Sky Watchers Want Recognized a Newly Described Type of Cloud

phantomfive writes "In Iowa and Scotland there are reports of a type of cloud not yet recognized by the World Meteorological Foundation. It seems the cloud does not match any of the clouds in the International Cloud Atlas, and thus there is a campaign underway to have it included. Some have said the clouds look like Armageddon has arrived."

Comments

I suggest

[zapakh]

"Armageddulus"

Re:I suggest

[aaaaaaargh!]

It's always newsworthy when something has happened in Iowa.

Re:I suggest

[Anonymous Coward]

I recently start noticing that clouds this year are much more elaborate and "wavy" than any time I've seen them before.
This is in Boston, Massachusetts where we pretty much used to any cloud formations because our weather is changing all the time.
What it means is that there is so much more energy in the lower atmosphere to wrinkle these clouds.
I actually like "Armageddulus" :-)

Re:I suggest

[Anonymous Coward]

After living in Iowa for a few years after college, I would not be surprised if the Armageddon arrives in Iowa first. A lot of corn and corny people... Idiots Out Wandering Around...

Pretty simple for me.

[More_Cowbell]

I'm not a meteorologist, but I love clouds and have looked at thousands of cloud photos over the years. Never seen any exactly like this. FTA, no one seems to dispute that these are so far undocumented. ... So where is the problem? Add a new cloud already.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Anonymous Coward]

i am an expert on photoshop and i can tell by the pixels around the text that this is a photoshop pic not real

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[interkin3tic]

So where is the problem?

Better question: So IS there a problem? Sounds like the World Meteorological Organization just hasn't officially said "yeah, new cloud." You have to give experts time to weigh in, the guy quoted in the article as saying this was still going over the data, looking at the weather patterns for those locations. And it's not like this scientific organization sits around in a commune waiting for new meteorological news to come in and act immediately. Next meeting those guys have, I'd guess they will officially put it in their official book unless someone convinces more people that it's shopped or false. Then again, IANAM(eteorologist).

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Alioth]

They are not undocumented, they do indeed have a name and are called "mammatus clouds". They just aren't very common. There are thousands of photos of mammatus on the internet.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[ArsenneLupin]

And while you're at it, also add this puppy

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Katchu]

No, read the article. Look at Wikipedia article about how mammatus looks and may be formed and compare it with the article. quote: "It's warmer, moister air above and colder, drier air below, with an abrupt boundary in between." Add wind passing over rolling terrain and "you get the same wavy effect as on the surface of water."

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Rei]

Indeed. Mammatus aren't too common, but they're really creepy when you do see them in person; it's a whole, "clouds aren't supposed to look like that!" feeling. There's some great photos here. And yes, they actually do look that unreal.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[bronney]

you clearly have too much time on your "hands".

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[ArsenneLupin]

you clearly have too much time on your "hands".

Sorry for this, I forgot to "douche". Just consider it as natural lube...

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[toby34a]

There most likely is no problem. I actually AM a meteorologist (BS, MS, and finishing up my PhD) and these just look like some cumulus lenticularis- the formation mechanism is due to some waveform within the atmosphere that causes regular forms of condensation that appear like this. These are nothing really new, the sceintific basis is pretty good for these clouds to be listed. It's a 2-D wave pattern with a good airmass boundary. It's definitely neat, but it's not like it's earth-shattering cloud formation.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[kdemetter]

I guess that's the point open for discussion : is it a new cloud or not.

I guess this is as interesting for meteorologists as the discussion whether Pluto is a planet or not , is for astronomers .

Most people won't care as the name will be to difficult to remember anyway.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Jarik C-Bol]

Ah yes, Mammatus clouds. Sky full of asses.
Coincidentally enough, we had Mammatus formations where i live, 4 days ago. (wednesday evening)

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[smoker2]

Breasts not asses. Mammal, mammaries, TITS !

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a meteorologist too.

I remember, when I was studying meteorology, people expected me to be on some kind of first-name basis with clouds.

"Hey what's that cloud over there?"
"Oh that's a cumulonimbus capillatus but his real name is Bob".

Cloud names are highly overrated by the uninitiated. Forget the impressive-sounding latin names. They are fanciful descriptions of the appearance of a cloud but they don't tell you much beyond that.

I would go as far as to say that the interesting feature in this picture is the wave action at the interface between two atmospheric layers. The cloud just happens to make the waves visible. It is garden-variety cloud, hardly worth mentionning actually.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Alioth]

But that's also a known and documented phenomenon - wave clouds (which we get very often here).

