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Learn how to identify clouds by following the Clouds of the Day posts below.
What happens when cumulus go to bed? Answer: Cumulus evaporate! That’s what is happening here. Morning rain gave way to afternoon cumulus. By 7:00 p.m. CDT the cumulus had been reduced to these rag tag clouds - all evaporating into the dry air.
Here is the visible satellite image from NOAA/NESDIS/STAR taken at 9:41 a.m. (1441Z) this morning. Clouds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal cover the eastern two thirds of Iowa. Compare this photo with the posts on the past two days to see the progress of the storm and changes in cloud cover.
Altostratus with the Sun visible through it. Altocumulus are below the Altostratus deck. Looking up in an easterly direction from Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Another view of the altostratus with altocumulus below. Looking south from Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Another photo of the altostratus with altocumulus below. Looking SSE from Cedar Falls, Iowa.
This shows the Sun barely visible through the altostratus and altocumulus. This is looking SE from Cedar Falls, Iowa.
National Weather Service Radar, Des Moines, Iowa shows a broad area of rain over eastern Iowa at 10:14 a.M. CDT. A leading band of rain is over CEdar Falls northwest of Waterloo. It produced a trace of rain.
A rainy day with 2.12 inches
After the rain there was clearing to the southwest. Altostratus overhead.
Cumulus, stratocumulus, altocumulus
Close-up of cumulus and altocumulus
Stratocumulus and SCUD (stratocumulus under deck) under altostratus
We will start our collection of today’s weather photos with this visible satellite image from NOAA/NESDIS/STAR. The photo was taken at 11:06 CDT. The northern edge of Cristobal shows as a circular band of clouds moving north into Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana. Thicker clouds are over Arkansas in this photo.
Notice the prominent river valleys in Iowa and Illinois in the above image. Farm land shows up as a brown color while trees in the valleys frame the rivers. Coralville Reservoir, Saylorville Lake, and Rathbun Lake are all visible. Photo is courtesy of NOAA/NESDIS/STAR.
Looking south from Cedar Falls, Iowa the sky is clear - so far. Photos of clouds will be posted when they develop. By the way, Cristobal is not the only storm system that will be affecting the Midwest during the next 48 hours. Clouds entering western Iowa are part of a storm system that is moving east. This system is helping draw Cristobal on a more westerly track than is typical for tropical storms and rain from both systems will be enhanced as vertical motions merge and use the moisture to produce heavy rains.
Looking South toward the remnants of tropical storm Cristobal. (Hint: nothing to see from here - yet.)
At late afternoon middle and high clouds moved in from the west and the cloud veil from Cristobal had spread into southeast Iowa. The image below was taken at 5:21 p.m. CDT (22:21Z). Tomorrow should be a very wet day.
Cirrus in the foreground with Altostratus patches lower left and likely Altostratus very low on the horizon.. That appears to be the northern extent of the remnants of Cristobal. This view looks south from the University of Northern Iowa.
The northern remains of Christobal appear on the low horizon. The view is to the SSE. The altostratus patches are easily visible on the right side of the image with cirrus in the center.
The satellite image below was taken at 5:21 p.m. CDT and shows a large area of cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus newly formed on the northwest edge of the Tropical Depression Cristobal. Some of these clouds are shown in the photo below. Also, notice the waves in the long cloud band entering far northwestern Iowa. These are altocumulus which formed within atmospheric waves in the south-southwesterly flow aloft.
The following group of photos shows varied cloud patterns formed with cirrus type clouds.
Cirrus (top half). Altostratus (lower left)
Cirrus (fibraous), cirrocumulus (waves), Cirrostratus (sheet/veil)
Zoom in close up of Cirrus
Zoom in close up of Cirrus
Close up of Cirrus, cirrocumulus
Close up of Cirrus fibratus, cirrostratus
Cirrus fibratus and cirrus spissatus
Cirrus fibratus
Cirrostratus and cirrocumulus
Altostratus formed along leading edge of tropical depression Cristobal(see satellite image). The tropical depression was located over Arkansaw at this time.
Thin cirrus in patches and sometimes a veil drifted over northeast Iowa today. This visible satellite image shows the cirrus from the western sections of NE Iowa to NC Iowa and then southwest through SW Iowa, SE Nebraska, and NE Kansas. Look very closely to see these clouds in the satellite image. The image was taken 12:01 CDT this afternoon. The first photo below was taken near that time. The next two photos were taken in the mid-afternoon.
Cloud photos taken this morning.
