JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dramatic looking, rounded, pouchlike protuberances covered the sky Sunday after severe storms rolled across the First Coast.
They are called mammatus clouds and are often found at the base of a layer of cloud ice.
Recommended Videos
The word mammatus is Latin for “having breasts.” A characteristic of mammatus is their often smooth, laminar appearance, which makes them some of the most distinctive clouds in our atmosphere.
When these show overhead its's no surprise people break out the cameras. Many viewers sent in several photos below on the Storm Pins app.
Relatively little is known about the mammatus formation process but the most commonly accepted explanation for how the lobes form is from sinking rather than rising air which is typical of most clouds.
The appendages are the visible manifestations of motions inside the cloud, motions that may reach to the cloud top.
The curious looking clouds don't bring any significant weather events on the ground and unfortunately don't hold much insight into predicting severe storms.