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[MadnessASAP]

and these just look like some cumulus lenticularis

Thank you, that's the name I was trying to remember. I've seen photos of clouds that looked similar to these ones but they are a bit different.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Anpheus]

But what's his name? His story? Did he survive hardship to get to where he is today?

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Looked more to me like a divine tea-bagging...

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[conureman]

I've often thought that someone could make some serious supplemental income getting pictures of some of the amazing clouds over Mount Shasta. There's a whole local industry revolving around crystal-powered Lemurian encounters and such. I've seen some pretty astounding clouds there occasionally, but never had my camera at the time.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[tabrnaker]

Anybody educated in latin realizes that ALL scientific names are just impressive sounding latin descriptions. Science would be a lot easier for the masses to understand if they just used english. Then again, what would happen to the importance of the clergy if everybody could read the bible in english?
OK, OK, some terms aren't just fancy sounding latin descriptions, some are named after people's massive ego's, making science hard even for scientists if they refuse to play the political scientist.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[conureman]

The main thing is that the fancy-schmancy scientific name is agreed upon in a systematic way, think RFCs after adoption as standards. The common names vary regionally and get duplicated and mis-used by the teeming masses, and are pretty much useless for rational scientific study. Ever have to try explaining Internet Standards to your Mom?

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Ambiguous Puzuma]

I see Latin scientific names as a separate namespace used to avoid ambiguity between descriptions and classification/labels. That way two things can appear alike (resulting in similar descriptions) but can still be concisely distinguished based on less obvious characteristics.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[sa1lnr]

Cheers, I've just lost an hour and a half on that site.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Rei]

DarkRoastedBlend is awesome. Did you see the page on Socotra?

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Katchu]

Yes, when these are seen "side-on" they already have a description: Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud. These are also seen (as horizontal waves) in the lee of islands when seen from low earth orbit. I think we may be seeing a different aspect of the same thing with the undulatus asperatus. At http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/ some of the asperatus pictures in the gallery definitely blend into what I'd call lenticular clouds. I believe there is a continuum of forms rather than actual separate and always distinct formations. The "Cloud Appreciators" call lenticular clouds "cap/banner." Here in Colorado lenticular clouds are often also found downwind (usually east) of the mountain peaks that cause them. The classification really is artificial, and I really believe in a continuum of forms.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[AftanGustur]

Well, it isn't really a cloud, it's more like a phenomen that only lasts a few minutes.

If you fly a large airplane through a small cloud would you call the results "a new cloud type" ?

The clouds we see here are formed by the hot&cold air just before a violent thunder storm. I have taken pictures of these clouds in France and they are really impressive.

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[AftanGustur]

Nope, sorry no cigar .. I have also taken similar pictures (my friend put them on facebook here) and there is absolutely nothing "regular" about them

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Kashgarinn]

"It is garden-variety cloud, hardly worth mentionning actually."

- I'd say the same about meteorologists: http://www.bash.org/?803904

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[mollog]

I hope the meteorologists are still following their comments. I have a question. When landing in O'Hare, I looked out to see clouds formed in an obvious wave pattern. I'd guess the distance between the waves of clouds was in the order of kilometers or miles. The waves stretched to the horizon and wer aligned in a NNW to SSE axis. What would cause the clouds to form such an obvious harmonic pattern? What has a harmonic with a waveform measured in miles? The Earth? Is the Earth vibrating at some hugely low rate?

Re:Pretty simple for me.

[Shadoefax]

AKA Cumulo Goatse Nimbus

alto-cirrus

[conureman]

In the olden days, when I was a kid, alto-cirrus were notable for their rarity. Nowadays, in California at least, they seem almost a daily phenomena. Climate change, perhaps?

Re:alto-cirrus

[Tablizer]

In the olden days, when I was a kid, alto-cirrus were notable for their rarity. Nowadays, in California at least, they seem almost a daily phenomena. Climate change, perhaps?

In my day, clouds were rainbowy in color and had spirals and thousands of moving finger-like projections. We'd see them all the time on the hill where the mushrooms grew.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Laser_iCE]

At this point in time does anyone deny that our climate is changing?

Re:alto-cirrus

[dbIII]

The "Heartland Institute" who will also tell you that tobacco is safe are the main offender there.
It was all a lot simpler 30 years ago before it became a magnet for anti-intellectual nutcases using it as the new soft target to try to prove that science is worthless.

Re:alto-cirrus

[glitch23]

Climate change, perhaps?

Yeah, otherwise known as the four seasons.