Thin cirrostratus
Cirrus
Cirrus and cirrostratus
Is this natural or manmade? This cloud has a definite circle shape.
A wider view showing the circle in the lower right.
What follows are a series of photos taken during the afternoon. The photos show the artistry that often occurs with cirrus formations. Cirrus are made of ice crystals. Ice crystal clouds have diffuse edges because ice sublimates. Sublimation is when ice crystals transform directly from a solid (ice) to a gas (water vapor) without melting first. Unlike evaporation which can happen quickly the result are streaks, curls, filaments, and feathering that can travel long distances on the wind. Since wind often changes speed and direction with height the shapes can very unusual. Check out the photos below to see some of the shapes.
Cirrus
Ice crystals are falling away from the cloud above. This is called a fall streak.
Cirrostratus and Cirrus. Notice the feathering and hair-like features in these clouds.
Another look at the circle seen in two of the photos above. It was becoming elongated with time as it moved lower on the horizon.
Hairlike clouds that give cirrus its name. The fall streaks show how ice crystals can remain viable for a long time before sublimating.
Close-up of Cirrus and fall streaks.
Two birds are silhouetted against the cirrus background.
More fall streaks.
Another odd looking cloud. notice how the filaments and streamers are appearing to move in different directions.
Here it is again - a closer view.
This morning a warm front stretched from SE Wyoming to NE Missouri. The boundary separated 90s to the SW from upper 70s in NE Iowa. The cloud photos posted below show high clouds that dominated during the day and lower clouds that moved in during the evening as the warm front lifted slowly north and a weak upper level storm system crossed Minnesota during the evening into the overnight hours Saturday night. .
Map plotted by Digital Atmosphere. Software available at www.weathergraphics.com.
Cirrus (upper left half), patch of alto cumulus (center right)
Cirrostratus is the smooth cloud visible in the background (top). Altocumulus (left to right in the cener). Altostratus (low across the bottom)
Cirrostratus in the background (across the top). Altocumulus in foreground (left half). Cumulus (lower center).
Cirrus visible behind altocumulus and altostratus in the forecground.
Today started out with high cloudiness mixed with occasional altocumulus/altostratus. Overnight thunderstorms moved across the area with .11 inches of rain and considerable lightning from local and nearby cells.
Cirrus, Cirrostratus, and two contrails with altocumulus and possibly altostratus lower left
Cirrostratus and altocumulus (roll and puffy clouds right and bottom)
Altocumulus and cirrostratus
Cirrostratus, cirrus, and two contrails with what appear to be altostratus and altocumulus lower left
Cumulus mediocris
Cumulus mediocris
Cumulus congestus
Cumulus
Altocumulus in foreground with rain falling from thunderstorm in background.
Base of developing cumulonimbus
Base of developing cumulonimbus
Cumulus in developing area of thunderstorms
Looking into cumulonimbus
Cumulonimbus anvil
Cumulonimbus Anvil
Altocumulus after sunrise.
Cirrostratus with a few altocumulus
Today from beginning to end. It started with cirrus and condensation trails (contrails) and ended with altocumulus followed by thunderstorms crossing northern Iowa.
Contrails (condensation trails) with cirrostratus. The cirrostratus add a milky look to the entire sky in between the contrails.
Contrails with thin cirrostratus adding a milky look to the sky.
Distinct contrail with cirrostratus creating the milky look to the sky left of the contrail.
Altocumulus lenticularis (lense or saucer shape clouds) under a thunderstorm anvil. The anvil had spread from southern Minnesota to as far south as U.S. Highway 20 in northern Iowa.
Altocumulus
Altocumulus
Cirrus
Cirrus
Cirrus
Cirrus
Cirrus
Cirrus (top half) with altocumulus (lower half)
Clouds of the Day shows how the sky changes from day to day. The color of the sky can change as much as the cloud types. Yesterday the clear sky was a deep blue color. The air was clear and fresh. Today it has a milky color due to high thin cloudiness. Cirrostratus are high clouds found above 18,000 feet. While most cirrostratus is clearly visible today there is cirrostratus that is very thin. Be sure to look closely when you are viewing clouds. Very thin high clouds are difficult to see and often the color of the sky may hint at their presence. A milky white tone may indicate very thin cirrostratus. It may also suggest particulate matter in the air scattering sunlight or even smoke from a forest fire many hundreds of miles away. In the photos below the milky sky is caused by cirrostratus.
