Clouds of the Day - Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Today began in spectacular fashion with the rising Sun bathing the sky in a red glow. The longer wavelengths of visible red light are making it through the atmosphere on its long trek from just over the horizon to reflect off the Altostratus covering the top half of the photo.

A slightly lighter shade of red is visible behind the trees up to just below a patch of Altocumulus visible just above the second tree from the left at the bottom of the photo.

Whiter Cirrus are visible in the brightest part of the sky as white light is reflecting off ice crystals in the higher colder clouds.

Pink and red dominate the sky below. Notice the subtle ripples of Altocumulus in the middle of a large area of Altostratus that covers most of the photo. The ripples are atmospheric wave clouds. Other areas of ripples are also visible if you look closely.