Pictures of Clouds That Look Like Animals

Cloud varieties go way across the cumulus, stratus, and cirrus nosotros learn almost in elementary school. Bank check out these wild natural phenomena.

Standing IN A CORNFIELD IN INDIANA, I in one case saw a fatty roll cloud (like #4 below) float direct over my head. It's a 12-year-onetime memory that remains fresh. There was a moment of mild panic just every bit the cloud reached me — Is this what a tornado looks similar correct before it hits? I thought. This is some freaky unnatural shit and I practise not know how I'thou supposed to react.

I imagine a lot of these photographers having similar hesitations equally they set upward for the shots below. While information technology was relatively piece of cake to put together this drove due to the huge number of crazy cloud pictures available online (did you know at that place's a Cloud Appreciation Gild?), many of the phenomena shown hither are pretty rare…and potentially panic-inducing.

Lenticular deject, Mt. Fuji, Japan

Altocumulus lenticularis is one of the more obviously 'bizarre' cloud types -- they don't occur besides frequently, so when you lot see one, you take find. They oftentimes form above or near mountains, equally moist air flows rapidly over a ascension in summit. Mt. Fuji makes a pretty sweet base for this ane.

Mammatus clouds, Ft. Worth, TX

Another rare and easily recognizable variety, mammatocumulus tend to spill out from the base of operations of massive thunderheads in a characteristic coating of pouch-like nodules. Generally a skilful cue to head indoors.

Photo: Lars Plougmann

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Asperatus formation, Canterbury, New Zealand

This 1'due south then rare it doesn't even accept official nomenclature. "Undulatus asperatus" is its proposed designation, and if accepted as a new form by meteorologists, information technology'll exist the beginning such addition since 1951. As of now, it's simply another example of New Zealand having the coolest freakin' landscapes.

Photograph: wittap

Coil deject hang glider, Queensland, Commonwealth of australia

A variety of arcus cloud, tube-shaped rollers are completely detached from the cloud bodies around them and appear to coil every bit they move low across the heaven. Here, Red Bull athlete Jonny Durand hang glides Queensland's "Morning Glory."

Photo: Mark Watson

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Shelf cloud, North Dakota

Nacreous clouds, McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Some of the highest and rarest clouds on Earth, nacreous clouds form ten+ miles up during winter over polar locations like Antarctica. They are idea to exacerbate the effects of man-caused ozone depletion by producing chlorine, which destroys ozone.

Photo: Alan R. Light

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Lenticulars, Mt. Rainier, Washington

These are classic lenticular shapes, often referred to as "UFOs." Going past my Flickr search, they're somewhat more common than average effectually Rainier.

Photo: Tim Thompson

Cumulonimbus, Nelson, BC

From Matador managing editor Carlo Alcos, friend of the photog: "Taken July 11, 2012 in Nelson. Heavy pelting and thunderstorms this summer have acquired rivers and lakes to rising to levels not seen in several decades. Numerous evacuation alerts take been issued and a landslide in nearby Johnsons Landing wiped out homes and the only road access to the community. Four people have been missing since, ii of them recovered from the droppings. Another human died on June 23 in the Slocan Valley when he was swept away by flood waters from a bridge he was continuing on."

Photograph: Robert Neufeld

Lenticular UFO, Patagonia

Another iconic UFO lenticular cloud, this ane spotted over the mountains of Argentinean Patagonia.

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Shelf deject, Cape Cod, MA

Not a swell day at the beach when you lot see this rolling your way. This shot was taken over Race Point in June, 2012.

Photograph: Anthony Quintano

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Altocumulus from the ISS

Altocumulus formations usually comprise many individual cloudlets and take shape at heights of 6,500 to 23,000 anxiety. The whorls visible in this altocumulus layer, equally seen from the International Infinite Station, are caused by two regions of ocean air moving at unlike speeds.

Photo: Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and the Russian Space Agency Press Services

Mammatus, Manhattan

When defenseless in dusk lite, any cloud becomes more than dramatic -- particularly a rare formation similar this mammatus, photographed above New York Metropolis in 2009.

Photograph: Skellig2008

Noctilucent clouds over the Tibetan Plateau

Sometimes a little h2o vapor makes it fifty miles up into the mesospheric layer of the temper and freezes to create noctilucent clouds. Again, the ISS provides a unique perspective from which to photograph these super rare formations, illuminated past an obscured sun.

Photo: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

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Morning time glories, Queensland, Commonwealth of australia

Another iteration of Australia's famous Morn Celebrity, this time with multiple roll clouds. The area around Burketown is known for the phenomenon, near probable to announced betwixt September and mid-November.