Re:alto-cirrus

[shutdown -p now]

In the olden days, when I was a kid, alto-cirrus were notable for their rarity. Nowadays, in California at least, they seem almost a daily phenomena. Climate change, perhaps?

Cirrus clouds can be formed from airplane contrails. So most likely it's just heavier air traffic.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Anonymous Coward]

At this point in time does anyone deny that our climate is changing?

The question here is not "is the climate changing", rather "is the changing climate the cause of the change in types of clouds". The "common sense" answer is probably yes, but that's not how science works.

Re:alto-cirrus

[snero3]

Totally understand where you are coming from but wouldn't this make more sense

"The formation has probably been around for a long time, but it's only now getting attention: "Before the Internet and digicams, people might have mentioned it to a few friends and that would be it,"

Re:alto-cirrus

[Anonymous Coward]

you might still see that in the desert. little fluffy clouds.

Re:alto-cirrus

[mrmeval]

Kudos for using the right alarmist code word. Considering the code words "Impending Ice Age" and "Glowbull Warming" have been an embarrassment to those using it it was the right call.

Re:alto-cirrus

[houghi]

Perhaps you recently moved to California.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Anonymous Coward]

You really should take cover when funnel clouds are forming. That sounds like a fantastic image, though. Pics?

Re:alto-cirrus

[drinkypoo]

The FAA wants us to believe that, but air traffic has not increased as much as the occurrence of these clouds. You can see it just from big sky pictures; it's hard to find one without contrails in it today; it's relatively difficult to find one with 'em from fifteen years ago. Either something dramatically is different with the sky, or with the planes, and it's not the number of aircraft.

Re:alto-cirrus

[InfoHighwayRoadkill]

oh how I wish I had mod points right now... well done sir

Re:alto-cirrus

[camperdave]

The question isn't THAT the climate is changing, but WHY and HOW the climate is changing. Is it part of the natural cycle of climate change? Is it caused by years of burning fossil fuels? Is it a side effect of cutting down the forests? Maybe it's tied to the weird sunspot activity, or the ocean saline currents. Perhaps it always happens just before the Earth's magnetic core switches polarity. Some say we are due for an ice age. Some say the Earth is getting warmer.

There's no shortage of speculation, just of solid conclusions.

Re:alto-cirrus

[maxume]

Perhaps there are less particulates, or less sulfur dioxide. Or maybe there is less UV making it through the ozone layer.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Anonymous Coward]

Anecdotal non-evidence of nothing.

Re:alto-cirrus

[pak9rabid]

In the olden days, when I was a kid, alto-cirrus were notable for their rarity. Nowadays, in California at least, they seem almost a daily phenomena. Climate change, perhaps?

Yes. It's called El Niño. Perhaps you've heard of it?

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

This is my leading theory, although as others have pointed out, the facts are often different from the obvious intuitive solution. I also recall airliners flying overhead as being a more significant and rare occurrence, so there is some correlation in that vein.

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

Possible correlation, the first time I saw alto-cirrus were in 1973, although they were not exactly filling the skies. We also have had many years more recently where there was not a correlation.

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

My speculation is that we are cycling into what should be an "ice-age" but that the anthropogenic influences are causing additional warming, pumping extra vapor upwards from the oceans and leading to enhanced storm violence and hurricanes. "Global warming" causing terrible blizzards, ironically. If, and when, we cut back on the atmospheric carbon, the natural cooling trend will hit hard and fast. Just my wild-ass guess, so try to control your flamethrowers. I am not a climate scientist, but I believe we are blessed with VERY interesting times.

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

One of my Dad's neighbors here in Oregon has a site about the "Chemtrail" issue. I haven't bothered to check it out but the word on the street is that he needs aluminium cranial protection.

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

Good point. I was born in Walnut Creek, California, 1960. I've lived a few other places, (Waxahachie, Charlotte, Atlanta, Ashland OR, Los Angeles), but I've spent most of my life around the S.F. Bay Area. I spend a lot of time observing nature, and feel that I am qualified to share a few anecdotes. YMMV.

Re:alto-cirrus

[drinkypoo]

I just want to know what part of it is supposed to sound so implausible. After shit like Agent Orange and DDT (see Americans, copious spraying upon) it's obvious that the U.S. Government sees the citizens of the United States (and to an even greater degree, its servicemen) as little more than guinea pigs and sources of revenue. It may well be nothing more than a big wankoff conspiracy theory constructed by the mentally ill, but there's nothing implausible about the idea to me. Maybe that makes me a gen-u-wine wingnut myself, but maybe it just makes me a critical student of history. Regardless, the U.S. has no laws regarding cloud seeding, the U.S. government has repeatedly admitted to actively engaging in weather modification research including cloud seeding, and of course even private parties regularly engage in cloud seeding, under contract with other private parties. So, which part of the chemtrail conspiracy theory would turn out to be a big surprise if it were true?

