I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Sky Watch #21

Go to the Sky Watch site and share your beautiful skies!
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These were shown on a local Seattle TV station, KOMO, and a friend called my attention to them, knowing I'd want to share these.

They are so spectacular and a number of people got great shots and sent them in to share, so I'm passing them on to all of you.

Those are called "lenticular clouds". They're caused when the air flow is just right so when it flows over Mt. Rainier, the air gets pushed upward where it cools and condenses into clouds. Depending on how smooth the
flow is, you can get some amazing clouds formations as we've seen so far today.

It's usually a sign of rain within 24 hours because typically the moist flow that precedes a storm around here is the perfect set up for these clouds.

























33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those look out of this world - literally!! They sometimes look like pods of dolphins to me.

bobbie said...

These are so beautiful! I have seen them before. Thanks for showing them to us.

Susan at Stony River said...

Wow--VERY wow! I've never seen those near me, not yet. Thank you for the information about them: if I ever do see them, I'll know how lucky I am!

Kay said...

These are truly awesome, Sylvia. I agree with Deborah. They look otherworldly.

Dianne said...

I have never seen these! Thank you, each photo is amazing.

the7msn said...

Never see anything like that down here. How unbelievably cool. Thanks for sharing them.

Dewdrop said...

I have never seen these in person, but they look amazing... so many of them. The lenticular altocumulus clouds are also called "Flying Saucer" clouds. Awesome captures!

Merisi said...

Spectacular, never seen anything like these lenticular clouds, thank you for sharing these wonderful images with us!

Thank you for your kind comment on my blog! :-)

Ana said...

WOW. Best clouds ever! Thanks for sharing with us.

Maria said...

WOW, great SWF photos! The cloud formations look supernatural! It's not Mount Rainier, it's a Star Wars setting! :):):)
So spectacular! Thank you for sharing! And for your nice visit and lovely comment !

Peggy said...

Your pictures this week are breathtaking! I have never seen clouds like that before!
Thank you!

Photo Cache said...

Oh my goodness, first time to see this. Thank you for capturing all these. Love it.

Anonymous said...

those are such an amazing sight! never seen one before! thanks for sharing!

EG CameraGirl said...

The clouds are such interesting shapes! They ARE clouds, right...not spaceships. ;-)

Great Grandma Lin said...

how unusual, never heard of those kinds of clouds-beautiful sight.

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful colored sky and awesome formation. Nice shot! :o)
Happy weekend and SkyWatch from Norway :o)

Carletta said...

Awesome photos!
Thanks for sharing - what wonder there is to see.
I was going to say they reminded me of spaceships and I just read Dewdrops comment - guess I was on the right track.

Jane Hards Photography said...

This really are other worldly. So freaky but mesmerizing.

Gaelyn said...

WOW!!! Lenticular I've seen before over various Cascade moutains, but nothing like this. You should get number one post for SWF. It looks surreal. Flying saucers indeed. WoW again.

Kim said...

Those are breath taking. I have never seen anything like that before. Gorgeous.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Sylvia: I love the mountain from when I visit there in Tacoma ao these are really special looks from a great location.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! Stunning clouds. Thanks for sharing such incredible nature at work.

magiceye said...

awesome! thank you so much for sharing!!

Pietro Brosio said...

I've never seen such a spectacular sky. Is it a recurring phenomenon? Very nice and interesting Sky Watch!

Linda Reeder said...

Wow! Wonderful shots! I posted the same clouds from another, farther distant perspective.

Reader Wil said...

These clouds look so spectacular! Very strange and beautiful.

Dirkjogt said...

Wow! Fantastic shots! Thanks for sharing

Arija said...

What an incredible phenomenon to capture! I have never seen so many on one mountain. My husband, Prof. Emer. of Meteorology commented how wonderful it would have been to have them when he was still teaching.
Youp photos are just sooo beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Ohmygosh ... these are AMAZING photos and I'm delighted to happen upon them here. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hugs and blessings,

kayleen said...

I'm glad you not only posted these photos, but you also added the explanation of what they were. A friend out in WA had sent me a couple of them with no explanation, and I just thought they were photoshopped photos. What a neat phenonmenon.

Gretchen said...

Absolutely gorgeous! Happy SWF!!

maryt/theteach said...

I have never seen anything like these clouds and these wonderful photos, Sylvia!

I've been looking for your 100 Things...

clairz said...

These are just fantastic, and I'll bet many people have never seen anything like them. I'm so glad that Skywatch has me looking up all the time. Thank you for sharing (and explaining).

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