It's Snowing on High

These photos were taken on a recent fine fall day with mild temperatures and light winds. It is deceiving. Overhead above 16,000 feet it is much colder and windier. In fact, at any time of the year it is much colder overhead with temperatures often well below zero. This time of year, it is getting colder here on the ground, and aloft. The transition to winter is underway. These clouds are cirrus with their soft hairlike filaments and protuberances. They are also made of mainly ice crystals. Fallstreaks, also called virga, are trailing the upper clouds as they fall through layers with different wind speeds. It is a “snowstorm” aloft that will someday reach the ground as lower layers cool below freezing.