Cumulonimbus

Have you ever had one of those weeks that you just don't know what day it is? Well, that is this week for me. Usually I have something to remind me. Like church on Sunday, or my daughter's dance on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, or rain on Wednesday.

There has been little to nothing rain wise and the temperatures have been hot, hot, hot. Kind of odd for Kansas in June. Oh, it does get hot in June, but not usually this hot this fast.

But I'm not here to talk about the temperatures, not really. I'm here to talk about clouds. As I've said there are so many different types. It'd take at least another month to cover them all. So, I've reserved today (a day late) for my favorite types of clouds. Cumulonimbus. There are several sub-species of these types of clouds and because they all form in unstable air they almost always produce some type of storm, whether it's a little rain shower or a massive thunderstorm that produces tornadoes.

 These three pictures were taken the day of the Joplin tornado from just south of Topeka. These pictures were taken looking southeast. Although the tops are high (cumulus congestus) they don't look to bad.

 Here the rest of the cloud base is beginning to explode and meet that single tower. This is a small example of cumulonimbus calvas. Of course, I'm betting the people closer to the storm would think it's not so small.

 This is the same set of clouds, but they've moved further away.

 This is a different day and I'm looking toward the west as the sun is setting. My point of showing you this picture is for you to get a perspective of what these types of clouds look like coming and going.

 Looks ominous, doesn't it? Just some funky looking clouds with wind and rain. Nothing more.

 I believe this is a very turbulent Mammatus cloud. These types of clouds can be associated with tornadic cells. And if I recall correctly this one did have tornado warning on it.

 This is a funnel cloud. My husband took this picture just a block from our home.

And this is the same storm, the same funnel cloud. My brother took this picture from his house several miles northeast from ours.

These clouds aren't considered tornadoes until they actually touch the ground.






Here is an excerpt from my Western Romance Love at Twenty Paces--

Shielding her eyes, she scanned the western sky. In typical Kansas fashion, the sun shone high and hot, while bright, white clouds bubbled like suds in a washtub. A storm was brewing. If it got too hot, the clouds too high, a monster wind was sure to funnel down from the sky and rip to shreds everything in its path.

This week's writing prompt- choose one of the pictures above and write a small scene.

Clouds