c/cloud-spotting-pics

Caught myself staring at a lenticular cloud for 10 minutes yesterday

I was pouring a driveway in Golden and kept looking up at this smooth lens-shaped cloud hovering over the mountains. It got me thinking about how most folks just call anything flat and gray an "overcast" when there's a ton of variety up there. Altocumulus undulatus and stratocumulus are totally different beasts in how they form and what they mean for weather. Anyone else notice people mixing up cloud types more often than they should?

Hit 50 weather alerts in one month for funnel clouds near my town

After the 33rd alert I started wondering if I was just seeing things, but then I counted 17 actual funnel formations in 30 days and realized this pattern is way more serious than I thought. Has anyone else noticed a jump in funnel cloud reports where you live?

Why does everyone call lumpy altocumulus 'mammatus'? I keep seeing people mix those up

I spotted some real mammatus over the field behind my house last Tuesday and when I looked up the photos online every other post is calling regular bumpy clouds mammatus... Are people just not checking the cloud underside shape or am I missing something?

Pro tip: Check the cloud formations before a storm hits in the High Desert

I was out near Flagstaff last Tuesday and saw the same alto cumulus patches I always see, but within 20 minutes they turned into these dark shelf clouds that moved crazy fast. Nobody warns you how quick the change can happen in Arizona when the monsoon moisture kicks in around 3 PM. Has anyone else seen this sudden shift mess with their hiking plans?

Had the best cloud watching week of my life up in the Boundary Waters last August

The week every cloud looked like something else

Last Tuesday I was walking my dog around 5 in the afternoon and looked up and saw a cloud that looked exactly like a giant sneaker. I mean the shape was perfect, like a Nike Air Force 1 just floating there. I pulled out my phone and took a picture, but then Wednesday I saw one that looked like a dinosaur head, a T-rex profile. Thursday morning I caught a huge lenticular cloud over the mountains that looked like a stack of pancakes. By Friday I was just standing in my backyard staring up for 20 minutes straight. My neighbor probably thinks I lost my mind. Has anyone else had a streak of days where the clouds were just nonstop delivering wild shapes? What was the best one you caught?

Saw a lenticular cloud over Mount Rainier last Tuesday that looked exactly like a UFO

I was driving back from a hike and this giant lens-shaped cloud just hovered there for almost 20 minutes without moving. Did anyone else catch those weird stationary clouds forming over the Cascades lately?

Tried to get a good photo of a lenticular cloud and spent 45 minutes waiting for it to stop moving

Why I stopped chasing dramatic sunset colors and started looking at simple white puffy clouds

Spent like two years only posting the crazy red/orange sunset shots in here but yesterday I saw this perfectly normal cumulus cloud that had this amazing soft shadow underneath it and it looked way cooler than any of my sunset pics. Anyone else find themselves appreciating the boring looking clouds more after a while?

Heads up: that weird lenticular cloud I posted last month took 45 mins to actually ID

I spent way too long trying to figure out what that smooth lens shaped cloud was over my barn. Turns out it was a lenticular cloud from mountain wave activity, not something rare. Has anyone else wasted an afternoon on a cloud ID that should have taken 5 minutes?

Figured out I've been mistaking lenticular clouds for UFOs for like 20 years

So last Tuesday I'm out in my backyard in Flagstaff looking up at this saucer shaped cloud and I'm thinking oh cool maybe the aliens are back. Then my neighbor who actually knows weather stuff comes over and points out it's just a lenticular cloud forming over the mountain. I felt kinda dumb but also relieved because now I can actually tell what I'm looking at instead of getting excited for nothing. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you've been totally misreading a cloud type your whole life?

Debate: spotting clouds with a naked eye versus using a phone app

I used to just look up and name clouds myself, like cirrus or cumulus. But about 6 months ago my buddy showed me this cloud app that identifies them instantly with a photo. Now I catch myself pulling out my phone every time I see a weird formation instead of just watching. What do you prefer, trusting your own eyes or letting tech do the work?

Tried a cheap phone app for cloud identification vs a proper field guide I picked up at a used bookstore in Denver

Last week I was frustrated trying to figure out a really flat, gray layer that wasn't quite stratus. Downloaded some free app on my phone and it kept saying it was 'altostratus' even when the sun was clearly visible through it. Pulled out the old Peterson field guide I found for $3 and within two minutes realized it was actually stratocumulus based on the patchy underside and lack of uniform shadow. Has anyone else had better luck with books over apps for nailing down the tricky ones?

