Category: Altocumulus clouds

More Cirrus on tap today

No, Cirrus is NOT a microbrew as you may have thought from the title and if you were visiting this site for the first time.  (and to continue being juvenile from yesterday’s “Dusty Parhelia” submission because that’s who I am….) In fact, Cirrus clouds are the exact opposite of a microbrew. Cirrus is a high… Continue reading More Cirrus on tap today

Cirrus altocumulus castellano-floccogenitus

We had a rare form of Cirrus yesterday, whose name I have made up in the title as a hint of where they came from, due to the very high altitude and low temperatures of some Altocumulus yesterday.   Those Ac morphed to Cirrus, hence the strange, unpronounceable  title. Reminder,  weatherscience mavens, its more proper… Continue reading Cirrus altocumulus castellano-floccogenitus

The lenticular that came for breakfast and stayed for dinner

Some of you already know that there is a favored position for a lenticular cloud downwind from the Santa Catalina Mountains.   Yesterday, a little fluff of Altocumulus lenticularis kept reappearing all day!  It didn’t have the “classic” look of a lenticularis early on, but that’s what it was, hovering over the same spot, changing… Continue reading The lenticular that came for breakfast and stayed for dinner

Arriving in local skies today: clouds, high and middle ones

Now that your camera battery is fully charged, you will be ready for the panoply of high and some mid-level clouds that will be arriving overhead today.  Should make for some great sunrise and sunset shots, but also daytime shots due to the interesting twists and turns in the Cirrus (ice) clouds that will float… Continue reading Arriving in local skies today: clouds, high and middle ones

Rain today, clouds yesterday

Yep, that’s right, rain IS imminent!  In case you forgot what they looked like, there’ll be a display of “hydrometeors” before 7 AM here in Catalina.  Should last the whole morning at least.  If you don’t believe me and think I just made this up, go here. BTW, “hydrometeors”; what real meteorologists, well, maybe pretentious ones,… Continue reading Rain today, clouds yesterday

Boffo storm bops Burbank before belting Benson

…and the rest of Arizona tomorrow.    Actually, at this hour, 5 AM, the storm coming here has not yet gotten to Burbank.   Its only close.   But, people get excited when you say things like that in the title, and that’s what we’re about here, weather excitement, not accuracy excitement. Weather excitement? Take… Continue reading Boffo storm bops Burbank before belting Benson

Backspin ending; upper low moving off to east as big trough barges into West Coast

You can see all the action described above here and here:  first the water vapor loop from the Huskies’ Weather Deparment that lets you see ALL the action, dry and moist air moving around, and then from this IPS Meteostar loop, you can drill down and see the clouds with the itty bitty radar echoes they produced… Continue reading Backspin ending; upper low moving off to east as big trough barges into West Coast

When the jet goes by, the clouds, lower ones, roll in

And that’s pretty much what happened yesterday.   Here are some maps showing what happened as the jet stream in the middle troposphere (500 millibars or about 18,000 feet above sea level) went overhead while deploying to the east and south of us.  The sky change was pretty dramatic as you may have noticed. First,… Continue reading When the jet goes by, the clouds, lower ones, roll in

Yesterday’s clouds, dust, and smoke; virga ahead

It was zero visibility in Parhrump, Nevada, yesterday afternoon with wind gusts to 85 mph, as the cold front was about to crash on by.   I guess we were lucky to only have 40-50 mph puffs of wind here in Catalinaland overnight, and not so much dust (yet).  A sharp, but dry cold front… Continue reading Yesterday’s clouds, dust, and smoke; virga ahead