Clouds of the Day - Sunday, October 11, 2020

Autumn colors and summer cumulus meet on an early October weekend in Iowa. These small cumulus clouds are evidence of weak updrafts forming during the afternoon. While the lower atmosphere, below 5,000 feet, is weakly unstable the air above is stable. The cumulus failed to get any larger than the two clouds in this photo. Small cumulus like these are often referred to as “fair weather” cumulus because they form in an overall stable environment.