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Top 10 Rare Clouds!!!

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Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Empty Top 10 Rare Clouds!!!

Post by D.M 25th May 2010, 2:19 pm

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!!


Clouds fill the skies above us and are part of our every day lives,
often going unnoticed. However, there are some clouds that are so rare
that you will be very lucky to see them in your lifetime. This is a list
of the top 10 most rarest cloud formations (in no particular order)
that for those lucky enough to see them, were caught on camera.



1. Nacreous Clouds




These rare clouds, sometimes called mother-of-pearl clouds, are 15 -
25km (9 -16 miles) high in the stratosphere and well above tropospheric
clouds.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Nacreous


They have iridescent colours but are higher and much rarer than ordinary
iridescent clouds. They are seen mostly but not exclusively in polar
regions and in winter at high latitudes, Scandinavia, Alaska, Northern
Canada. Lower level iridescent clouds can be seen anywhere.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Nacreous1

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Nacreous3


Nacreous clouds shine brightly in high altitude sunlight up to two hours
after ground level sunset or before dawn. Their unbelievably bright
iridescent colours and slow movement relative to any lower clouds make
them an unmistakable and unforgettable sight.


2. Mammatus Clouds



Mammatus are pouch-like cloud structures and a rare example of clouds in
sinking air.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Mammatus-cloud

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Mammatus

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Mammatus

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Mammatus2


Sometimes very ominous in appearance, mammatus clouds are harmless and
do not mean that a tornado is about to form - a commonly held
misconception. In fact, mammatus are usually seen after the worst of a
thunderstorm has passed.


3. Altocumulus Castelanus


Also known as jellyfish clouds due to their jellyfish-like appearance.



Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Altocumulus_Castelanus


These formed around 17,000 ft due to when the rush of moist air comes
from the Gulf Stream and gets trapped between layers of dry air. The top
of the cloud rises into a jellyfish shape and long tentacles known as
“trailing virga” form from rain drops that have evaporated.


4. Noctilucent Clouds



Noctilucent Clouds or Polar Mesopheric Clouds: This is an extroadinarily
rare cloud formation that occurs out on the verge of space between 82km
to 102 km from the earth’s surface.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Noctilucent_Clouds

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Noc_clouds


Noctilucent clouds appear to be luminous yet they reflect the sunlight
from the other side of the earth at night, giving them a glowing
appearance.


5.
Mushroom Clouds



A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke,
condensed water vapor, or debris resulting from a very large explosion.
They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any
sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Mushroom_Cloud


Volcano eruptions and impact events can produce natural mushroom clouds.




Mushroom clouds form as a result of the sudden formation of a large mass
of hot low-density gases near the ground creating a Rayleigh-Taylor
instability. The mass of gas rises rapidly, resulting in turbulent
vortices curling downward around its edges and drawing up a column of
additional smoke and debris in the centre to form its “stem”. The mass
of gas eventually reaches an altitude where it is no longer less dense
than the surrounding air and disperses, the debris drawn upward from the
ground scattering and drifting back down.


6. Cirrus Kelvin-Helmholtz



Appearing as a slender, horizontal spiral of cloud, cirrus
Kelvin-Helmholtz is one of the most distinctive cloud formations.
However, it tends to dissipate only a minute or two after forming and,
as a result, is rarely observed.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Cirrus_Kelvin_Helmholtz


Average height is around 16,500 ft.


7. Lenticular Clouds


Lenticular clouds, technically known as altocumulus standing
lenticularis, are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high
altitudes, normally aligned at right-angles to the wind direction.



Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Lenticular



Where stable moist air flows over a mountain or a range of mountains, a
series of large-scale standing waves may form on the downwind side.
Lenticular clouds sometimes form at the crests of these waves. Under
certain conditions, long strings of lenticular clouds can form, creating
a formation known as a wave cloud.


8. Roll Clouds


A roll cloud is a low, horizontal tube-shaped arcus cloud associated
with a thunderstorm gust front, or sometimes a cold front. Roll clouds
can also be a sign of possible microburst activity.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud


Cool air sinking air from a storm cloud’s downdraft spreads out across
the surface with the leading edge called a gust front. This outflow
undercuts warm air being drawn into the storm’s updraft. As the cool air
lifts the warm moist air water condenses creating cloud, which often
rolls with the different winds above and below (wind shear).


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud1

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud2

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud1

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud3

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud4

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Roll_cloud5

9.
Shelf Clouds



A shelf cloud is a low, horizontal wedge-shaped arcus cloud, associated
with a thunderstorm gust front (or occasionally with a cold front, even
in the absence of thunderstorms).


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Shelf_cloud


Unlike a roll cloud, a shelf cloud is attached to the base of the parent
cloud above it (usually a thunderstorm).


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Shelf_cloud1

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Shelf_cloud2

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Shelf_cloud3

Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Shelf_cloud4


Rising cloud motion often can be seen in the leading (outer) part of the
shelf cloud, while the underside often appears turbulent, boiling, and
wind-torn.


10.
Stratocumulus Clouds



According to the Sapporo Meteorological Observatory, these low-altitude
stratocumulus clouds were rolled into long, distinctive ribbons after
becoming trapped in air currents.


Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! Stratocumulus_Cloud


While it is not uncommon for wind to form such patterns in stratocumulus
clouds, photos that clearly show the clouds rolled into strips are
rare, says the observatory.
D.M
D.M
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Post by Nimmi 26th May 2010, 2:15 am

Thanks

Keep sharing.....
.. Top 10 Rare Clouds!!! 526242
Nimmi
Nimmi
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Post by D.M 18th August 2010, 2:41 pm

u welcom paa g
D.M
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Post by Haya 23rd August 2010, 12:13 am

as salam u alikum.!
Aaaahaan nice sharing DM.!
keep sharing..!
Haya
Haya
Senior Member


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