The structure of Thursday morning’s clouds caught the attention of many people in South Texas. The wavy clouds turned out to be very Instagram-able and also got quite a bit a play on our KSAT Connect. Check it out.
Lisa Reddam
Saw these clouds on morning walk and came in to learn from Justin they are undulating clouds!
Pink Ninja
Wavy clouds rolling in at sunrise today
So what are we looking at? These kinds of clouds are called asperitas (formally known as undulatus asperatus). The Latin to English translation here is “roughness.” Interesting thing about this cloud is that it was added to the International Cloud Atlas in 2017. That makes it the first cloud added to the list since 1951! So, it’s a relatively new classification.
The International Cloud Atlas describes the cloud like this:
Well-defined, wave-like structures in the underside of the cloud; more chaotic and with less horizontal organization than the variety undulatus. Asperitas is characterized by localized waves in the cloud base, either smooth or dappled with smaller features, sometimes descending into sharp points, as if viewing a roughened sea surface from below. Varying levels of illumination and thickness of the cloud can lead to dramatic visual effects.
In other words, they look like waves in the ocean built into the bottom side of a cloud. They represent turbulence or instability higher in the atmosphere, while stable air exists below. They are fairly rare, so it’s no surprise we received quite a few pictures of the phenomenon.
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