This past weekend, I visited the nearby community of Cave Creek, an historic town with a lot of character. What began as a search for interesting shots from this icon of the old west soon changed. The sky on this bright Saturday afternoon was a brilliant blue, striped with bands of high cirrus clouds. This sky demanded to be photographed.
HIgh cirrus clouds are generally characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving them their name from the Latin word cirrus meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair The strands of cloud sometimes appear in tufts of a distinctive form referred to by the common name of “mares’ tails”.
Cirrus clouds generally appear white or light gray in color. They form when water vapor undergoes deposition at altitudes above 5,000 m (16,500 ft) in temperate regions and above 6,100 m (20,000 ft) in tropical regions. They often indicate that the weather conditions may soon deteriorate. While they indicate the arrival of precipitation, cirrus clouds themselves produce only fall streaks (falling ice crystals that evaporate before landing on the ground).
Jet stream-powered cirrus clouds can grow long enough to stretch across continents, but they remain only a few kilometers deep. When visible light interacts with the ice crystals in cirrus clouds, it produces optical phenomena such as sun dogs and haloes.
I’ve included today’s photos in the form of a brief slideshow, displaying the clouds I was able to capture. Click on the right side to advance; on the left to go back.
Information on high cirrus clouds sourced from Wikipedia.
A very interesting town with a spectacular sky!
Peter, did you use a polarizing filter in any of these shots?
I have been watching a very interesting show lately called “Mayday” where airline pilots often speak about cirrus clouds.
Fabulous pics!
Clouds look like the culmination of an explosion!