Rare Mammatus Clouds over New York City
I Took these shots from my office in the Empire State Building this morning just ahead of a very heavy super cell.
I posted about this awhile back, Toby forwarded me some photos he found online. I've seen these only a few times but not often, and today I got lucky! Jorn Oslen took these amazing shots. These are Mammatus clouds and are almost extraterrestrial looking in nature. Mammatus (also known as mamma or mammatocumulus) is a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. These pouches are often ragged, but may appear smooth. Their color is normally a bluish gray, the same as that of the host cloud, but direct illumination from the setting sun and other clouds may cause a gold or reddish cast as in this shot by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. . Mammatus can persist anywhere from minutes to hours, diffusing and disappearing over time.
Mammatus has often been linked with the occurrence of tornadoes and thunderstorms.
Comments
I've seen those clouds prior to a tornado in nebraska.
wild jeff!
Posted by: bill | July 21, 2006 10:30 AM