Photo: Mick Petroff

Lenticular funnel, Palm Springs, CA

This fatty lenticular deject took shape over Southern California in April of 2010. It was described by the photographer as feeling "similar information technology was alive."

Photo: °Florian

Fog bow, Sydney, Australia

A similar phenomenon to a rainbow, the fog bow features much smaller droplets of moisture and because of this lacks all but faint color. Usually they announced white, as in this shot taken outside Sydney.

Photo: Nina Matthews Photography

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Shelf cloud, Wagga Wagga, Australia

It's pretty obvious from the photo to a higher place that shelf clouds are associated with thunderstorm outflow. Get fix.

Photo: Bidgee

Waterspout, Balearic Islands, Spain

A waterspout is basically a tornado that'southward not associated with a supercell and occurs over water. Coincidentally, the Balearics are as well where y'all can find some of the clearest water in the world.

Photo: Vvillamon

Mammatus storm, Norman, OK

Some intense mammatocumulus showing they are indeed tied to storm activity. The photographer notes this was taken with a 1-second shutter speed.

Photo: Angelyn Hobson

Altocumulus, Layton, NJ

There'south a lot of diversity in the altocumulus family. Lenticulars belong to the category, and you can see a few faint ones in this shot.

Photo: Nicholas_T

Mammatus, Salem, OR

The photographer has labelled these equally mammatus clouds, though I'thousand not that's what's going on. Tin can anyone confirm / refute?

Photo: happy1nva

Lenticular arcs, Seattle

Even within a subcategory such as "lenticular," y'all get diverseness. Compare these formations to the mountaintop UFOs above.

Photo: brucedene

Gyre deject, Punta del Este, Uruguay

In Jan of 2009, this ringlet cloud was seen over the beach resort town of Punta del Este. Roll clouds most oftentimes appear in coastal areas -- the circulation of body of water winds plays a part in their creation.

Photo: Jeff McNeill

"God in the Clouds," Mt. Baker, Washington

The quote comes from the photographer, who picked out some distinct facial features in this formation over Mt. Baker in northern Washington in Baronial of 2008.

Photo: Jeff Pang

Deject iridescence, Arizona

Iridescence in clouds is produced by the diffraction of sunlight by small ice crystals. Colors are typically pastel and faint, though on occasion they tin become more bright, equally above.

Photo: benafiaskys

Mammatus, Colorado Springs, CO

A 2005 storm over the United States Air Force Academy campus involved some pretty mean looking mammatus clouds.

Photo: markwgallagher

Lenticular clouds, France

These lenticulars appear to exist composed of multiple oval-shaped layers, and their whipped tails requite them a unique look.

Photograph: Marc Veraart

Shelf deject, Miami, FL

December 4, 2010, does non seem like it was a practiced twenty-four hours to be on the ocean or at the beach in Miami.

Photo: kun0me

Stratus clouds, Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Low-forming stratus clouds are usually known every bit fog -- likewise mist, like the stuff enshrouding Costa Rica's Arenal Volcano in the photo in a higher place.

Photo: REDFISH1223

Cumulonimbus, Ft. Worth, TX

More powerful storm activity over Ft. Worth. This is a detailed look at part of a massive cumulonimbus germination from May of 2011, which appears to have some supercell updraft potential.

Photo: guruscotty

Lenticular ribbon, Tarurua Range, New Zealand

I'grand non sure if conditions for crazy lenticular activity are riper in New Zealand than elsewhere, only I'd definitely believe it based on this photo collection. The formation above seems like another candidate for the proposed "undulatus asperatus" classification.

Photograph: Chris Picking

Noctilucent clouds, Viljandimaa, Estonia

Hither'southward another example of the highest-forming deject type (as much as 50 miles up in the atmosphere). In the foreground is Kuresoo bog, in southern Estonia, which provides a pretty astonishing reflection scenario.

Photo: Martin Koitmäe

Wall cloud, Kansas

If I were this lady, I'd put the camera down and book it for shelter.

Photo: Pe Tor

Glories and vortices, Baja

The intended subjects of this NASA satellite image are the very faint n-south-running lines of color, known as "glories," visible to the west of Guadalupe Island. I included it here because I like the more credible von karman vortices, the swirls trailing off to the isle'southward south.

Photo: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Mammatus, Brooklyn Park, MN

Looking at these mammatus pictures never gets sometime for me, perchance because I don't recall I've ever seen whatsoever in person.

Photograph: McAli333

Lenticular ribbon, Las Vegas, NV

Kelvin–Helmholtz instability clouds, Seattle

These clouds are the visible manifestation of an otherwise invisible process; Wikipedia explains: "The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (after Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz) tin occur when at that place is velocity shear in a single continuous fluid, or where at that place is a velocity difference across the interface betwixt ii fluids."

