As close as it got

Like you, my heart started pounding when that bank of thick clouds on the horizon got close enough to see that there was a rainshaft to the ground with a minor Cumulonimbus on top of it (ignoring the fact that you could’ve been hanging out by the radar all day).

6:47 PM. Cumulonimbus with rainshaft to the ground slowly approached near sunset yesterday.
6:47 PM. Cumulonimbus with rainshaft to the ground slowly approached near sunset yesterday. Big dust plume also visible to the right of the shaft a little later.

Today, the heart of the cold air and best moisture are over us and TODAY we will get those local icing-out Cu and small Cbs with sprinkles here and there. Measurable? Not so sure. Will be lucky. LTG in the area likely today, too.

If you’re a low temperature anomaly centric person at this time of the year (in texting, “LTACP”, or just “LTAC” for short), you will likely enjoy today’s 10 degrees or so below normal afternoon maximum, chillier even with outflows from virga and the scattered light showers around.

More later, photos, too… Behind on animal chores now.

Yesterday’s clouds

I thought it was a pretty nice day for you, though a little disappointing due to the late arrival of the minor rain threat mentioned above.  You had quite an array of clouds to discuss in your cloud diary, which was good.

Below, I reprise them for you:

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6:30 AM.  Altostratus, the State Cloud of Arizona I think; Altostratus.  We see a lot Cumulus, of course, but sporadically in the winter following a storm or trough like today, and in our summer rain season, but Altostratus we see year round.

 

 

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8:49 AM.  Mostly Cirrus uncinus (hooked, or tufted at the top).
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10:03 AM.   Accas:  Altocumulus castellanus.  According to my cloud chart, it could rain with 6 to 196 hours after you see these clouds.

 

1:19 PM.  Me and my shadow.
1:19 PM. Me and my shadow.

 

By Art Rangno

Retiree from a group specializing in airborne measurements of clouds and aerosols at the University of Washington (Cloud and Aerosol Research Group). The projects in which I participated were in many countries; from the Arctic to Brazil, from the Marshall Islands to South Africa.