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Weather picture of the month February 2005 

 

 

Picture taken at Steenokkerzeel on January 14 2005.

 

Clouds may form in clear air and their characteristic forms can be broadly grouped in a classification in terms of "genera", "species" and "varieties", eventually accompanied by "supplementary features or accessory clouds". They may also form or grow from other clouds, called "mother-clouds".
There is a group of clouds that don't fit in this classification: the
special clouds. They include nacreous clouds, noctilucent clouds, condensation trails, clouds from waterfalls, clouds from fires, clouds from volcanic eruptions, clouds resulting from explosions and clouds resulting from industry.
The picture seems to show an ordinary Cumulus congestus pileus, but a closer inspection on the left side reveals a power plant producing steam. It can form under certain meteorological conditions a cloud which ultimately may produce precipitation. When the air is almost saturated, depending on the stability of the atmosphere, the extra water vapour can be the trigger to produce "cumuliform clouds" or "stratiform clouds". In this case the sky was free of clouds, except for this one industrial cloud which lasted for hours in a light unstable weak airflow from WNW. Other "natural cumuliforms clouds" didn't show up as the temperature stayed below the value for their formation.


List of pictures of the month