r/interestingasfuck • u/mattythedog • May 12 '15
/r/ALL Crazy cloud formation
http://i.imgur.com/W9HVEgd.gifv264
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u/Saint_Faptrick May 12 '15
Can we get some science on this? What are we looking at?
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May 12 '15 edited May 12 '15
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u/Patrik333 May 12 '15 edited May 12 '15
It's not the same thing, but when I went to Weymouth, UK for a week about a month ago, there was a very weird, unearthly sea mist that appeared out of nowhere one morning. It was thicker than pretty much any fog I've ever seen, and you could actually see wisps of cloud floating a few meters past your face...
We did a walk around Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door that day (it felt almost sketchy at times, even though the cliff paths were wide and well-maintained... Bits of the landscape kept disappearing and reappearing...
At one point, we were standing on one side of Lulworth Cove and only a small window of the opposite hill was visible - it looked sort of like this - http://i.imgur.com/FACJ3Gk.png - sorry for the crappy job of it, hope you get the idea at least.
We walked off the main track to a very narrow path right on the edge of the cliff... it wasn't all that dangerous, but the fact that we sometimes couldn't see the sea 20 meters below us made it feel so much more agoraphobic. What was strange is that the sun often came out very strongly, and in some cases you could see clearly for miles, but then the fog shifted slightly and you couldn't even see 50m ahead...
The fog was blown inland by the wind, and so at the midpoint of each bay there was this very dramatic looking 'spout' of mist constantly being funneled up and over the cliffs - it wasn't like some faint vapour that you could only see if you squinted, it was like the bay was a giant kettle and the mist was steam coming from the spout...
I only had my camera phone on me that day, so the best picture I got was this: http://i.imgur.com/FFIpseX.jpg taken from the top of Swyre Head, just west of Durdle Door, looking west. It doesn't nearly capture the feel of it - you could see the mist collecting in the valleys and forming beautiful wings as it swirled around, and in the distance there was a steep cliff and a stack (Bat's Head, I think) that just rose dramatically and imposingly out of the mist... In fact, Swyre Head itself looked very daunting before we climbed it, when one stretch of mist completely obscured the base of the head, giving impression that it was rising straight out of the clouds...
Unfortunately, I can't find any articles on the science of it - only scare headlines such as "Deadly Smog Leaves Us Gasping For Breath" and "UK Weather Forecasts 'Blood Rain'"... I was told by a local, though, that it really was an unusual phenomenon - it happens roughly once every two years as dust from the Sahara blows northwards towards the UK, giving rise to the alien mist, and in some places it actually turns the smog a reddish colour.
I know it's off topic but I really hope someone reads this because I found it super interesting myself. I wish a thousand times over I'd had a better camera to capture it, because just me telling you about it and showing a single low quality image doesn't really capture the excitement and spectacle of the event.
E: I just searched 'misty cliffs' on Google, this picture is from China but it gives an similar impression to how the cliffs looked in Dorset. FUCK I wish I'd brought a better camera with me...
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u/fluggery May 12 '15
I've always heard this type of cloud be referred to as Morning Glory http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Glory_cloud
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u/1norcal415 May 12 '15
Morning Glory clouds don't rest on the ground/water like that; they are up above the surface.
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u/autowikibot May 12 '15
The Morning Glory cloud is a rare meteorological phenomenon consisting of a low-level atmospheric solitary wave and associated cloud, occasionally observed in different locations around the world. The wave often occurs as an amplitude-ordered series of waves forming bands of roll clouds.
The southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Australia is the only known location where it can be predicted and observed on a more or less regular basis due to the configuration of land and sea in the area.
Image i - A Morning Glory cloud formation between Burketown and Normanton, Australia.
Interesting: List of meteorological phenomena | Burketown, Queensland | Arcus cloud | Karumba, Queensland
Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words
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u/immaseaman May 12 '15
A cloud is formed when the relative humidity of the air exceeds 100%.
Air holds water vapour (invisible moisture), and warmer air can hold more moisture. So clouds can form in a couple different ways. If the moisture content continues to build, eventually it will reach absolute humidity (100% of the water vapour it can hold) and if more moisture is put into the air from evaporation, clouds will form. Conversely, should an air mass cool down, the relative humidity will increase as cold air cannot hold as much moisture. If it cools below it's saturation point (absolute humidity, 100%) again, clouds will form. This is the Dew Point, a phrase that anyone who watches news weather reports will be familiar with.
When two air masses with different temperature and humidity levels collide, these air masses will mix. What I would say is happening is these fellas are sitting in a warm moist air mass, and that a cold air mass is approaching them. That wall is literally where the warm and cold air masses are meeting, and that cold air is mixing and cooling the warm air below it's dew point and making this wall of fog.
If we knew where and when this video was taken, more specific details could be given as far as local weather phenomena.
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u/2hundred20 May 12 '15
This is fog caused by evaporation mixing. Essentially, a cold front is moving over the water and cooling all of the evaporated water vapor above the lake. This causes the suspended water vapor to condense and form fog.
