Asperitas - A New Cloud Type

Asperitas Cloud Photo by Craig Johnson

Sometimes a gray day requires being a little creative with a post. Today is one of those days. So let's go back the spring of 2017 to view an unusual cloud type. Asperitas is Latin for roughness. This is one of 11 new cloud types that have been added to the newest edition of the International Cloud Atlas published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The cloud type was first "discovered" at Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2006 and features chaotic ripples and small divots. The formation did not fit into the existing cloud type system. The photo above was taken in Cedar Falls, Iowa on April 25, 2017. 

Check out the new International Cloud Atlas here: https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/search-image-gallery.html