Mammatus Clouds
Mammatus, also known as mammatocumulus (meaning "mammary cloud" or "breast cloud"), is a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. The name mammatus is derived from the Latin mamma (meaning "udder" or "breast").
Mammatus are most often associated with the anvil cloud and also severe thunderstorms. They often extend from the base of a cumulonimbus, but may also be found under altocumulus, altostratus, stratocumulus, and cirrus clouds, as well as volcanic ash clouds.
References:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-glossary/what-are-mammatus-clouds/5506130
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloudpic9.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud
Photos via Wikimedia Commons
They are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSeems to be a cloudy kind of day.
ReplyDeleteCan it snow from them as well?
ReplyDeleteMammatus form because of the subcloud evaporation...ice crystals, water droplets or a mix of these fall from cloud base into the subsaturated air and begin to sublime and evaporate.
ReplyDelete"Mammatus" always makes me giggle
ReplyDeleteI will blush henceforth when I look upon such clouds. ;)
ReplyDeleteMammatus, I would like to introduce you to Arcus...https://plus.google.com/114625146075055550884/posts/gfGE4WWp7Kh
ReplyDeleteTornados also called papatus clouds.
ReplyDelete