More March rain ahead; and not so far ahead

That means that a deep Altostratus overcast will be in place by tomorrow with a load of virga and sprinkles, not really much rain since the bases will also be cold and…high.  Top possible rain amount from these high cold ones is a tenth of an inch, but more likely will be traces.  Chance of… Continue reading More March rain ahead; and not so far ahead

Another day with Altocumulus clouds, and what else? The usual: aircraft-produced ice canals

They seem to go together every time we have Altocumulus clouds; aircraft flying through them create holes or canals!  Have been photographing this phenomenon since the early 1980s, and I have not seen it so consistently occur every time there was a flake of Altocumulus around as has been the case here this winter!  Its… Continue reading Another day with Altocumulus clouds, and what else? The usual: aircraft-produced ice canals

Sutherland Heights logs 0.22 inches yesterday; Jan now at 1.32 inches; average is 1.60 inches, water year at 1.71 inches

0.22 inches was, indeed. how much rain fell in the form of drops  from Nimbostratus clouds yesterday as a modest little rain band generated by a rapidly moving trough swept through during the afternoon.  Regional precip values can be found here.  Our local area got the most, up to about a quarter of an inch,… Continue reading Sutherland Heights logs 0.22 inches yesterday; Jan now at 1.32 inches; average is 1.60 inches, water year at 1.71 inches

Sun and Altocumulus clouds combine to provide a colorful sunrise and a sunset on the same day! Rain on tap!

“Rain on tap” does not  refer to a microbrew, for those who’ve accidentally stumbled onto this site. Our nice sunrise and sunset, featuring supercooled1  Altocumulus clouds:       Rain on tap?  Oh, yeah….finally.  One forecaster friend is predicting 0.5 inches!  How nice would that be?  The rain will likely begin toward midnight–check it here… Continue reading Sun and Altocumulus clouds combine to provide a colorful sunrise and a sunset on the same day! Rain on tap!

Cloud patterns excite Catalinans; storms continue to pile up for January

A swatch of Altocumulus perlucidus translucidus (sorry, that’s the way we talk around here) passed over Catalina early yesterday afternoon, each “unit” nearly perfectly evenly spaced with its fellow cloud element creating a brief period of cloud awe for those Catalinans (or is it, “Catalina-ites”?  “Catalinians”?  Who knows, who cares?).  Here it is, in case… Continue reading Cloud patterns excite Catalinans; storms continue to pile up for January

Altocumulus in transition; water to ice

I was thinking how great yesterday was for you.  Started out with a spectacular sunrise (lasted just a couple of minutes), and then you could watch for pretty much the WHOLE day, orographically-formed Altocumulus opacus and castellanus transition to ice crystal clouds (in this case, Altostratus with virga and some mammatus) right before your eyes!… Continue reading Altocumulus in transition; water to ice

Cirrus uncinus scenes for a lifetime, well, mine, anyway

I hope you had a chance to venture out late yesterday morning and see some of the most spectacular Cirrus (uncinus) displays with HUGE streamers that you will ever see. The early Cirrus cloud were nothing very special, not showing clues about what was to happen a few hours later: But by mid-morning, racing in… Continue reading Cirrus uncinus scenes for a lifetime, well, mine, anyway

A day dominated by cold Altocumulus punctuated by aircraft-produced hole punches and ice canals

Hope you saw them and recorded them in your cloud and weather diary.  I’m thinking that at the next Cloud Maven Junior meeting we should devote a lot of time to this issue.  It was a rare day yesterday that the WHOLE day had that phenomenon occurring as aircraft penetrated those clouds, usually on ascent… Continue reading A day dominated by cold Altocumulus punctuated by aircraft-produced hole punches and ice canals