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

While I've seen enough "implausible" shit that is in fact being inflicted on us by our government to know it's possible, I just don't see how climate change is reasonable goal of our Evil Overlords. I could certainly be wrong about that, and I'll have a look into it when I have the time. Maybe I have missed something. As I mentioned, this particular individual is regarded as a crank by his IRL neighbors, but come to think of it, so am I. :P

Re:alto-cirrus

[conureman]

I just checked out the neighbor's site, and his credibility REALLY took a hit when I realized that he's the same dickhead that has such a hard time understanding his water rights and where his property ends regarding the local right of ways &c. I'll try to contain my prejudice and look at some of the other sites, but HE's really cracked.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Anonymous Coward]

The climate is always changing. That's the nature of the earth, not man's puny influence on it. Wake up and read a book for crying out loud.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Chyeld]

I think you can see some pics of what he's describing in this video.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Mr. Slippery]

So, which part of the chemtrail conspiracy theory would turn out to be a big surprise if it were true?

Pretty much the same big surprise if any big conspiracy theory were true: the part where the government got all those scientists and engineers, and all ordinary working stiffs in their support staff, to be in on the cover-up.

Re:alto-cirrus

[drinkypoo]

That's not a problem in the military, where you can put the canisters on a truck and give orders as to their disposition without anyone down the chain knowing what is in them, where they are going, what will happen to them when they get there, et cetera. In the private sector, it would be a show-stopper.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Shotgun]

What else has changed in the past 30years?

1)Airlines have had the snot squeezed out of them financially since they've been forced to compete due to deregulation.

2)The price of fuel has short through the roof.

So, the airlines have turned to technology to squeeze every bit of energy possible out of those big engines. Watch a airplane takeoff in a cut sequence from any 70's TV show, and note the large black trail of unburned hydrocarbons, and compare that to anything you'll see from the mid-90's onward. Todays engines are much more efficient, and are operated much leaner (ie, they use more air for each measure of fuel).

The contrails come from water vapor in the exhaust being frozen. A few decades ago, that exhaust would still be hot and energized with lots of unburned hydrocarbons that would soften the cloud. Now, all you get out the back end is C02, and water vapor and the exhaust will be much cooler.

Re:alto-cirrus

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny, I thought there was some large international panel of like scientists a little over a year ago that determined that there was a 90% chance that humans are directly responsible, at least in part, for global climate change. I don't know, maybe I heard wrong...

Best. Cloud. Ever.

[dangitman]

Though I'm not sure I would want to store my data in it.

Re:Best. Cloud. Ever.

[Anonymous Coward]

Mainly, I'm expecting you to get lots of 'redundant'.

Re:Best. Cloud. Ever.

[lastgoodnickname]

Best. Comment. In the past few minutes, except for all the others.

Re:Best. Cloud. Ever.

[Teun]

That'll be safe as soon as my patent application to this new cloud has been filed.

Re:Best. Cloud. Ever.

[The Grim Reefer2]

Though I'm not sure I would want to store my data in it.

It's probably safer than using this Microsoft/Danger server.

my hobby

[HNS-I]

Yeah, the reflections are all wrong. Definitely photoshopped.

Re:my hobby

[shutdown -p now]

It's a photo where everything is dark, except for clouds. What reflections?

Also, there's more than one picture of them. Here is another one from Wikipedia.

Re:my hobby

[Sparx139]

For those that don't get it

Re:my hobby

[The_mad_linguist]

I can tell by the pixels, and from having seen quite a few shops in my time.

Re:my hobby

[Anonymous Coward]

The reflections of whoooooosh:)

http://xkcd.com/331/

Re:my hobby

[caitsith01]

How appropriate - XKCD truly is the comic for people who don't get it.

Re:my hobby

[MoeDrippins]

I hadn't seen that xkcd so I was one that didn't, but so, so glad you pointed it out. There does seem to be a sub-sub-culture of the "if it's new or popular, I hate it" that does nothing but yell "fake" or "photoshop" to every posted picture or video. I'm not sure if it's more irritating to me the people that believe anything or those that believe nothing (and then act all smug about it). Maybe that says more about me though...

