Clouds full of promise
Christine May 3rd, 2007
These wonderful, albeit, threatening clouds we followed driving to pick up our son from college. The clouds of rain were slowly moving into the valley. The greens of spring are only just emerging on the east side of the mountains, so the contrasting, darker clouds were car-stopping. It was a most impressive sight from the ground. We kept monitoring their progress as we drove; the patterns and textures just became more intense. The dark and light, shadows and shapes were more distinct by the minute — the wind being fairly calm for the east side. Usually it is blowing a gale. These clouds rather gave me the shivers. I was reminded of a verse to a song by Kate Bush: This cloud, this cloud says, Noah!” This type of cloud is called, as best I can tell, Cumulonimbus Cloud. More specifically, two readers tell me Mammatus, which often are associated with the former. You know, mammary. The tall, vertical building of the cloud formations plus the possible rain and thunder event underneath it. The nice round…. um, mamms. We definitely saw and heard some lightening and thunder later on in the evening and then it rained like crazy. Ah, but over here it is snowing (mixed with steady rain) this morning after being in the 70’s! Go figure. Photo by Matthew.
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Wow.
I think they are Mammatus Clouds… a variety of Cumulus cloud. “Vast tracts of… cloud!”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud
Heh. I’d never known there was a formal word for that kind of formation. I’d always thought of it as “boiling clouds”. When the clouds start boiling, it’s time to go home.
That’s the term I grew up with too -boiling. However, I can see the other reference. The meteorologists in question had a thing about body parts that day. Mamma mia!
It wasn’t television or school where I picked up the term, so I never thought about whether meteorologists would approve. In my case it was more “You kids get up into the mudroom! Can’t you see the clouds aboilin”? Clean up and there’ll be a snack, but don’t track into the kitchen.”