Driving around Colorado and noticed how different the clouds look now compared to 20 years ago

Cloud watching trick I swear by near the airport

For months I couldn't tell which clouds were rain clouds vs just dark ones. Then a pilot buddy at a BBQ in Phoenix told me to look for flat bottoms. Apparently cumulonimbus clouds have that flat base called a shelf cloud. Tried it last week during monsoon season and I nailed 4 storms before they hit. Anyone else have a simple cloud trick like this that actually works?

Called BS on that "lenticular clouds mean rain" thing for years

Kept seeing people post those saucer shaped clouds and claim a storm was coming, figured it was just an old wives tale. Then I watched one form over the mountains near my house and got dumped on exactly 4 hours later three times in a row last spring. Anyone else have a cloud myth they swore was bogus until it proved them wrong?

Rant: My uncle said to look for 'storm clouds' on a clear day and now I get why he laughed

So my Uncle Dave is a big weather nut and he told me that if you want to spot cool clouds, you should just stare up on a perfectly sunny day and look for the ones that look like they could turn into a storm. I thought he was being dramatic and ignored him for like a year. Then last Tuesday I was out in my backyard in Columbus and I saw this ONE tiny puffy cloud that had a flat bottom and a rounded top, and it was totally alone in a blue sky. I snapped a picture and looked it up later, and it was a textbook cumulus congestus, the kind that CAN grow into a thunderstorm if conditions are right. My uncle was RIGHT and I hate admitting that. Has anyone else had a relative give you cloud spotting advice that turned out to be surprisingly accurate or totally off base?

Just changed how I identify cumulus clouds after 30 years

I always thought any big puffy cloud was just a cumulus, nothing special. Last week I was out at the lake and saw this huge flat-bottomed cloud that was really tall on top. My neighbor who used to be a pilot pointed out that the flat bottom means it's actually a cumulus congestus, not just a regular fair-weather cloud. He showed me how the vertical development was the tell, and now I can't stop seeing the difference everywhere I look. Has anyone else had a similar moment where you realized you were missing something obvious about cloud types?

Took me 45 minutes to figure out why my cumulus pic looked weird

I kept getting this white wash in all my cloud photos and couldn't figure out why. Turns out the lens on my phone was just greasy from pocket lint. Has anyone else fought with cleaning their camera for cloud shots?

That viral 'shelf cloud' video looked fake until I saw one myself last Tuesday

I always thought those long flat clouds people post were just photoshopped or some camera trick. Then I was driving back from the grocery store in Phoenix around 5pm and saw this massive gray shelf rolling in from the south. It stretched across the whole sky like a giant pancake and had that wavy bottom everyone talks about. My jaw literally dropped and I had to pull over to take a pic cause I didn't believe my eyes. The wind picked up to like 40 mph right after and it was gone in 20 minutes. Has anyone else been totally wrong about a cloud type they thought was overhyped?

Vent: That older guy at the park who told me I was 'looking at clouds wrong'

I was at Balboa Park last Thursday taking pics of a big lenticular cloud over the museum, and this older dude walks up and says I was 'wasting a good shot by not focusing on the edges.' He stood there for 10 minutes explaining how I should frame it with trees and shadows. Has anyone else had a random stranger try to give you unsolicited cloud photo advice?

Unpopular opinion: most people misidentify mammatus clouds

I keep seeing folks in this group calling any bumpy, pouch-looking clouds mammatus when half the time they're actually asperitas or just regular cumulus with weird edges. Last week during that storm system over Denver I spotted real mammatus hanging under a shelf cloud, and the difference is pretty clear up close. Mammatus form on the underside of a thunderstorm anvil, while asperitas shows up as wavy layers lower down. Has anyone else noticed this mix-up or am I being too picky?

Learned that lenticular clouds can stay totally still for hours - how is that even possible?

I was reading this weather blog (Skywatcher's Digest, issue 42) and found out lenticular clouds don't drift with the wind like normal clouds do, they just hover in place because of mountain wave patterns. The article said some have been observed holding position for over 4 hours straight, which honestly blows my mind. So which side are you on - do you think they're just a cool natural phenomenon, or is there something more mysterious going on with these stationary clouds?

Just realized I spend way more time looking straight up than I used to

Back in 2019 I was mostly looking at clouds for the weather. Like, is that rain or not. Now I catch myself staring at the sky for 10 minutes just watching the shapes change. It started last summer when I was waiting for a bus in Portland and saw this huge lenticular cloud over Mount Tabor. Now I keep my phone tilted up during walks. My wife thinks I'm watching for drones or something. Anybody else find themselves doing this more as they get older?

That week in July when every single cloud looked like a different animal