Thanks

Re:my hobby

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah real men read comicjk

Re:my hobby

[BaldingByMicrosoft]

Can't resist... http://xkcd.com/298/

Re:my hobby

[Silicon Jedi]

Parent post is shopped, look at the aliasing around the quotation marks.

forest for the trees...

[FallinWithStyle]

"Some have said the clouds look like Armageddon has arrived." ... Others have said, that once you enter the cloud, things get really foggy and damp... What's the point of this again?

Re:forest for the trees...

[Shadow of Eternity]

What's the point of this again?

No, these are argumentus roundillus. You're thinking of cynicus pointillus.

Re:forest for the trees...

[flydude18]

It's not the ominous-looking clouds that worry me. If you read the article, the first line says "In hill country from Iowa to the Scottish Highlands..."

The sudden and inexplicable appearance of hills in Iowa will keep me up all night.

Re:forest for the trees...

[hobo sapiens]

"The sudden and inexplicable appearance of hills in Iowa will keep me up all night."
Nope. Go find the hill, and sell tickets to it. You'll be filthy rich in no time!

Undulatus Asperatus

[infiniphonic]

Seen it. Took a picture. Just sent it to them. I was at a camp out. Everybody totally freaked out and hid in their tents and vehicles.

Re:Undulatus Asperatus

[Gnea]

Wikipedia seems to have some references to this as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undulatus_asperatus

We get those in Texas

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll never forget being outside with my wife and we noted how strange-looking the clouds were. I was thinking of epic battles and soldiers raging forth from Valhalla instead of Armageddon, though. Later, we saw a guy out in a field taking pictures of them. They're pretty neat! And it's good to be hearing more about them.

More Clouds ...

[foobsr]

... for all those who suspect 'Photoshop':

The Cloud Appreciation Society

CC.

Re:More Clouds ...

[Tablizer]

Well, now we suspect an Adobe pluggin to make those kinds of clouds en-mass. Our conspiracy shall not die! ;-P

Re:More Clouds ...

[ArsenneLupin]

And more here

Re:More Clouds ...

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw a few of these clouds on Youtube as well.
And while i am one to always refute a "photoshopped" comment... even i thought the clouds looked unreal.

I think someone screwed around with the Matrix code.

Re:More Clouds ...

[maxwell demon]

I think someone screwed around with the Matrix code.

The Matrix uses cloud computing?

Re:More Clouds ...

[Spacezilla]

Read the alt texts on the images on that page to see the funny names they have given the clouds!

in other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdotters want corrected a better grammatically post title.

(captcha: contempt)

Re:in other news...

[Tablizer]

Slashdotters want corrected a better grammatically post title.

Yoda hater!
   

win some, lose some

[Tablizer]

Call it "Pluto"

Re:win some, lose some

[stonedcat]

We would but we're afraid some assholes will come along 2/3 of a decade from now and decide it's not a real cloud.

Mammatus

[barnacle]

Looks like mammatus clouds - something any pilot would instantly recognize (and avoid)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus

Re:Mammatus

[Gnea]

No, these are more wavey in form, rather than bulbous.

More like this: http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-5/729624/clouds_Iowa.JPG

Re:Mammatus

[TeknoHog]

I agree, it does look like a flat-breasted version of mammatus, complete with the similarly well-defined surface. However, one might ask why the instability does not develop any further into a full mammatus. So perhaps there is a qualitatively different phenomenon.

Re:Mammatus

[hobo sapiens]

"However, one might ask why the instability does not develop any further into a full mammatus."

not enough growth hormones?

Re:Mammatus

[conureman]

Damn! Now THOSE are some freaky clouds. Where (and when) do I have to go to see those?

Re:Mammatus

[Anonymous Coward]

Tornado country. Any trailer park should do.

Seen it.

[Gnea]

It's usually out in extreme rural areas, where cold and warm fronts usually push against each other. Northwest Iowa is a perfect example, up near South Dakota and Minnesota.

Pillows, Marshmallows, and Rainbows

[Anonymous Coward]

I like clouds. They're fluffy, like bunny tails.

Re:Pillows, Marshmallows, and Rainbows

[lastgoodnickname]

But they don't taste the same.

Photoshoped and Wrong place in Scotland

[NSN A392-99-964-5927]

I know Scotland quite well. This is on the East Coast of Scotland in Inverurie slightly North West West of Aberdeen and in between Peterhead. You just do not get this weather coming over the North Sea in Land. wired.com have got this totally wrong and as another user has pointed out, it was edited in Photoshop. I can now confirm this. As I downloaded the picture and just opened it in Photoshop CS4 and it has clearly been "heavily edited". Nice one wired.com for wasting my time and others. The photograph was submitted by Photo: Danielle Maxwell. You would have least thought wired.com would have checked the validity of this.

