severe weather and sizes range from pea to softball (5mm to 15cm). Nothing ruins the smooth lines of a new fender likes a 1kilo piece of ice falling at 32ft per second per second.

 

[FeralSheryl]

We get a lot of weird cloud formations in the mid-west US. Usually from severe weather moving in. Having lived here and on the Gulf Coast, I have seen both tornadoes and hurricanes. Do you have such severe weather your countries? And how often?...

We don't really have a great deal of sevear weather in the UK. Green and pleasant land and all that, the weather can be pretty changable but rarely extreme.

It rather takes us by surprise when the odd event does occur, like the recent Tornado in Birmingham, or little Earth tremour. But nothing like the conditions you experience over there.

People talk about the weather alot here but it's just their way of trying to share something. They do like to share a good moan.

 

[andyn]

Incredible pictures... d'you know how they're created?

I found this site that gives a half decent explanation of how they are formed.


I don't think the clouds down in the south get quite as dramatic as that. The pics in this thread are truely mad! I love moonraker's pic.