AMAZING CLOUD FORMS

This cloud was caused by smoke from a bushfire rising up into a cloud, making an atomic-like mushroom cloud. 

A thunderstorm approaching Holland.

Clouds over Argentina in 2004

This is a supercell (a cloud that produces dangerous, severe thunderstoms) over Chaparral, New Mexico in 2004.

An incoming storm around sunset.

This cloud is over Mount Baker, in Washington State. The photographer hypothesize that the cloud is striking the front of the mountain.

This picture was taken over Linz, Austria.

This was taken over Racine, Wisconsin. This is called a roll cloud, and is a sign of an incoming thunderstorm.

This picture was taken over Honolulu, Hawaii.

Clouds like this and on the previous page are called lenticular clouds. They are often shaped like space ships.

This is a rare sight in nature – a fire rainbow. This only happens when cirrus clouds are hit by the sun at a perfect angle.

These are nacreous clouds – extremely rare clouds that form in the stratosphere.

Mammatus clouds look like pouches and form in air that is sinking.

“Jellyfish” clouds are altocumulus clouds. They are named for the “tentacles” on the bottom of the cloud.

Mushroom clouds are not formed from water vapor. They are the result of an explosion, like an atomic explosion or a volcano eruption.

These cirrus clouds only form for one-two minutes.

Another lenticular cloud.

These are roll clouds that have been formed into “ribbons” by air currents.