#asperatus

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ASPERATUS CLOUDS OVER MISSOURI

Undulatus asperatus cloud formations are so rare worldwide that they were not proposed as a separate cloud classification until 2009. The Cloud Appreciation Society suggested the name asperatus, as the word comes from the Latin verb ‘aspero’, meaning to make rough. It is thought that asperatus clouds’ choppy undersides may be due to strong winds causing disruption in previously stable layers of warm and cold air.

Graeme Anderson, an MSc student at the Department of Meteorology, Reading University, studied weather records and used a computer model to simulate asperatus clouds. In doing so, Graeme found that the clouds form in the sort of conditions that produce mamma (mammatus) clouds; asperatus clouds form when the winds up at the cloud level cause the cloud to shear into wave-like forms known as undulatus.

The image was taken on 9 August 2008 by Wikipedia User Agathman, and shows asperatus clouds over Pocahontas, Missouri, USA.

-TEL

From Earth Science Picture of the Day; January 8, 2018:

Asperatus Clouds Over the Canary Islands Photographer: Roberto Porto; Summary Authors: Roberto Porto, Jim Foster

Shown above is fantastical sky that looks like it could have been painted by an impressionist artist. I captured this photo in Teide National Park, on the Canary Island of Tenerife (Spain), during the afternoon of November 26, 2017. Referred to as asperatus clouds, it now seems that they form in similar atmospheric conditions that result in mammatus type clouds -- air cooled by the sublimation of ice crystals punching through an existing cloud base. However, with asperatus, strong wind shear at the cloud level causes the clouds to shape into wave-like structures called undulatus. They're not often seen, but when they are, they're always captivating.

Teide National Park, Spain Coordinates: 28.2539, -16.6183

Related Links

Undulatus Asperatus Clouds Over Paris

Roberto's Website

Student Links

Cloud Types

Earth Observatory

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