Clouds of the Day, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Follow the progression from clear sky to scattered/broken cumulus clouds as low level temperatures become warmer than the convective temperature. When the convective temperature is reached air will rise without any mechanical assistance, much like a hot air balloon rises. If the rising air rises high enough to reach the condensation temperature cumulus clouds will form. That’s what happens in the photos below. When the becomes well mixed or the air temperature is cooler than the convective temperature the air stops rising. That also happened here and the sky cleared around sunset.

All photos taken in Cedar Falls, Iowa by Craig Johnson.

The day Dawns Clear - Mid-Morning Sky looking northwest

Beginning Cumulus - Late morning Looking South-southeast

Solar heating warms the ground, which warms the air, causing air to rise. The first sign of Cumulus - Mid-morning looking East-Northeast

Growing Cumulus - Late-morning looking South-southwest

More numerous deve3loping Cumulus - Just before Noon Looking South

Early afternoon cumulus looking north-Northeast

Mid-afternoon cumulus looking North-Northeast

Mid-afternoon Cumulus transitioning to stratocumulus looking northwest

Mid-afternoon cumulus and stratocumulus looking east

Closer view of stratocumulus looking east

Cumulus in the late afternoon looking south-southwest

Cumulus remnants under a deck of cirrus and cirostratus looking west