Cumulus Humilis-Skynews

Clouds: their curious natures, and heavens doorstep. "The sky and the strong wind have moved the spirit inside me till I am carried away trembling with joy." ~Uvavnuk

[cumulus-skynews]

Cumulus Humilis - Skynews has moved from this location

Official Site: http://cumulushumilis-skynews.tumblr.com/

Apologies for the inconvenience...

[cumulus-skynews]

(2b) Cirrus intortus: as if God himself shaved his beard and missed the sink.  

"A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes"

~Joseph Addison

[cumulus-skynews]

To Cloud, or Not To Cloud?

   Greetings sky-gazers, we have a beautiful day out with temperatures around the lower 70's and slightly windy.  Combine that with wisps of Altostratus undulatus and we have perfect conditions for enjoying the simple pleasures of the great outdoors.  Who can deny taking personal delight from a warm and sunny day?  Its rather an easy feat for one to be content in one's thoughts and actions within the environment of such a system of solace.  

  On a day such as today, holding much potential for new-found revelations, let us take on the challenge...and ponder this illustration:

   This is a cloud formation which some say would be Alto/Stratocumulus depending on their height, but others would call this formation Undulatus asperatus, meaning roughened or agitated waves.  This cloud formation was proposed by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, of the Cloud Appreciation Society, to be a new cloud formation which deserves to be added to the International Cloud Atlas.  This only occurred in 2009, meaning this will be the first cloud formation added to the list since Cirrus intortus (2b) in 1951.  These eerie, yet transient beings generally form after much convection has occurred within a passing thunderstorm, which is understandably so, seeing as they mostly occur in the Great Plains (right around Tornado Alley).  Their presence is not indicative of any severe weather activity, rather they generally occur in the morning or midday, following thunderstorm activity.  

   Their appearance, just as many other cloud formations, seems to stretch beyond description.  It's like peering into a fog which the U.S.S. Enterprise is exiting just as it comes out of light speed.  Fortunately for us, we need not worry about descriptions to gather awe and profound sense of extremity from these other-worldly forms.  We need only look up.

"I can be jubilant one moment and pensive the next, and a cloud could go by and make that happen"

~Bob Dylan

[cumulus-skynews]

The Main Cloud Types: They are all listed here for your Cloud-spotting utility.  Clouds are officially classified according to a Latin Linnean system.  The clouds first fall into one of the ten basic "genera", then they can be further defined as ONE of the possible species associated with the genera, and then further defined to contain any (one or multiple) varieties.  

   There's no harm done if the classification system above doesn't tickle your curiosity bone.  I'll admit its far more enjoyable to take a long drive and gaze at mother nature's assembly lines at work versus staring in books of pictures and diagrams.  Where science aims to categorize, systematize, and order; nature's aim is to entice and to convey that which it disguises.  The skies are the rhetorical equivalent of transcendence, and this prescription of the mystical is exactly what science aims to expose.  

   This being said, science should not be made out to be the villain in this synopsis of the skies, rather it should be revered, just as much as any of the greatest philosophers' works.  Both disciplines aim to express propositions which are matters of fact, and just as Plato's writings have inspired centuries of deliberation, so too have the sciences.  

   As fantastic as the ways different schools of thought have inspirited millions of individuals, whats even more fantastic are our efforts in defining laws to our systems, which only reveal more complexity and variability to the world surrounding us.  As one dares to dig deeper into their field of study, one becomes aware of how many more determinants, outliers, and variables which must be considered to become adequate in their fields.  Just as in any field of study (especially meteorology), the predictions of effects from known causes can be extremely difficult.  

   So as you gaze towards the heavens, remember there is absolutely no need to contemplate the bolts and screws to the veil of winds above in order to experience them.  The clouds reign on high for all to take part in.  Let's not miss our chances to do so!

"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility"

~St. Augustine. 

[cumulus-skynews]

(2a): Credit to Professor Dr. Ashley

http://walkerashley.org/

[cumulus-skynews]

Quick! Run To 'Cloud' Cover

   Good Tidings readers, we made it through the initial 24 hours of ambient grey skies and downpour.  If one makes use of their keen and observant eyes, they will notice a change in the atmosphere around them.  While true in the molecular sense of the atmosphere, also in the perceptive souls  surrounding us.  With less light covering our social landscapes (due to Stratus nebulosus), it is only natural that people turn their vision inwards; into mellow contemplation.  Envisioning stories worth little to others.

