Those are undulatus asperatus (agitated or turbulent wave) clouds, a type of cloud that is starting to get consideration as a wholly new category. From what I can tell, they are formed when there’s rising air that creates wide-spread cloud cover, together with wind shear that blows across the rising air.

Are Undulatus Asperatus clouds rare?

Asperitas (formerly referred to as Undulatus Asperitas) is a distinctive, but relatively rare cloud formation that takes the appearance of rippling waves. These wave-like structures form on the underside of the cloud to makes it look like a rough sea surface when viewed from below.

What is Undulatus Asperatus?

Undulatus means wavy and asperatus translates as agitated or roughed, so the name is Latin for “agitated waves.” (MORE: 10 Amazing Clouds)

Where can I find Undulatus Asperatus clouds?

Although they appear dark and storm-like, they tend to dissipate without a storm forming. The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity.

What is the rarest type of cloud?

Kelvin Helmholtz Waves are perhaps the rarest cloud formation of all. Rumored to be the inspiration for Van Gogh’s masterpiece “Starry Night”, they are incredibly distinctive. They are mainly associated with cirrus, altocumulus, and stratus clouds over 5,000m.

What is the highest cloud ever recorded?

Astronomers have discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe — a gigantic, 12-billion-year-old cloud harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.

How do you pronounce asperitas?

It was a rare cloud formation called asperitas (pronounced ass-pair-it-ass), meaning roughness in Latin.

What are the clouds that look like cotton balls?

Cirrus – Cirrus clouds are high level clouds that are thin and wispy. They appear during good weather. Cirrocumulus – These are high clouds that look like tiny cotton balls bunched together.

What do stratocumulus clouds mean?

Stratocumulus clouds usually form from a layer of stratus cloud breaking up. They are indicators of a change in the weather and are usually present near a warm, cold or occluded front.

What causes altostratus undulatus?

These formations will generally appear in the early stages of destabilizing return flows, especially over the southern plains of the United States, when the surface temperature is still relatively cool. The wavy strips of clouds are generally near an inversion surface.

How old is the International Cloud Atlas?

The International Cloud Atlas was first published in the late 19th century. It contains a detailed manual of standards and numerous plates of photographs of clouds and certain other weather phenomena. It was last updated in 1987 – before the Internet era.

Where are Asperatus clouds most common?

The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity.

What do wavy clouds mean?

One reason for wave patterns in clouds is when they form in a stable layer, that is a thin layer of the atmosphere where the temperature doesn’t decrease very much with height, or even increases with height. Any disturbance in this layer can cause waves of air to move along it, like water waves in a pond.

What does it mean when the clouds look like waves?

When wind moves faster at the top of the cloud formation than at the bottom, the faster-moving air can whip up curls of the cloud formation from the slower-moving level of air below, causing the wave-like clouds.

What are ripple clouds?

What are cirrocumulus clouds? Cirrocumulus clouds are made up of lots of small white clouds called cloudlets, which are usually grouped together at high levels. Composed almost entirely from ice crystals, the little cloudlets are regularly spaced, often arranged as ripples in the sky.

What is the scariest cloud?

Shelf clouds often resemble big waves or tsunamis and are quite scary-looking since they are usually very low-hanging, sometimes only a couple hundred feet above the ground. Most false tornado reports are usually shelf clouds.

What is the weirdest type of cloud?

With an array of lumps and bulges, the mammatus cloud is by far one of the most unusual and distinct cloud formations. Turbulance within a cumulonimbus cloud will cause mammatus clouds to form. Cumulonimbus clouds are often otherwise known as thunderstorm clouds, which are very large and usually very unstable.

Which cloud is most beautiful?

Nacreous or mother-of-pearl clouds, spotted over Kells, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The mother-of-pearl colours of the stratospheric nacreous clouds make them one of the most beautiful formations.