Re:Photoshoped and Wrong place in Scotland

[Serious Callers Only]

As I downloaded the picture and just opened it in Photoshop CS4 and it has clearly been "heavily edited".

Photoshop is used for adjusting contrast and levels as well as retouching images - almost every image you see published will have gone through photoshop (save on sites like flickr.com). That the image passed through photoshop on the way to being published on wired is really no surprise. There are certainly heavy jpeg artefacts on the image, but that's not surprising either, could have been introduced by the camera or wired resaving as lower-res.

What do you mean by 'heavily edited', and why is that in quotes - did someone tell you this and you're repeating it to us?

Re:Photoshoped and Wrong place in Scotland

[smoker2]

WTF is north west west ? Did you mean west north west ? And you must have fucking good eyesight to determine that this picture was taken anywhere specific. A few power lines and a couple of rooflines with trees around. Maybe you could give us the GPS coordinates smartarse. And opening a probable 3rd generation image in photoshop proves nothing. There is no image data available other than size.

Re:Photoshoped and Wrong place in Scotland

[NSN A392-99-964-5927]

WTF is north west west ? Did you mean west north west ? And you must have fucking good eyesight to determine that this picture was taken anywhere specific. A few power lines and a couple of rooflines with trees around. Maybe you could give us the GPS coordinates smartarse. And opening a probable 3rd generation image in photoshop proves nothing. There is no image data available other than size.

I was about to call you a Troll but that would be too kind asking for proof and then slamming slashdot and calling me an arsehole is not very nice is it? Let me educate your silly mind. Depending on where you are on the planet, bearings are different. If you do not know the definition of bearings, please find your bearings in a dictionary. Chambers will be fine for you. I have a better comprehension of words, and you ought to shut your festering slit. The fact you want me to give you GPS coordinates, means your map reading skills are FOOBAR. However, I am going to increase the pressure on you mentally, your navigation skills are broken. What sort of person like yourself would lead yourself to a destination unknown? You can kill all your children this way if and you are not an opinion leader. God help you when you get stuck on the side of a Mountain in bad weather. But you cannot navigate without your GPS or SatNav.

Re:Photoshoped and Wrong place in Scotland

[NSN A392-99-964-5927]

No I am not repeating anything. When I opened it in CS4 it has a history function. and it shows every action of all the editing processes. I feel we can now move on from this topic as there is nothing more to be gained.

I have a picture of this from Dallas

[Hadlock]

This occured on May 25th 2009 in Dallas, just north of downtown. I'm sure if you search flickr for that geotag/timestamp, other pictures of it will show up in outdoor pics in the background of the images. Here's my 2megapixel cell phone camera picture of it:
 
  http://nearlydeaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG00395.jpg
 
And here's my shameless personal blog plug about my entry about it just now:
 
  http://nearlydeaf.com/?p=377
 
I'll admit my picture isn't as good as the one posted in Wired (it hasn't been photoshopped to hell with image contrast and color saturation), but I was on my lunch break trying to meet up with a friend for lunch at the mall that day.

Re:I have a picture of this from Dallas

[Hadlock]

Ooops, I have a second, better pic of said undulatus asperatus. This one was taken at Skillman and Mockingbird, Dallas, TX - about 3 miles north of downtown:
 
  http://nearlydeaf.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG00396.jpg

I May have seen it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have seen something similar on http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html some time ago. Not sure if they fit in the same family.
The link is http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071230.html (thanks to the search engine)

And a bonus picture: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090121.html

Re: Photoshoped - What about all the others?

[Telephone Sanitizer]

> it was edited in Photoshop. I can now confirm this.

Perhaps that image was.

What about these?

http://images.google.com/images?q=undulatus%20asperatus&hl=en&safe=off

FFS

[Alioth]

These clouds do have a name - they are called mammatus clouds. They are typically associated with convective activity. They are not unknown, and there are thousands of photos of mammatus clouds on the internet. We get them occasionally where I live. I understand they are most frequent in places like the mid West in the United States, but that doesn't mean you don't occasionally see them in other places - such as where I live, or in Scotland.

Re:FFS

[jaygridley]

I've seen mammatus clouds..those aren't it.

