It is proven enough that Earth never ceases to surprise us- plenty of beautiful landscapes and weird natural occurrences that left us always to question ourselves and scratch our head if those actually exist. Well, to see is to believe as they say, so we can’t do anything but to believe that they’re real.
No matter where we look at, may it be on our side, under or above, Earth is amazing. And if there’s one thing that often amaze us that is what we’ve seen above our head- the sky.
Beside from the sun, moon, and stars, there is this visible mass so-called the clouds which we often associate whenever there’s rain to happen, but beyond that fact, clouds have something unreal thing that we need to know. Clouds have different kinds of transformations and these are just some of them.
1. Lenticular Clouds
Due to its saucer-like shape, this cloud is often mistaken as a UFO but obviously, it’s not. Lenticular clouds are formed when a current of moist air is forced upwards as it travels over a mountain, causing the moisture to condense and form a cloud. It is also tend to hang around in the same stationary position for days.
2. Anvil Clouds
This cloud is often associated with the loud explosion-like noise of thunder because the cloud forms in the upper part of a thunderstorm. So how do anvil clouds form such an unusual shape, you ask? Rising air in a thunderstorm spreads out and expands as it clashes against the bottom of the stratosphere. Because anvil clouds mostly contain ice particles, the air in the stratosphere is warmer than that contained in the cloud. As a result, the anvil cloud is prevented from spreading into the stratosphere and it maintains a flat-looking top.
3. Cirrus Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds
This cloud looks like a giant wave in the sky and considered as one of the most distinctive cloud formations. When one layer of air slides across another layer moving at a different speed or in a different direction then the cloud forms the wavy shapes as pictured below. These types of clouds are not associated with any specific weather conditions, and therefore can form on even the most sunniest of days and often sit at heights above 16,500 feet!
4. Fallstreak Hole
Fallstreak Holes, also known as ‘hole-punch clouds’, occur when part of a cloud of water droplets freezes into ice crystals. Sometimes the ice crystals grow large enough to fall below the clouds, and this result in a Fallstreak Hole type cloud as pictured.
Another amazing fact about this type of cloud is that the hole grows in size, sometimes reaching 50km across merely an hour after the hole began! For the hole to form, the droplets in the cloud layer need to be below 0˚ Celsius, but not necessarily frozen. The tiny water droplets need temperatures as low as –40˚ Celsius in order to freeze into solid ice crystals.
5. Mammatus Clouds
This type of cloud is a rare sight to see, and is an example of clouds in sinking air. It signal that the worst part of a thunderstorm has actually passed. These clouds are linked to the anvil cloud, as Mammatus typically develop on the underside of a thunderstorm’s anvil.
When sunlight reflects off the underside of the Mammatus cloud, as pictured, it is a beautiful sight. Mammatus clouds can occur for a long period of time if the sinking air contains large drops and snow crystals, as these take longer to dissolve and evaporate.
6. Undulatus Asperatus
The Undulatus asperatus cloud is a newly recognized and rare cloud formation that was discovered and named as recently as 2009. This was a pretty big deal for weather experts and scientists, as a new cloud formation had not been discovered since 1951!
Undulatus asperatus simply means agitated waves. These types of clouds may look stormy and dark, however they can sometimes appear and disappear without a storm occurring. These clouds have become common occurrences in the Plains states of the United States during the earlier hours of the day. Due to the recent discovery of these clouds, scientists are still trying to discover more information about these clouds.
7. Roll Clouds
A roll cloud is a low, horizontal, tube-shaped cloud but these types of clouds do not have anything to do with tornadoes! This is famously known as the Morning Glory cloud which appear as though they are rolling in the sky, however they are a solitary cloud known as a soliton. A soliton is simply a wave that has a single crest and moves without changing speed or shape.
This popular occurrence is due to the sea breezes that develop over the Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf of Carpentaria. So, if you travel to Queensland, Australia, you have a very good chance of seeing this.
8. Polar Stratospheric Cloud
