Undulatus asperatus
Encyclopedia
Undulatus asperatus is a cloud
formation, proposed in 2009 as a separate cloud classification by the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society
. If successful it will be the first cloud formation added since cirrus intortus in 1951 to the International Cloud Atlas
of the World Meteorological Organization
. The name translates approximately as roughened or agitated waves.
Margaret LeMone, a cloud expert with the National Center for Atmospheric Research
has taken photos of asperatus clouds for 30 years, and considers it a likely new cloud type. On June 20, 2006 Jane Wiggins took a picture of asperatus clouds from the window of a downtown office building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
. In March 2009, Chad Hedstroom took a picture of asperatus clouds from his car near Greenville Ave in Dallas, Texas
. Soon after taking it, Wiggins sent her Cedar Rapids image to the Cloud Appreciation Society
, which displayed it on its image gallery. Since 2006, many similar cloud formations have been contributed to the gallery, and in 2009 Gavin Pretor-Pinney
, founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society, began working with the Royal Meteorological Society
to promote the cloud type. Wiggins' photograph was posted on the National Geographic website on June 4, 2009.
The clouds are most closely related to undulatus clouds. Although they appear dark and storm-like, they tend to dissipate without a storm forming. The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states
of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity. the Royal Meteorological Society is gathering evidence of the type of weather patterns in which undulatus asperatus clouds appear, so as to study how they form and decide whether they are distinct from other undulatus clouds.
Cloud
A cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water and/or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. They are also known as aerosols. Clouds in Earth's atmosphere are studied in the cloud physics branch of meteorology...
formation, proposed in 2009 as a separate cloud classification by the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society
Cloud Appreciation Society
The Cloud Appreciation Society is a society founded by Gavin Pretor-Pinney from the United Kingdom in January 2005. The society aims to foster understanding and appreciation of clouds, and has over 22,000 members worldwide from 83 different countries, as of July 2010.Yahoo named the society's...
. If successful it will be the first cloud formation added since cirrus intortus in 1951 to the International Cloud Atlas
International Cloud Atlas
International Cloud Atlas is a cloud atlas first published in 1896 and remaining in print since then. Its initial purposes included to aid in the training of meteorologists and to promote more consistent use of vocabulary describing clouds, both important for early weather forecasting...
of the World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
. The name translates approximately as roughened or agitated waves.
Margaret LeMone, a cloud expert with the National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Center for Atmospheric Research
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has multiple facilities, including the I. M. Pei-designed Mesa Laboratory headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR is managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and sponsored by the National Science Foundation...
has taken photos of asperatus clouds for 30 years, and considers it a likely new cloud type. On June 20, 2006 Jane Wiggins took a picture of asperatus clouds from the window of a downtown office building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. In March 2009, Chad Hedstroom took a picture of asperatus clouds from his car near Greenville Ave in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Soon after taking it, Wiggins sent her Cedar Rapids image to the Cloud Appreciation Society
Cloud Appreciation Society
The Cloud Appreciation Society is a society founded by Gavin Pretor-Pinney from the United Kingdom in January 2005. The society aims to foster understanding and appreciation of clouds, and has over 22,000 members worldwide from 83 different countries, as of July 2010.Yahoo named the society's...
, which displayed it on its image gallery. Since 2006, many similar cloud formations have been contributed to the gallery, and in 2009 Gavin Pretor-Pinney
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
Gavin Edmund Pretor-Pinney is a British designer and author of the best-selling The Cloudspotter's Guide .Pretor-Pinney attended Westminster School, the University of Oxford, and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design...
, founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society, began working with the Royal Meteorological Society
Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society traces its origins back to 3 April 1850 when the British Meteorological Society was formed as a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general...
to promote the cloud type. Wiggins' photograph was posted on the National Geographic website on June 4, 2009.
The clouds are most closely related to undulatus clouds. Although they appear dark and storm-like, they tend to dissipate without a storm forming. The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity. the Royal Meteorological Society is gathering evidence of the type of weather patterns in which undulatus asperatus clouds appear, so as to study how they form and decide whether they are distinct from other undulatus clouds.