The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Thursday, June 04, 2009

I am a mammatus magnet!!!

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Our hosts: Klaus Sandy Ivar Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Thanks, also,to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!

Well, it happened again! That's 4 times in one year... I was leaving the doctor's office yesterday, and I looked up to see a small patch of mammatus clouds! Mammatus clouds, you know if you've been around me, are my absolute FAVORITE cloud structure! OK, so the pic above is not from yesterday's encounter. I was truly blessed to experience that amazing sky full of mammatus sunrise last November, but I did look up to see my 3rd patch of mammatus in 5 days!!!

Mammatus are pouch-like cloud structures and a rare example of clouds in sinking air. 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.
So, this is what I actually saw yesterday. No, you're right, it's not nearly as impressive as my wonderful November encounter, nor is it as impressive even as the Friday afternoon show... or the Friday sunset show... but it was mammatus, so I am NOT complaining. My wonderful groom called me a mammatus-magnet. Hey, I'll take that title, gladly.

In other weather news, the Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season 2009 has started with a blah... no tropical activity is detected or forecasted. With nothing for us to look at in the tropics, we (the collective weather geeks) look toward the plains, where storm chasers are getting into position for an exciting round of severe weather, which will offer some tornado potential. With the great amount of money and time invested in the Vortex2 project, I know those scientists... and the producers... are eager to finally have a chance at some action. Incidentally, the tornadic risk in the plains is equivalent to the risk here, and we didn't even rate a slight risk... Hmmm... For tomorrow, the set-up that storm chasers everywhere have been literally drooling over is running into some limiting parameters. Apparently, instability is over expected in moderation and thermodynamics are threatening to keep a lid on things; however, where the deep shear can interact with greater instability, we might just have ourselves a ball game.
THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND PERHAPS TORNADOES WILL EXIST FROM THE VICINITY OF THE CHEYENNE RIDGE ESEWD INTO SWRN NEB/NWRN KS. FARTHER S ALONG DRYLINE... STORM INITIATION IS MUCH MORE CONDITIONAL OWING TO THE PRESENCE OF A STRONG CAP.
Our afternoon and evening thunderstorm summer-like pattern will continue as fronts collide with sea breeze. Our storm the night before last, incidentally, was never warned as severe. I bet the folks with a tree in their apartment would disagree.

ahh... but they have issued this discussion...
AREAS AFFECTED...PARTS OF NRN FL/THE FL PANHANDLE INTO S CNTRL GA

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY

THE NEED FOR A WW IS NOT CURRENTLY ANTICIPATED...BUT THE SEVERE THREAT MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY NEGLIGIBLE THROUGH THE MID/LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. WITH CAPE OF 1000-2000 J/KG ... MAY CONTRIBUTE TO LARGE ENOUGH LOW-LEVEL HODOGRAPHS FOR VIGOROUS UPDRAFTS WITH SUSTAINED ROTATION. AN ISOLATED... GENERALLY BRIEF... TORNADO IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION... WITH LOCALIZED DOWNBURSTS ALSO POSSIBLE.
Yes, it says damaging wind/tornado potential is limited... but not negligible... yet, no slight risk for severe weather... no severe thunderstorm watch is expected. My guess is that someone will get in big trouble today. Protect life and property guys... with warnings... I bet you'll see local storm reports in south Georgia/north Florida, even though once again, no watch has been issued.Am I the only one who sees this???

There you go: WIND DAMAGE REPORT
E TALLAHASSEE LEON FL
MINOR METAL ROOF DAMAGE TO APALACHEE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

Have a lovely day!
~Dewdrop

26 comments:

  1. It's my weekly drop in cloud lessons to go. I keep forgetting the information I get from reading your blog. Ok this too is my fave cloud formation, now I know what it's called.

    Enjoy the weekend.

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  2. a happy thursday to you...so enjoy your weekly report. we're having rain at the moment and supposedly heavy rain in the forecast for later today (central virginia).
    have a wonderful weekend. and as always enjoy...

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  3. It's raining, it's pouring... but since you live where I live, you know that!

    I have friends driving from here to the Florida panhandle tomorrow. Perhaps I should tell them to stay home?

    Love your November shot, too!

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  4. Beautiful photo's!! Very informative.

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  5. You are already listed on Mr. Linky! #48 right under Klaus..

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  6. Wow, awesome picture and great information. I always learn so much from your posts!

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  7. Awesome shot and as always a unique informative post!

    It's rained here for days. :(

    My post is here: Carletta’s Captures.

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  8. What fantastic cloud you have shown us. Thank you.
    I did not know its name and would have said that the sky was boiling or roiling.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  9. At least, with the way we are producing CO2 etc, you will be able to do quite a bit more of storm-chasing!

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  10. Mammatus clouds certainly are lovely, especially in your top photo. I'm glad they are not dangerous but actually occur after the danger is over. ;-)

    I love it that the changing skies make you so excited!

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  11. I love learning what clouds are called on your blog. Little did I know that the clouds I lose so are mammantus clouds. I am also thrilled when I spot them but didn't know the name. Your first shot is so spectacular but the more recent one is also beautiful.

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  12. That first photo is so lovely. A wonderful capture.

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  13. Amazing clouds with a beautiful color!
    Great shot!
    Gr.
    P-TER

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  14. Just beautiful! I think I saw clouds like this up here recently. Nice to have the name now.

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  15. Wow...your first photo is a fantastic photo!Great shot!Thank you for your very interesting posts every week!

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  16. I love the sunrise. It looks very dramatic.

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  17. Fascinating post, thank you.

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  18. I'll definitely pay more attention to mammatus clouds in the future. These are lovely.

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  19. You really have the knack for seeing those lovely clouds!

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  20. In the first image the Mammatus clouds look like the sky is ready to fall! EEKS!
    The second photo it looks like whipped cream!YUM!
    Great information with your images!

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  21. I hope I don't forget what these are called. All I can think is WOW! Those clouds are as beautiful as they are scary looking.

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  22. Wow, gorgeous sky....I don't know if I've ever seen these clouds...I love all your weather info...

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  23. Excellent post. Very informative.

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  24. Wowser! Yes, I remember that this is your fave cloud structure. Lucky you to have captured it then! When I've seen them, it's rare and has been from inside a car or our house, after a T-storm has passed.
    Oh my, I just read you saw your 3rd patch in only 5 days! Lucky you.
    Those are also rich colours you captured in this formation. I hope it was a routine dr visit and you're feeling fine.

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  25. That first photo is magnificent...

    Very informative post...I need to check back more often !!

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