Clouds of the Day - Saturday, 29 August 2020

This day dawned with dense middle to high clouds overhead. The clouds initially had a cirrus look to them - given wispy edges and icy look to their structure. But after watching for awhile they grew quickly in coverage and were really high in the middle layer of the atmosphere. There were both cumulus and stratus structures in the mix. This is an example of clouds that have both cumulus and stratus structures. The sky does not always offer either/or decisions. Air flow can have many structures, there are often transitions between cloud types rather than a cloud being one basic type or another. That is one reason why cloud naming can be tough - it is not always clear cut. There is room to debate the types in the photos below.

Altocumulus and Altostratus

Altocumulus

Altocumulus and altostratus. Notice the ‘roll-type’ clouds near the bottom of the photo. These were obviously caused by a wave propagating through the layer.

Altostratus (top) with altocumulus (bottom)

Altocumulus

Altocumulus and Altostratus structures mixed together

Altocumulus because of the dominate puffy cloud element structure.

Altocumulus with some stratus structure lower left

A closer view of the above right photo.