Bizarre Clouds

image If I just saw this picture randomly out of context, I'd swear it was fake. After all, I've never in my life seen clouds that look like that. But according to the Astronomy Picture of the Day site (which I trust), the picture is real. They're Mammatus Clouds that appeared over Monclova, Mexico. Apparently such clouds sometimes form in turbulent air near thunderstorms.

Photos Science

Posted on Tue Jun 08, 2004


Comments

I've seen similar clouds on stormy afternoons in Colorado.
Posted by Mark  on  Tue Jun 08, 2004  at  12:52 PM
I've seen some of these clouds too, only seen them once though. I was on mushrooms at the time and had to lie on my back for an hour and stare at them. Pretty neato.

Anyway, there's another really rare cloud I want to check out

http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/atoptics/nacr1.htm

Nacreas clouds.
Posted by Chuckwagon  on  Tue Jun 08, 2004  at  04:38 PM
I've seen this kind of cloud, but only a very few times. They always came just before very nasty weather.
Posted by Big Gary  on  Wed Jun 09, 2004  at  07:11 PM
I think anyone that sees these as "all" clouds
has been eating California mushrooms.
The lower portion is clouds for sure, but the upper portion has been taken from an old photo of naked people and cleverly incorperated into the clouds. When you blow it up larger you can see
the physical details that are too refined to
actully be clouds. Each to his own I guess.
TS. Michigan
Posted by terry sellers  on  Wed Aug 11, 2004  at  08:49 PM
Saw the same type of clouds when a severe thunderstorm was doing its thing around 15 miles north of where the strange clouds appeared overhead.

I believe the photo is real since the clouds I saw looked the same.
Posted by obbop  on  Sun Aug 22, 2004  at  08:12 PM
I have also seen clouds like these after a thunderstorm on 8/9/2004 we also had 2" hail at that time. You could see lightning dancing around in these clouds too. Pictures of these were published in The Gazette the next day.
Posted by Joe O.  on  Thu Sep 09, 2004  at  11:52 AM
they look like a bunch of ass cheeks
Posted by Natasha  on  Mon Feb 07, 2005  at  02:07 PM
kinda counters all the ass cheeks that look like big ass clouds, dunnit?
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Mon Feb 07, 2005  at  02:15 PM
I've seen clouds like this many times, and it always means hail! I've had my shingles replaced 3 times in the last 10 years because of hail storms here in North Dakota.
Posted by Monte Butler  on  Fri Mar 11, 2005  at  10:08 AM
They're called Mammatus clouds. Guess why.

They DO sprout from severe thunderstorms, or Cumulonimbus incus. So you're all correct.
Posted by Meerkat  on  Wed Jul 12, 2006  at  07:28 PM
Golly, looking at those clouds again I can see an ugly face in one of them!!! A terrifying viasge full of hate towards self and others. I detect a face akin to a chimpanzee but with a few homo-sapiens features. A face wracked with indecision about the most basic facets of life yet self-assured in a way only the neurotic can be.

It's..... it's.... GW Bush!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!
Posted by Obbop  on  Tue Apr 10, 2007  at  02:40 PM
The clouds often look like that where I live. But then again, we get some weird weather.
Posted by Jessacaj  on  Thu May 01, 2008  at  11:31 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.