We think these clouds look like delicious wisps of marshmallow! But did you know that this type of cloud is also often mistaken as a UFO? Due to their often saucer-like shape, some people tend to jump to the wrong conclusion!
So how are Lenticular clouds formed? They are formed when a current of moist air is forced upwards as it travels over a mountain, causing the moisture to condense and form a cloud. Lenticular clouds also tend to hang around in the same stationary position for days. This is because the flow of moist air continually resupplies the cloud with the moisture it needs to retain its position and shape.
It is also interesting that this lenticular cloud is hovering over these large fans. It is these large fans that are able to supply a constant flow of air to the cloud
Anvil Clouds
You’d be forgiven for looking at this photograph and thinking it had captured an explosion going off. This photograph actually shows an anvil cloud, and they are often associated with the loud explosion-like noise of thunder because the cloud forms in the upper part of a thunderstorm.Even if a thunderstorm is miles away, lightning can still strike from these gloomy looking anvil clouds. The National Weather Service state that anvil clouds can spread up to “hundreds of miles downwind from the thunderstorm itself”.
So how do anvil clouds form such an unusual shape, you ask? Rising air in a thunderstorm spreads out and expands as it clashes against the bottom of the stratosphere. Because anvil clouds mostly contain ice particles, the air in the stratosphere is warmer than that contained in the cloud. As a result, the anvil cloud is prevented from spreading into the stratosphere and it maintains a flat-looking top.
The white streaks falling out of the edges of the anvil cloud is actually snow, however by the time this snow reaches the earth’s surface, it has been transformed into rain.
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