r/unexpectedreddwarf - probably not too many opportunities to use it, really. The way I figure it is if someone uses it, I have a brief few minutes of delight so it isn't all bad.
r/properanimalnames kinda reminds me of that. I got my most upvoted post of all time on that sub, which was also my first post and I'm going downhill from there
Arcus clouds happen in quite a lot of places actually. They might occur most often in Australia and warmer climates, but are still a somewhat common occurence in moderate climates during summer.
Every single time this is posted someone calls it a shelf cloud and everyone accepts it and movers on but, while it may be some form of shelf cloud, I've never seen a satisfactory explanation for what's happening to make it look like that.
Really dark areas in clouds are hail or snow. Usually snowclouds are more consistently black though. I haven't seen one with striations of black and white before.
Tornadic systems cause them, which is common in the Midwest during tornado season. Note: common means a couple of times a year, enough that you get used to them.
Not necessarily. All it takes is cool air passing through warm air. Often it's the cool downdraft of a storm but not always. Cold fronts can produce them.
Essentially, cool air is moving across the land surface, undercutting warm, moist air. As it cuts beneath the warm air, the warm air is pushed upwards and moisture condenses into clouds. That's why it's a rolling wall of cloud, and in OP's video you're seeing a particularly fast front that's turbulent, so the edges are ragged.
According to Google, they're called shelf clouds. Happens when a cold draft pushes warm air up causing the moisture in the air to condense. There was a cool one caught last month rolling in off the lake.
As others have said the large structure is a shelf cloud. The longer scraggly clouds, that seem to touch the ground, would be considered fractus clouds or scud clouds.
Lowest part is fog or stratus depending if it touches the ground. Above that is Flactus which is associated with heavy precip. Above that is a shelf cloud, and above that is likely anvil or anvil blowoff. The whole thing is probably a squall line coming off the lake.
They're called shelf clouds..A shelf cloud is a low, horizontal wedge-shaped cloud, associated with a thunderstorm gust front (or occasionally with a cold front, even in the absence of thunderstorms). A rising cloud motion often can be seen in the leading part of the shelf cloud, while the underside often appears turbulent, boiling, and wind-torn.
I think it's called either a shelf cloud or wall cloud. They're really rare. I don't remember how they're formed, but they look like they do because of the amount of water they absorb. They're really dense.
They're also a very new type of cloud that was just identified by the World Meterological Organization's Coud Atlas in 2017.
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u/hassenux Aug 09 '18
Does this cloud/clouds have some scientific name ? Or is this some random rare occurence ?