1 of 2 Morning congestus cloud seems to blossom in daylight heating above distant trees

Tag: whites

  • Over no horizon, lower cumulus and upper-level clouds

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    Scene notes:

    Exemplar of towering clouds. These are called Cumulus congestus. If the clouds were closer together (greater humidity) or the air was a little warmer, a thunderstorm would have formed. Later in the day, these clouds did form a storm. One gets the impression that these clouds, when experienced in the morning or around noon, are a fair indicator of rain or lightning to come shortly. Visually observing these clouds closely allows the observer the ability to predict rainfall with higher accuracy than a weather forecast or radar alone.
    Time-lapse length (30 fps):
    37 seconds and 13 frames.

  • Over red rocks and foothills of Colorado, a storm…

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    Scene notes:

    …builds in the early day’s blue sky. A rock feature of sharp relief on the far left of the frame borders the foothills of the mountains, where Pike’s Peak is fully cloaked in growing lower clouds. A hazy morning near noon, the near landscape is cultivated greenery and roadways with signs of people walking around. The far view shows green forests and hills spanning into a cloudy horizon in Colorado.
    Time-lapse length (30 fps):
    11 seconds.

  • Near Mt Whitney are low clouds building close on…

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    Scene notes:

    …rocky, snowy winter peaks. Symmetrical slopes dominate the frame, with rocks and small boulders among evergreens that lead up to near the very tips of these mountain tops. With light, low rolling clouds pouring over and piling on these steep slopes, jagged, snowy peaks poke out like jigsaw teeth.

  • Late day looks east on a meadow and clouds changing…

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    Scene notes:

    … in the distance over barn, a strange formation, a slow vortex. An atlas cedar guards over a barn, which seemingly has a small rainbow right next to it in the left portion of the frame. A meadow comprises an eighth of the frame, under growing shade from the setting sun, look west. Observed is a cloud that is raining, known as a ‘Cumulonimbus’ cloud. These clouds are chaotic in many ways from the knock-on effects that are local from so much air moving in different directions. It is eventually inevitable that an ‘eddy’ in the sky, or a small vortex, will sometimes form. This funnel-shaped cloud is by no means dangerous, as its spin only resolves to the naked eye in time-lapse.
    Time-lapse length (30 fps):
    20 seconds and 19 frames.