Photo: Clint Tseng

HDR Mammatus, NYC

Somehow fitting that this shot was taken in Hells Kitchen.

Photograph: CMMooney

Pileus deject, Chitlapakkam, India

Referred to as a "cloud accessory," pileus formations are extremely curt-lived. They form in similar fashion to lenticulars, only over clouds in place of mountains. Equally shown above, they're thin enough to pick upward some colour from the setting sunday.

Photo: vishwaant

Arcus layers, Australia

A nicely captured lightning strike provides some backlighting for these arcus clouds, which probably betoken the arrival of a storm front end.

Photo: ~Bootscrub

Fallstreak hole, Linz, Austria

Also known equally pigsty punch clouds, these formations occur as the moisture in a layer of cirrocumulus or altocumulus starts to freeze and autumn to earth. Alternatively, they may signify an isolated pocket of evaporation.

Photo: H. Raab

Lenticular UFO, Kananaskis Country, Alberta

Wave clouds, Tadrart region, Algeria

As air travels over a raised land characteristic, it sometimes forms an atmospheric moving ridge on the opposite side of the feature. Air then essentially surfs the wave, and when wet conditions are right, these characteristic deject bands are the result.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Shelf cloud, Kearney, NE

From the photographer: "I was out Weather Spotting for Buffalo County.... Just a beautiful shelf cloud and perfect conditions for this storm. Had to drive like a banshee to get back in front end of the storm once it got too close. By far my best of 2009."

Photo: NebraskaSC

Wall cloud, Southward Dakota

Wall clouds form beneath the underside of cumulonimbus clouds, typically within the zone where pelting is not produced. Wall clouds that demonstrate rotation could indicate that a massive tornado is imminent.

Photo: Michael Carlson - Photography

Cirrocumulus cloud, Chilbridge, England

Made upwardly of tiny water ice crystals, cirrocumulus are high-forming clouds and are normally fleeting. I included this shot because information technology reminds me of ripples on water.

Photo: .FuturePresent.

Cumulonimbus, Beverley, England

This one certainly has the look of a fierce supercell tempest, simply it's hard to tell from this distance -- what makes the difference is whether at that place's a persistent rotating updraft within the germination.

Photo: l.bailey_beverley

Lenticular roll cloud?, Lake Tahoe, NV

Information technology seems to combine features of both, running a crazy ribbon down the sky.

Photo: eglavin

Arcus clouds, Wellington, New Zealand

More behemothic arcus layers, this fourth dimension catching some color from sunset.

Photograph: PhillipC

Mammatus, Saylorsburg, PA

Mammatus clouds tagged along with a thunderstorm in eastern Pennsylvania, March of 2009. I love how smudgy they look in contrast to the fractal sharpness of the trees.

Photo: Nicholas_T

Cirrostratus nebulosus, Santa Catarina, Brazil

This species of cirrostratus cloud is so light it'south oftentimes invisible unless illuminated from a certain angle by the sun, which produces a halo effect.

Photo: emarquetti

Deject iridescence

The best specimens of deject iridescence occur in clouds that are optically thin, with the light hitting private droplets of moisture.

Photo: Brocken Inaglory

Lenticular clouds, France

A gathering of lenticular UFOs over the French countryside.

Photo: Marc Veraart

"The Cloud of Darkness," Silver City, NM

This is the name the photographer gave to the massive thunderhead pictured higher up, which formed over southwestern New Mexico in August of 2007.

Photo: deansouglass

Lenticular coating, Lebanon, MO

From the photographer: "I took this in 2002 in Lebanese republic, Missouri. I saw the clouds ringlet in and knew I had a few minute window to become a possible picture. I high tailed information technology from my identify (most 3/iv mile) to go a nice view."

Photo: thefixer

Moving ridge cloud, Amsterdam Island

This is an awesome perspective on the wave deject phenomenon, captured by a NASA satellite higher up the far southern Indian Ocean.

Photo: NASA

Cumulonimbus, Melbourne, Australia

Shelf cloud, Hampton, MN

A ragged shelf cloud portends an ominous few hours for this little suburb in Minnesota.

Photograph: chief_huddleston

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Vortex cloud, Wallops Island, VA

The photo to a higher place is from a NASA report on the wake vortices of aircraft. Hither, the vortex phenomenon is fabricated observable with the apply of colored smoke. The formation occurs naturally in many diverse scenarios -- tornadoes, hurricanes, and cyclones being obvious deject-related examples.

Photo: NASA Langley Research Heart (NASA-LaRC)