Click here to enlarge

image credit & licence: Craig Lindsay, Wikipedia


why is this cloud so bubbly ?

normally, cloud bottoms are flat

the flatness is caused by moist warm air that rises and cools and so condenses 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

these mammatus clouds were photographed over Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada during the summer of 2012
























in apod.nasa.gov/apod