9/14/2004: Mammatus clouds

Oh sure, I remember cloud types: cirrus, cirrostratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratocumulus.

Mammatus?

This Earth Sci Pic of the Day says These pendulous clouds were observed just after a huge thunderstorm, producing baseball sized hail and heavy rain, ravaged parts of Pueblo. While mammatus clouds aren't always precursors of severe weather, their appearance is certainly menacing. They typically form as a result of cold downdrafts within mature thunderstorm cells.

Gawrsh!

I certainly wouldn't feel safe if those things were dangling overhead.

Ohhh they look so soft...I'm getting sleepy just looking at them.

Man, we saw a bunch of these earlier this year out at Pagan camp...nasty weather.

I like them because they are so named due to their resemblance to breasts.

Mother nature sure is awesome. Try Googling for images of mammatus clouds to check out some more truely stunning pictures! Great choice for the IOTD, UT!

Spooky, but at the same time...cool.

Very nice!! Same clouds, only citrus-flavored!

Elspode wrote:

And a happy camper.

I'm a storm spotter - one of the "spotter criteria" is mammatus clouds - you see them, you get on the phone with the National Weather Service