Altocumulus with cirrostratus
Cirrostratus
Cirrostratus (top left), Areas of altocumulus bands center and lower right)
Cirrostratus and altostratus with a contrail (condensation Trail)
Cirrostratus with a halo - Ice crystals in the correct orientation with the sun cause haloes. Water droplets cause coronae. Notice the banding in the clouds indicating waves in the atmosphere.
Altocumulus
Altocumulus
Altocumulus
Does it get any better than this? New green leaves of spring against the backdrop of deep blue sky. The clear air in a high pressure system arriving from the far north created this picture perfect sky.
Blue Sky
Cumulus humilus - humble cumulus
Wind Turbine farms show up as clusters of speckled radar echoes scattered around central iowa. The green, yellow, and red echoes are from the wind turbines.
Altostratus
Cirrus (top right), Altostratus (bottom left)
Altocumulus (background) with cumulus in the foreground
Cumulus (foreground) and altocumulus (background)
Cirrus (background) and cumulus (foreground)
Altostratus (top) a nd cumulus congestus (bottom)
Cirrus, cirrus spissatus (center), cumulus congestus (bottom right)
Altostratus (left), cumulus (right), Cirrus (top left)
Cumulonimbus (center right), cumulus congestus (left), cumulus (top right)
Several cumulus congestus (left through right)
Cumulus congestus
Cumulus congestus
Cumulonimbus
Altostratus (top), Cumulus (right and bottom)
Cumulus (Foreground)
Cumulonimbus anvil
Close-up of Cumulonimbus anvil
Cumulonimbus (bottom), Altocumulus and altostratus (top)
Cumulus congestus (bottom) and cumulus (top)
Cumulus congestus with rain shower (bottom half), cumulus (top)
Today started with a stratocumulus overcast that by mid-morning broke into a day with bright sunshine and temperatures hitting the low 80s.
Stratocumulus
Stratocumulus transforming into cumulus
Cumulus
Cumulus
Cirrus with developing cumulus in the foreground
Altocumulus with thin cirrus above
Cumulus mediocris
Cumulus mediocris
Cumulus congestus under an altocumulus layer
Cumulus congestus (lower center) with ragged altocumulus top of photo and altostratus layer (right center).
Cumulus congestus base
Low hanging ragged cumulus
Cumulus congestus tower
A large area of showers and thunderstorms moved out of Nebraska into western and central Iowa overnight and this morning. As the storms moved toward eastern Iowa they began to weaken. As the “leftovers” moved into the Cedar Falls area the activity was weakening. What remained is depicted in the photos below. A weak outflow boundary and showers crossed the area. The first two photos were along and under the outflow and the next two photos were looking east after the showers passed.
Approaching outflow boundary with low level arcus (squall) cloud.
Under the arcus (squall) cloud looking southeast in direction the cloud is moving.
Here is the pressure trace. May 24th begins at the vertical line marked May 24, 2020. Notice the pressure jump at 9:00 a.m.; just past the 8:00 a.m. mark. As cooler outflow from the weakening thunderstorms to the west reached Cedar Falls the pressure increased. Notice the wind direction changed from easterly (100 degrees) to northwesterly (333 degrees) between 9:00 and 10:10 a.m.
Light rain showers with thunder fell after the pressure jump and the wind shifted. Rain was light, totaling only .06 inches. The two photos below show clouds to the east as the rain departed.
Cumulus, cumulus mediocris, and cumulus congestus in foreground. Dark cloud band appearing to reach the ground just above the trees center-left is a rain shaft. Photo looking east northeast.
Sun visible upper left through altostratus layer with ragged cumulus and cumulus congestus lower half of photo.
The photo above shows altostratus over the entire sky in two layers. The higher layer covers all but the very bottom of the photo where a lower and darker mid-level deck of altostratus is visible between the trees. There is small patch of altocumulus just left of the trees. The photo is looking slightly east of south.
Compare the photo with the radar image below. Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the photos are taken, is located just northwest of Waterloo, Iowa. Waterloo is on the map in the northeast quadrant of the map. The photo above is looking southerly toward the large area of showers and thunderstorms spreading north in Iowa. Looking at the photo it would be expected to see lowering cloud decks looking in the direction of the precipitation.
Like most other days recently this day started with a low stratus cloud deck. However, by mid-day the Sun came out and cumulus formed in the humid airmass. A few of the clouds grew into cumulus congestus with even a few light showers around.
Cumulus
Cumulus
Cumulus and cumulus congestus
Cumulus mediocris (dark) in foreground and cumulus congestus center
Cumulus with Altostratus visible in the breaks between the cumulus.
Cumulus with altostratus visible in break between cumulus.
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