Calling Steemian cloud experts!

in #nature7 years ago

That's experts on real clouds in the real sky, not the virtual cloud, although it's not impossible that an expert in one kind of cloud could be an expert in the other.

I took a number of photos of these clouds near sunset on 21 December 2015 in Johannesburg and would appreciate your feedback on what kind of clouds these are. Not only am I curious about what these clouds are, I find them extremely beautiful, and the setting sunlight on them was memorable and mesmerising.

cloud

Back to identifying them!

I think they might be partially-formed mammatus clouds. We sometimes see mammatus clouds in Johannesburg before thunderstorms - and our thunderstorms are typically ferocious. Here's a dramatic example of well-formed mammatus clouds from one of my favourite feeds, www.earthsky.org:

EarthSkyNews sunset mammatus

Image credit

And for those who are wondering where the name mammatus comes from, yes, it is what you're thinking.

Here's another example from the Weather Channel:

Weather Channel mammatus

Image credit

Was there a thunderstorm that day?

I looked for weather data for that day; I remember that week before Christmas was brutally hot, but can't remember if we actually had a thunderstorm. Without a South African Weather Service account, the best I can do is access a weekly rainfall picture for the country:

rainfall map SA wk 3 Dec15
Image credit

Some more shots to help with identification - and just because those clouds are beautiful

Here are some more shots of the clouds I observed on 21 December 2015, if the different angles will help you with identification:

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Look forward to your Steemian knowledge and insights!

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Beautiful clouds

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I am no expert on the could names, but nonetheless love the photos you took @kiligirl !

Thanks, @marcel1965. We live under the same sky 🤗

some insane clouds. good photography, I follow.

Thank you for the compliment, @pratikchordia 🤗

I really am not a cloud expert, but they reminds me on Altocumulus clouds a little bit more than Mammatus clouds.

Maybe some expert will explain which ones are they :)

Not sure - they were pretty low in the sky, and although I stand to be corrected, I think altocumulus occur at mid-altitude...but thanks, and let's see if we can get expert feedback from somewhere out there in the Steem cloud.

I have a picture of one of these cloud formations somewhere on my PC. I never knew what it was. Here is a link to a strange cloud I saw out in Palm Desert, California, right before sunset on a very windy evening. Any idea what it is?
https://steemit.com/poetry/@dabeckster/photo-haiku-clouds

Wow - I don't know! Maybe a lenticular cloud subject to some kind of wind shear? Beautiful photo 🤗

I am not a cloud expert but these are beautiful pictures of the clouds and they do look like mammatus clouds. They also make me think of giant cotton wool. I hope you find out it would be interesting to know what clouds they are.

so amazing, sometime here also some like these

Stunning pictures!

Great post

Please my sister vote on my page for ur vote great honor to me

I wish some help we are from same place

I started reading a textbook on clouds once, and I can confirm that these are indeed clouds that you see here.

Hello you could follow me, and Resteemed my post, or even give me your vote in some post
Https://steemit.com/@urtq1996

That's absolutely beautiful they look like massive droplets in the sky wow. I've never seen those types of clouds where I live. It's like a cluster in the sky that's amazing what the atmosphere does to different parts of the world. Nature is truly a extraordinary thing that sometimes shows some amazing things. But it's the politics, money, an greed who are trying to destroy nature. Smh...Like I could sit on a beach an watch those clouds pass by all day! I bet those storms come down hard over there to. But overall great post friend. I have followed & upvoted 🙏🙏

Thank you for the lovely comment, @lovleacloud! Clouds simply mesmerise me. We are so lucky here in South Africa that our weather gives us viewing opportunities like this. I remember the first mammatus I saw - was at an outdoor cocktail, and we could feel the thunderstorm approaching - guess we can feel the change in pressure.

Wow @kiligirl I love your phrase and the pictures well than

Wow... those pictures are amazing.

Really a very beautiful natural phenomenon

Beautiful photos! Congratulations!

I don't know anything about clouds, but awesome photos! 😀

Thank you, @me41! 🤗

I just realized this beautiful, nice @kiligirl

Thank you, @rizalsipil! :-)

Great photos I have never seen such clouds. You're in luck. And you very promptly photographed them.

Wow, amazing!!! Perfect for cloudwatching!! :)

Cool pics @kiligirl ! Greetimgs from spain :)

They appear as cotton balls.. pretty clouds!

wow !!!
the pattern of cloud is so amazing~

Mammatus clouds, caused by updrafts, they often signal hail present.

Thank you, @gavvet! As you can see, these were pretty thin compared to the ones we sometimes see in South Africa's Highveld (like the B&W photo I included in the article)...nevertheless, impressive and beautiful at sunset.

Not sure exactly what type of cloud, but they certainly are pretty cool!

Well, I'm no expert, but I'm a pilot and I took a meteorology class in university. I believe the scientific term for those kinds of clouds are "dingleberries."

NTRLY!

love the photos, i follow.