Re:FFS

[Alioth]

Not all mammatus clouds look exactly the same. The ones in the cited article most certainly are - just because they don't look exactly like boobies doesn't mean they aren't mammatus.

Re:FFS

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, but they happened in Iowa, that's why they're special :)

Re:FFS

[Anonymous Coward]

The clouds pictured in the article are NOT mammatus clouds. We get mammatus clouds frequently along with / preceding thunderstorms here in the midwest US, I'm quite familiar with them. These, though, are infrequent in the midwest US. While I have seen them before, and they are freaky looking, they didnt appear to be associated with any major atmospheric disturbance any time I've seen them locally.

Here is a quick google search for mammatus clouds. Note the "bubbly" appearance.

http://images.google.com/images?oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=mammatus%20clouds&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

The clouds in the main article lacked this bubbly look, more closely resembling upside down rough choppy seas.
(sorry for the awkward link, first time /. poster)

Also spotted in Spain.

[Gnea]

The city of Malaga in Spain has experienced these as well:

http://tinyurl.com/yzmoqnu

Re: Photoshoped - What about all the others?

[Vintermann]

Is there any need for that safe=off in your query string?

Rorschach Clouds

[bobdotorg]

Rorschach Clouds. Seriously.

I look at that picture and all I see are breasts. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... Boobie Clouds.

Re:Rorschach Clouds

[ArsenneLupin]

Rorschach Clouds. Seriously.
I look at that picture and all I see are breasts. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... Boobie Clouds.

And here are some clouds that swing the other way

Re:Rorschach Clouds

[maxwell demon]

This is clearly manipulated. You even still see the hands!

I am not a cloud expert

[93 Escort Wagon]

So I will just say... those look really, really cool.

cumulus mammatus

[Anonymous Coward]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud

Not new. Always ominous looking, for good reason.

Mammatus Lenticularis.

[rew]

Two clicks away from the article, I found the name "mammatus lenticularis".

Lenticularis are lens-like clouds that usually hang just above the peak of a mountain. These are caused by a warmer layer of air on top being pushed above the condensation level by the wind having to go over a mountain.

These look like mamatus, but more creepy. Less regular.

So referring to mammatus refers to the way they look. Referring to lenticularis refers to the way they form: In exactly the same way as normal lenticularis does.

Re:Mammatus Lenticularis.

[Scrameustache]

So referring to mammatus refers to the way they look. Referring to lenticularis refers to the way they form:

I'm pretty sure they're named lenticular because they're lens-shaped.

Re:Mammatus Lenticularis.

[rew]

Agreed lenticulars are called that way because they are shaped like a lens. These form just like real lenticulars, but are less obivously shaped like a lens.

So the Unix guys like to make jokes by naming programs "Yet Another Compiler Compiler" (I don't know what came before that, even though I'm pretty old by comp sci standards), Because that spells "yacc", the gnu equivalent is called "bison", another animal. Same here.

Re: Photoshoped - What about all the others?

[ArsenneLupin]

Is there any need for that safe=off in your query string?

Yes. Or else it would miss the best site

Dupe from 1965

[Udo Schmitz]

http://www.dissolute.com.au/avweb/emmabw/408.html

This is what I needed, yet another fad.

[thatkid_2002]

The cloud is just a fad.

meh, not all that interesting/new

[CAIMLAS]

This isn't all that interesting/new to me. Maybe I'm just not enough of a cloudy-scientist-type, but out here on the plains, I tend to spend a great deal of time looking up at the clouds (not much else to look at).

Clouds like these seem to come around out here on the Dakota plains this time of year - aka during hurricane/tornado season. I've seen them a handful of times, and they are kinda freaky. I think each of the times I saw them it was due to several fronts of differing temperatures converging - ie, not just two fronts, but a hot and cold front, as well as another of unknown median temperature. Oddly, I don't recall any storms accompanying them, though there was a little dribbling a time or two as well as some very high up lightning.

I'm pretty sure that this isn't a "cloud structure" so much as multiple cloud structures at different altitudes passing each other and possibly causing turbulence in the other layers - not a subduction, per se, but something like one. But what do I know, I don't even know the proper names for all the different clouds...

Anonymous Coward

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd say this is an undulatus asperatus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undulatus_asperatus

Cumulo-Fracto-Nimbus.

[SharpFang]

The king of all clouds.

OMG . . .

[Gabrill]

Are we so hard up that we are now ogling cloud boobs?

Do they have...

[Cheesetrap]

Do they have the one that looks like a whale? :D

.