   Yes, the Stratus nebulosus reveals no cloud curvature, no change in tone, nor anything above it.  It is the result of the moist air around us cooling and condensing, resulting in the grey above; which as a matter of fact holds not one vanishing point.  While staring into the calming bellows of the Cumulus, you will take focus in the undulations and with no conscious thought, focus will shift to a new set of complexities.  Its mountainous form reveals its intricacies with clarity and good conscience.  Compared with staring at grey Stratus, as if one was seeking involvement in a visual masterpiece, will only reveal a shade of void.  Personally, I find it difficult to stare at those monotonous clouds for too long, not from the lack of any personal existential value, but probably because my eyes cannot take focus on a plane lacking form.  

   This being said, it should then go without saying that a partly cloudy sky is not partly marvelous by any means.  Their fantastic imagery and shape, provided by the ever-winding jet streams above, constantly leave evidence that the currents of this great sea of air can produce some pretty spectacular phenomena.  Here is a video of a time-lapse produced by specific members of NIU's faculty (2a), showing us that there is a lot more going on above us that we certainly cannot see.  

"A cloud is made of billows upon billows upon billows that look like clouds.  As you come closer to a cloud you don't get something smooth but irregularities at a smaller scale"

~Benoit Mandelbrot 

[cumulus-skynews]

Time lapse of a shelf cloud: Not the kind of cloud to look for shapes of animals or horseshoes, but a cloud to set eyes on nonetheless.

[cumulus-skynews]

I'm Cloudy And I Know It

   Welcome once again fellow friends, today is gloomy with scattered showers and more showers to come.  While viewing monotone skies of grey aren't the most aesthetically pleasing, you should keep your eyes out for arcus: cloud formations forming just ahead (and sometimes behind) of a multi-cell or single-cell storm system.  Shelf clouds (8a) and roll clouds (9a) are the two types of arcus, and they form as the cool air being pulled down from inside the big cumulonimbus from the rain falling splashes down onto the land below and spreads out.  This cool air splashing as that of a storm surge moving, lifts up the warmer air at ground level and lifts it up, creating an astonishingly even wall of cloud.  

    (8a): Shelf cloud: Different from the roll cloud in that it stays attached to the base of the parent storm system.   Quite common versus the roll cloud, storm-chasers encounter these regularly.

(9a): Roll Cloud: Somewhat rare compared to the shelf-cloud.  As they do not change shape or speed as they move, they roll the opposite direction that you would think as they move.  In this picture the cloud is rolling clockwise.

   While they both appear quite eerie, especially the shelf cloud, their presence are generally not correlated with the presence of severe-thunderstorms and/or tornadoes.  Just as 'eerie' suggests, they can create an irrational superstitious fear of dangerous weather in the future.                        

   But to us educated sky-gazers, they are just another fantastic image created by earth's eternal laws.  Another image of majesty arising from the invisible revolutions and evolutions of our atmosphere, occurring within the confides of space and time and abiding to the complex measures of fluid dynamics.  Strange how these hair-raising phenomenon can create a sense of empowerment to some while producing fear into others...

"Wise man: One who sees the storm coming before the clouds appear"

~Elbert Hubbard 

[cumulus-skynews]

Put Your Clouds In The Air, If You Feel Fine

   Greetings, Cloud-spotters!  We have yet another beautiful day with highs in the lower 80's and skies littered with Cumulus humilis.  Let's not get too ecstatic about this superb weather, while our skies are providing a warm welcome to Spring, the next couple of days are anticipated to bring rain, storms, and more rain.  We have a cold front slowly creeping over Iowa which means after the previous heavy rainfall and flooding, there is a chance this slow moving system could bring some heavy precipitation in and may cause even more flooding, depending on the saturation levels of the soils in the area at the time.  Chances are we won't have any big bodies of water surrounding us this weekend...

   Speaking of large bodies of water, there is a surprisingly tight relationship between the oceans and atmosphere.  Otherwise, why would El Nino occurring in the Pacific Ocean have a direct effect on a decrease of Hurricane activity over the Atlantic Ocean?  

   I'll admit this is not the best piece of evidence for my claim, so let me provide further explanation:

   Notice the intricate similarity between the Pacific Ocean and Atmosphere?  Enthalpy is a term used in thermodynamics relating the energy of a system to its pressure or its volume; basically, its a description of the amount of heat (or energy, to get boringly technical) in the defined system.  So what we see here is a very, very, VERY (I am not pulling your leg on the extremity of the topic, cause scientists still do not understand how this relationship is so well defined) tightly bound relationship between the exchange of energy between the oceans and the air above them.  If this is not enough to sway you, just think what better description of commonality between systems could there be?  The musician interacts with her instrument to create sounds, which is type of relationship in itself; but can she manipulate the sounds themselves as they are released from her melodic tool?  Maybe if the sounds were pre-recorded then later manipulated, but as for the sound waves themselves, we cannot grab hold of them and change them; they work in completely different systems which can only be interpreted by our ears.  

