Panoply of clouds

You had yer Altocumulus lenticulars, your Altocumulus floccus with virga, some castellanus in there, too, Cirrostratus, Cirrus spissatus, Cirrocumulus with tiny ripples, numerous contrails (not so good), a couple of distant Cumulus humilis, and likely a nice sunset that I didn’t see because we had dinner guests and I couldn’t run out every 45 seconds to see how it was developing as I normally do.   So, all in all, it was a pretty satisfying cloud day for you I thought.  I was imagining that maybe you might have had some trouble logging all these different types of clouds in your weather diary as I thought about what to write today.

Let’s review them:

6:37 AM.  Tiny lenticular remains downstream of Ms. Lemmon.
6:37 AM. Tiny lenticular remains downstream of Ms. Lemmon.
7:20 AM.  Altocumulus lenticularis cluster forms in the NW quadrant from Catalina.
7:20 AM. Altocumulus lenticularis cluster forms in the NW quadrant from Catalina.
7:21 AM.  Cirrocumulus sporting iridescence (some color).
7:21 AM. Cirrocumulus sporting iridescence (some color).  A very thin veil of Cirrostratus appears to be above it.
7:21.  Cirrocumulus undulatus (tiny ripples along the direction of the wind).  Wasn't there a song by that Hawaiian guy about "tiny ripples"?
7:21. Cirrocumulus undulatus (tiny ripples along the direction of the wind). Wasn’t there a song by that Hawaiian guy about “tiny ripples”? Also, we haven’t done this manuever in a while so be careful, but you will have to hoist your monitor over your head to get that actual perspective of this shot.
SONY DSC
9:12 AM. Overhead Cirrus spissatus, or as we call it, “Cis spiss.” Again, be very careful hoisting your monitor into the overhead position.  Note how the delicate fibers seem to be going “every which way and loose.”  Overhead views can look that way though off in the distance the same cloud would look more organized by the prevailing wind shear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then this fabulous grouping of Altocumulus floccus with a couple of castellanus came marching over Oro Valley! These were great to see with their proud “tails” drooping down, and they tell you where that overhead “Cis spiss” really came from. Yep, it was formerly an Altocumulus!

You can see that this group of Ac floc clouds are not nearly as high as that old, faint contrail far above them stretching from right to left, likely one or more hours old.

9:42 AM.  What a great sight this was!  I put some writing on this one to help you out a bit.
9:42 AM. What a great sight this was! I put some writing on this one to help you out a bit.
10:12 AM.  Gorgeous "little snowstorms in the sky, think I'd like to have some pie."
10:12 AM. Gorgeous “little snowstorms in the sky, think I’d like to have some pie.”
10:16 AM.
10:16 AM.  Ac floc with Cirrus above, maybe Cirrostratus.  That tuft at the top is composed of droplets, ones that soon disappear as ice crystals form, like many of those in the preceding photos.
The TUS sounding for 5 AM AST yesterday morning suggesting that those icy Ac floc cloud tops were colder than -30 C (it happens).
From the Cowboys, this TUS sounding for 5 AM AST yesterday morning suggested that those icy Ac floc cloud tops, initially composed of liquid droplets,  were colder than -30 C, -22 F (it happens).  Back in the 1950s, they called the often observed droplet cloud at the top of clouds producing snow, the “upside down storm” since the coldest portion was liquid, with all ice underneath at higher temperatures.  Amazing.  Bob and Ali (finally) wrote a paper about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More high clouds in route after a clearing this morning.

Lots of intermittent troughiness ahead, and cooler weather with them, especially out around 10 days from now, but sadly, but no rain, mods say.

The End.

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.