P.S: Try to resist the urge to respond to this with yo-mama jokes ;)

That's no cloud

[Helge9210]

It's moving fast against the wind.

WMO, not WMF

[Lord Satri]

not yet recognized by the World Meteorological Foundation

Not surprising, since it's called the World Meteorological Organization.

Undulations?

[pgn674]

I am by no means an expert or even amature cloud identifier, but those look like severe Altostratus Undulatus to me. And actually, ever since the summer of 2005, I've noticed them a lot here near Portland, Maine, when I never noticed them before. When they get well pronounced, it does look Armageddonish.

Re:Undulations?

[pgn674]

Forgot to link a useful Google image search: Altostratus Undulatus - Google Images

If I saw one of those ...

[Tim Ward]

... I'd keep well out of its way.

I'd probably stay on the ground, actually, unless someone experienced in flying in that sort of weather was able to convince me that it was OK.

Not new at all.

[smoker2]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7574684.stm

Mod parent up

[SoVeryTired]

For a very smart reference to The Orb

I think they are a variation of Mammatus clouds

[Aging_Newbie]

When I was in Southern Illinois Mammatus clouds were evident now and again. Usually they were associated with very unstable air and sometimes preceded severe storms by a while. Once you see them, they are pretty distinctive. They really do look like angel breasts.

It's called a Ninnle cloud.

[Anonymous Coward]

First described by Ninnle Labs.

I think it looks like a bunny rabbit.

[Schrodycat]

I think it looks like a bunny rabbit.

What is up with the jumbled titles these days?!

[Anonymous Coward]

I know we all love listening to Yoda talk, but seriously? Sky Watchers Want Recognized a Newly Described Type of Cloud?!?!

Why confuse people when I title like this gets the point across with extra length. "Sky Watchers Want a Newly Described Type of Cloud Recognized"

Ok, maybe it's not perfect English, either. But it's better than the current title, really.

-XcepticZP

Re:What is up with the jumbled titles these days?!

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny, that. It's two orders of magnitude more annoying than regular slashdotisms.

Slashdot Readers Want Written An Article Headline

[Phurd Phlegm]

Is it just me, or is the headline for this article in Yoda instead of English?

It seems like "Sky Watcher Ask for New Cloud Description" would have read more smoothly and been shorter.

Re:alarmist code words

[conureman]

I'm not dogmatic about the "Climate Change" issue. When it comes to correlation of anthropogenic effects and and alarmist code words, might I suggest "Holocene Extinction Event".
You may flame when ready, Gridley.

Scots should pen the cloud name in Scot, not latin

[Anonymous Coward]

Gaels have a cool language. They discovered the cloud, they should name it in their language. I don't go around calling a mean frog a "rana caetsbienna", I call it in my language not some other language of a silk-swaddled camel jockey from a murderous church canton: it's a bullish froglet, or "bullfrog."

Cannabis nimbus

[Anonymous Coward]

I've seen clouds like this form at dead shows....

Could it be...

[Chris Mattern]

...that computing cloud I've been hearing so much about?

"journalism"

[Anonymous Coward]

Wonder how long itll take some"writer" to combine "new armageddon like clouds" with "global warming" in some desperate attempt to make a story

Old hat

[Anonymous Coward]

This was reported by the Beeb back in June!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8076000/8076805.stm

I think wired need to catch up.

Also, disagree on the mammatus thing - they look too elongate. Pretty though.

alternatively

[alt154]

tell us that something is no longer a cloud and you'd have a news. and i don't mean rain.

The new type of cloud

[Tetsujin]

Of course there has been lots of discussion in the scientific community as to what kind of cloud this might be...

Some have said that, with the bits coming off the top, it should be considered a bunny-cloud. Others have said that it rather looks more like a sea turtle swimming sideways, or a sailboat of some kind.

Amidst all this discussion a few fringe theories have also emerged. One scientist said he thought it looked like a naked lady (though it should be noted he said the same about most of the clouds) - another said that the cloud was actually none of those things - that it was actually an imaginary being called a byrnicoche, and that this one was his personal friend, named Willam.

I for one welcome our new Cloud Overlords

[SpoodyGoon]

I for one welcome our new Cloud Overlords with all this new cloud computing technology which was never used before these are obviously our new overlords.

Lenticular clouds - nothing new

[garote]

These are lenticular clouds. I saw a similar set five years ago in Alaska.

http://garote.bdmonkeys.net/alaska/pages-full/day_31/20040616-083000-more_morning_clouds.html

beautimus

[rascal256]

these clouds are beautiful