   The fact that such a solid correlation exists between energy exchange reveals how the two systems can influence each other and are rather together one in a even bigger and more complex system.  

   Now that were past the dull and lifeless ghosts of science, here's a pretty picture of a very rare and fleeting cloud formation:

   This formation is called the Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud, and its resemblance to the waves of the sea crashing to shore is rather fitting for this discussion, except the mechanisms required for this extraordinary cloud type are actually quite different than how the waves of an Ocean come into existence.

   This cloud variety however, form just like the waves of the sea:

   This variety is called undulatus, and they appear in six of the ten main cloud types.  They form when the winds above and below the thin layer of cloud are travelling at different speeds and/or direction.  This creates what is known as wind shear, and the incredible thing is waves of a body of water form the exact same way.  Check out the diagram:

   So to provide a thesis to these findings: The air we live in and breathe, is an ever-flowing sea.  We need not work our way to a coastline to experience the gentle bliss, which many in the working and employed public seek out to provide vacation from the rigid-systems of daily life.  We need only to look up...

“Look at those clouds," said Jamie, gazing up at the sky. "Look at them."

"Yes," said Isabel. "They're very beautiful, aren't they? Clouds are very beautiful and yet so often we fail to appreciate them properly. We should do that. We should look at them and think about how lucky we are to have them."

"Look at the shape of the clouds," she said. "What do you see in those beautiful clouds, Jamie?"

"I see you," he said.”

Alexander McCall Smith, The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds

[cumulus-skynews]

Not A Cloud In Hell

   Welcome fellow cloud spectators!  We have another beautiful day ahead of us; with highs in the lower 80's and partly cloudy skies we have another great day advantageous for cloud-spotting.  Currently I am looking at skies of Altostratus and Altocumulus with a touch of Cirrostratus.   If you got the chance to check the cloud classification link, you know that the Alto- cloud types form in the middle altitudes of the troposphere (15,000-30,000 ft) and the Cirro- cloud types form in the upper levels of the troposphere (Cirrostratus forming around 25,000-35,000 ft and cirrus forming around 35,000-50,000 and higher).  

   If you are one looking at the clouds and wondering whether the cotton-ball shaped clouds above are Altocumulus or Stratocumulus, there is a nice trick you can use to figure that out.  If you hold you hand straight out in front of you and hold three fingers outstretched, you can measure the size of the cloudlets (the smaller pieces/individual smaller clouds of the cloud formation) in relation to your fingers.  The Cumulus and Stratocumulus will generally have cloudlets larger than the width of your three fingers, the Alto-type cloudlets will generally be larger than one finger but smaller than three, and lastly the Cirro-type cloudlets will generally be smaller than one finger.  

   I must emphasize that this system is not foul-proof; you must angle your outstretched arm at least 30 degrees above the horizon to provide enough precision, because higher clouds can appear lower when viewed from the horizon versus from right below them.  This trick can also fail to produce clear results if one is attempting to classify Stratus nebulosus (the bland and featureless Stratus)  and Altostratus opacus (Altostratus which block out the sun), because they are both very similar except for their altitudes.  Lastly, as has been said before, not all cloud formations will fit perfectly into our Latin-based cloud classification system.  This should come as no surprise, as their indefinite form is constantly in flux.

    -It will also fail if your attempts are aimed at pressing the cloud as a button-

   As you practice this technique, you will soon develop an eye for spotting lower vs. higher clouds without the need to use your fingers.  Cloud-spotting will become cloud-contemplation, and with enough luck leisurely meditation.  Fruitful musings give birth to sincerity, sense of identity, structure to the ever-erratic stream-of-consciousness.  

  Let us not forget the ever-pervading truth that we are products of our environment. This being said, we share the same weather phenomena as those in our communities.  We share the pleasures of every sunrise and the pains of every storm.  There is an unspoken unity which exists under the clouds, and as our minds ponder this wonderment, it is well known that we are all subject to the sky's ever-changing patterns.

“I loved weather, all weather, not just the good kind. I loved balmy days, fearsome storms, blizzards, and spring showers. And the colors! Everyday brought something to be admired: the soft feathery patterns of cirrus clouds, the deep, dark grays of thunderheads, the lacy gold and peach of the early morning sunrise. The sky and its moods called to me.”

