Altocumulus cumulogenitus

Photo by Craig Johnson, Copyright 9-28-2019, Fort Dodge, Iowa

Flying high over the Des Moines River Valley were two patches of Altocumulus cumulogenitus. Virga trails can be seen falling and streaming behind the clouds. These clouds are high based convection with drier air below. The precipitation is not reaching the ground. The cloud tops have reached a stable layer which has stopped their growth.

The photo is taken at the remains of the Hydroelectric Dam on the Des Moines River in Fort Dodge. Once source says the dam was built in 1916 while another places completion in 1922. In any case the dam provided electricity for downtown street lights until 1971. There were five gates with a spillway that extended left in the photo to the other side of the river. The dam height was 16 or 17 feet with a length of 366 feet. Only part of the skeletal structure of the building remains with one gate chute in place. The remaining gate does not function.