Sunrise Altocumulus Floccus

Somewhere in the distance, behind the trees and dark clouds, the sun is inching its way over the horizon. Overhead, a whole bunch of cotton wool-like Altocumulus Floccus clouds fill the sky with their light, fluffy presence.

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There's something about Altocumulus Floccus (apart from having a really cool name) that somehow makes me feel cheerful and content with the world. It could could be their shape, their colour - lit from below by the rising sun in this case - or their texture. Or it could be something else entirely.

Whatever the cause, however, this batch of reassuringly fluffy cotton wool clouds was photographed very early one morning in late spring / early summer 2012.

Altocumulus Lenticularis

Taken towards the end of  warm and sunny mid-April afternoon, this cloud picture shows and interesting batch of elongated, smooth-looking clouds which I tentatively believe to be Altocumulus Lenticularis, although, as always, I could be wrong about that.

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Nestling amongst the ever-present contrails, and lit by the late afternoon sun, these striking clouds caught my attention as I popped into my local supermarket. I don't recall ever having spotted any lenticular clouds before, certainly not in such a prominent position, and I couldn't resist capturing them for posterity before grabbing my groceries.

PP

Altocumulus Floccus At Dusk

This picture of Altocumulus Floccus clouds lurking just above the setting sun was taken at dusk one evening in late April.

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The sun's dying rays cast a pinkish glow on the underside of the little fluffy tufts of cloud, leaving other, even lower clouds to languish in shadowy grayness. This picture of clouds in the sky was taken after a day of rain and generally gloomy skies, and the late splash of colour was a welcome reminder that the sky is capable of delivering more than a good soaking.

PP

Altocumulus Floccus

At least, I think the clouds in today's sky picture are Altocumulus floccus - they look to be of the same general shape and structure as the other examples I've been able to find.

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But whatever type of cloud they may be, this pretty white cloud formation was spotted drifting lazily though the warm, clear spring sky yesterday afternoon. Substantial thought it appears, there was never any risk that it would obscure the welcome sunshine, serving instead to add just a little interest to an otherwise uninterestingly clear sky.

And to garner me some slightly baffled looks as paused to take the cloud's pic amid a busy garage forecourt. Ah well, not everyone's a cloud lover:)

PP