― L. Jagi Lamplighter

[cumulus-skynews]

(6a) Virga: A supplementary feature of a cloud.  What you are basically looking at is the clouds precipitation (rain) and it evaporating before it hits the ground.  Can occur in medium and high altitudes.  You can generally tell the upper-level winds direction based on where the virga are stretching from.  Because the higher altitudes tend to have higher wind speeds, the falling droplets/ice crystals will fall into slower moving air, meaning in this picture the upper level winds are moving to the right.

"Lost Angel of a ruined Paradise! She knew not 'twas her own; as with no stain She faded, like a cloud which had outwept its rain"

~Percy Bysshe Shelly 

[cumulus-skynews]

(5a) Cumulus humilis radiatus: the Latin term radiatus refers to rays, as these formations can converge on the horizon as rays do.  I snapped this picture in Carpentersville, IL.  There were rows after rows of these incredible formations and seeing as they are commonly referred to as "cloud streets", it was like looking at heaven's express lanes...

These (most probably) formed over land as relatively unstable air flows over an obstacle and convection (process which gives birth to most cumulus) is caused by friction or shear.

“A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed...It feels an impulsion...this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.”

~Richard Bach

[cumulus-skynews]

Lets Not Get Ahead of Our Clouds...

   Hello fellow Cloud-lovers, I hope all of your weekends were filled with bright skies as were the skies in the Chicago area.  We had some variety and unique formations occur in our celestial sphere over the past couple days; perfect for filling in the great blue void above.  Also, with temperatures in the 60's and 70's, what is there to hate?  

   Over the weekend I caught glimpses of Cumulus humilis, Cumulus humilis radiatus (5a), Altocumulus leaving long trails of virga (6a), as well as those fleeting clouds whose soul purpose is to avoid characterization with their curious appearances.  As one observes these ambivalent beings through expansive mediums, it is in their very nature to change.  As they coalesce, separate, dissipate, grow, flatten, evaporate, expand; basically as they follow the (extremely complex) systems of fluid dynamics the air which surrounds them submits to, it is impossible to have a perfect classification and definition for each fleeting moment in their short life spans (which can be as short as on hour or less).

   Here is an excellent link which reveals the cloud classification system that is used all around the world (and an excellent resource, coming from NOAA's website [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association]).  

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=cloud_classification

The classification model uses Latin and traces back to Luke Howard in 1803.  While he was initially a Manufacturing Chemist in Britian, he later focused on meteorology and is considered by some to the the father of the field.  He was one of the first to claim that clouds are a production of their environment just as all things are, and their characteristics can reveal those environmental features which can provide valuable information to us, like when rainfall was coming for an example.

"Clouds are subject to certain distinct modifications, produced by the general causes which affect all the variations of the atmosphere; they are commonly as good visible indicators of the operation of these causes, as is the countenance of the state of a person's mind or body." ~Luke Howard

     Just as a doctor prescribes medication for an individual's illness based on their symptoms, so we can prescribe an understanding to our climate and daily weather to the cloud cover.  Unfortunately this study of weather, left to the meteorologists, is much more complex than simply looking at a couple clouds in the sky and then providing an accurate description of the daily weather.

  But as we all know, the age of science is a relatively new era for the human race.  We understand now that there must be causes for the effects which lead clouds to form as they naturally do.  But what did generations before this time see as they stared from the foundations of the earth to the heavens?  Besides the same hues of blues, whites, and warm sunsets, they saw the sky as the ethereal residence of the heavens!  The sky was magnified with humanity's unique quality of capitalizing on rhetoric and disposition.  Many religious texts include the divine qualities of the infinite aesthetic qualities of the sky.

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, 2 and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Eli'jah talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Eli'jah. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased 

Matthew 17:1-5

  This is an example where the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful ruler of the universe IS SPEAKING THROUGH A FLIPPIN CLOUD!  Seems the big man upstairs has good taste in his appearance...or wardrobe...or whatever.

So let us remember the clouds are vessels to some of the most fantastic compositions in the history of mankind.  Let us remember as we continually decipher these vessels' meanings, abstractions, and purposes; it is necessary to look up and let their existence be known.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud

Genesis 9:12-14 

[cumulus-skynews]

Cloud Got Your Tongue

   Greetings fellow sky-gazers, we have a beautiful sunny day today with highs in the mid 60's combined with winds SSE at 20-25 mph.  What better way for us to be reminded that our surroundings are in a constant state of flux than to feel the air around us in motion?

   And what better day to prescribe our blossoming landscapes with a plethora of different clouds to fill this space we call atmosphere.  Looking up on this fine day (as I hope you come to do everyday) you will spot the sky littered with Stratus undulatus, Altostratus translucidous, and our ethereal, yet transient, Cumulus humilis.  The Altostratus look as if someone took a eraser to the blue sky a little to excessively, appearing as if the blue-grey upper atmosphere was smeared with whiteout.  They tend to form in the middle altitudes of the troposphere, while the Stratus and Cumulus form in the lower altitudes.  

