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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."
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?
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
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.
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.