Asperitas Clouds at Sunrise
November 14, 2019
Photographer: Roberto Porto
Summary Authors: Roberto Porto; Jim Foster
The grim-looking sky shown above was observed at sunrise over Costa Adeje, Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain). Asperitas clouds are responsible for the sky’s dramatic appearance. Related to mammatus clouds, they take shape when air cooled by the sublimation of myriad ice crystals pushes through a cloud base, often the base of a storm cloud. Wind shear then shapes the clouds, giving a wave-like structure to the sky. Photo taken on October 26, 2019.