   The stratus are the wispy clouds which tend to mix their ephemeral substance with the winds above our heads, and they can actually reveal to us what direction these winds are blowing.

   Seeing as I unfortunately do not have much extra time to continue, make sure to set your sights to the skies, and let the clouds reveal their unspoken revelations...

"Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

[cumulus-skynews]

Top: (4a) Stratocumulus: notice the much more irregular cloud bases with darker tones of grey throughout, as if God stuffed some Nimbostratus into a blender and poured it over the sky.

Bottom: Cumulus humilis: notice the even level of all the cloud bases, this is where the lifted condensation level (LCL) is located.  Notice they do not travel very high, meaning our hypothetical air parcels are becoming saturated and cooling to the surrounding environment's temperature within a relatively small distance.

"Clouds are God's sneezes"

~ Ralph Wiggum 

[cumulus-skynews]

Time lapse of towering Cumulus mediocris and Cumulus congestus.

"let chaos storm! Let cloud shapes swarm!

I wait for form."

~ Robert Frost

[cumulus-skynews]

"I'm Bringing Cloudy Back"

   Greetings fellow cloud connoisseurs!  Today we have an overcast sky in Dekalb and producing this overcast are Cumulus humilis.  The day should vary from mostly to partly cloudy and with a high in the lower 50's west of Downtown Chicago, we can be sure that spring is slowly creeping up on us!    

   We have another day of Cumulus humilis filling the skies, and it's important to not confuse these clouds with Stratocumulus (4a).  Stratocumulus are distinguishable by having a clumpier base than other Cumulus types.  You can tell if you have Stratocumulus when the sky is overcast, the cloud base appears very low, and the base is lined with tones from white to dark grey.  Compared with today's Cumulus humilis (Cumulus clouds wider than they are tall) they have a more jagged base and darker shades of grey in the base.  They tend to block out the sun more efficiently as well, which does not make them the most popular, but they tend to have the most varieties compared to other clouds.

   Back to our friendly Cumulus, have you ever wondered why they look like fields of cauliflower covered in marshmallow fluff?  We are in luck, because our dear friend science reveals the reason is analogous to an explosion, or better put, a release of energy.

   As the cloud begins to form, and all the tiny water vapor molecules condense onto the condensation nuclei, the water is experiencing a phase change as it turns from a gas to a liquid.  As the molecules change from a gas to a liquid, they release energy in the form of heat.  This process is called latent heating, and without it we would never have thunderstorms, hurricanes, or tornadoes.  

       As the air containing its water vapor (let us call it our air parcel) rises into the surrounding air above it, the surrounding air cools the air parcel and in turn condensation occurs as well as the surrounding air acts to cool our original air parcel.  But because of latent heat, the thermal  energy (heat) being released keeps the air parcel from cooling immediately to the temperature of the surrounding air.  Warmer air is more buoyant than cooler air (because cooler air is denser) so our original air parcel will continue to rise releasing bursts of thermal energy (which give the appearance of cauliflower tops).

   It is important to note our air parcel will not continue ascending until it reaches space.  It will eventually cool to the temperature of the surrounding environment (meteorologists do the math to determine how high our air parcel will rise).  Here is an example of a chart they use called a SkewT-LogP to determine how much lift can occur to our hypothetical air parcel:

   There is plenty to discuss on what information is being revealed and what all these seemingly chaotic lines represent.  But to keep things simple, the red line is our hypothetical air parcel and the blue line would be our hypothetical surrounding air.  The air pressure on the y-axis simply stands for height because as we go up, there is less air in the sky.  The x-axis reveals our temperature.  Because our hypothetical air parcel would consistently be warmer than the surround air, the air parcel could continue to rise and continue to release latent heat as the water vapor would condense and even as the condensed water droplets freeze and form ice crystals in the higher altitudes of the troposphere.  This Skew-T chart reveals the potential for a really bad storm.

   All this being said, cloud formation is really nothing more than thousands of small bursts of energy in the sky.  Hurricanes are the greatest example of this: because by their nature they are essentially very complex engines which are self-sustaining (when conditions are right).  I wonder if the Texas-based band "Explosions in the Sky" is any reference to this exquisite phenomena...

  Check out this time-lapse video which reveal the bursts of energy in a more aesthetically-pleasurable manner!

“I know that I shall meet my fate somewhere among the clouds above; those that I fight I do not hate, those that I guard I do not love.”

― W.B. Yeats