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Credit & Copyright: Jorn Olsen Photography
Explanation:
When do cloud bottoms appear like bubbles?
Normally,
cloud bottoms are flat.
This is because moist warm air
that rises and cools will condense
into water droplets at a specific temperature,
which usually corresponds to a very specific height.
As water
droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms.
Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets
of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate.
Such pockets may occur in
turbulent
air near a thunderstorm.
Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially
dramatic if
sunlit from the side.
The
mammatus clouds
pictured here were photographed over
Hastings,
Nebraska
during 2004 June.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: clouds
Publications with words: clouds
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 17 Á Asperitas Clouds Over New Zealand
- Nacreous Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2024 November 19 Á Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory
- APOD: 2024 July 7 Á Iridescent Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2023 August 20 Á A Roll Cloud Over Wisconsin
- Nacreous Clouds over Lapland
- A Retreating Thunderstorm at Sunset