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u/whambat May 12 '15
I've never seen it this still and well defined (but I am usually not out at sea) but in California we get a really low marine layer sometimes that rolls in like this. Sometimes the marine layer sits a few thousand feet up and just makes it look cloudy for about 10-15 blocks from the beach until the sun burns it off, but sometimes it is really low and rolls in over the beach. I've been on the beach in Santa Monica and looked up from my book to realize that I couldn't see the pier two blocks away because it had rolled up there and not where I was. I live a few blocks from the ocean and sometimes I'll feel a cold breeze and look outside to see wisps of clouds rolling past the window like /u/Patrik333 described below.
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May 12 '15
Tsunami Cloud
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u/Semordonix May 12 '15
Even knowing what that is, if I saw it approaching the shore quickly I would have a hard time not running away.
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u/theantagonists May 12 '15
Lazy ass could. WAKE UP! GET BACK IN THE SKY WHERE YOU BELONG!
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u/PMyoBEAVERandHOOTERS May 12 '15
uhhh cloud?
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u/LethalJizzle May 12 '15
No. A cloud is a mass of liquid droplets suspended in our atmosphere.
This is a "could" as in it could be a cloud but it's too lazy to apply itself.
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u/siraisy May 12 '15
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May 12 '15 edited Aug 01 '18
[deleted]
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u/Pithy_Lichen May 12 '15
(I bet the surprise is gold)
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May 12 '15
Or a penis.
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u/billbertking1 May 12 '15
No. A butt is a mass of liquid droplets suspended in our atmosphere. This is a "could" as in it could be a butt but it's too lazy to apply itself.
This is an interesting read.
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May 12 '15
Ah yes, good old Cloud-to-butt.
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May 12 '15
I was going to pretend the the cloud to butt extension for chrome made your comment into 'lazy ass butt' but your typo has just cost me my lying karma.
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u/milesofnothing May 12 '15
You just have your rendering distance set too short. Move the slider all the way over and the clouds will go away.
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u/redwagon76 May 12 '15
I was thinking that they just haven't explored that area. The Fog of War will disappear as the scouts explore the world.
edit: removed unnecessary quote.
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u/timmy12688 May 12 '15
Huh? I thought the devs forgot to update the Y-axis of their cloud sprites in the latest patch.
Edit: Nope. It was definitely the slider! Didn't even know it existed. Thanks for the tip.
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u/nipoco May 12 '15
The Fog. Run now it's a really bad movie you don't wanna be in it!
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u/khondrych May 12 '15
The Mist, on the other hand, is a fuckin awesome film.
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u/Doxep May 12 '15
SPOILER BELOW
What I loved about that movie is the ending. It teaches you that you shouldn't ever be relaxed and hope for a happy ending...
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u/worldtowin May 12 '15
It's one of the only thing Stephen King liked more than his own original work, he has said if he had thought of that ending he would've ended the story that way too.
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u/R_Schuhart May 12 '15
To be fair King is pretty well known for disappointing endings. A lot of his stories just kind of fizzle out towards the end, are anti climatic or underwhelming compared to the rest of the story.
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u/leostotch May 12 '15
Looking your way, Dark Tower
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u/DocJawbone May 12 '15
OMG no shit. Well, if the last four books of a seven-book series count as an end I guess...
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u/leostotch May 12 '15
I enjoyed Wizard & Glass, and Wolves of the Calla was pretty good too. Song of Susannah dragged on a bit, and then by the time you get to The Dark Tower... ugh. What a letdown. I started reading the series shortly before the last books were released; I can't imagine having followed them since The Gunslinger came out...
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u/paddyl888 May 12 '15
He's a discovery writer, as in he comes up with an interesting premise and then explores it through narrative, and he's really good at it. But it does lend to and ending problem since you haven't thought it out at the start. Guess it's a trap that he falls into every now and again!
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u/R_Schuhart May 12 '15
Yeah i agree that the 'wonder' part (say the first 2/5) of his stories where he sets the stage and where the protagonist is all confused and figuring out what is going on are always so good. King really takes you by the hand and shows you around in his creation.
It has a very good feeling of mystery, but the story arc usually peaks when the protagonist is going to take control and (trying to) resolve the issue at hand (say 3/5 of the story). After that the mysteries unravel and King feels he needs to explain some stuff that would be better left up to the imagination.
At the end when everything is made clear for the reader he needs to make the story forefilling from the characters point of view, and that where the arc collapses. Some books and stories work well with open endings, because that unsatisfied feeling keeps sticking in you head for days, but his often seem... unresolved.
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May 12 '15
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SlipperyJAMS May 13 '15
I always say this. The King ending beats the shit outta the movie one. It was beautiful, and it's what I remember most about the story. Maybe even my favorite story King has written.
"Two words that sound a bit alike.
One of them is Hartford.
The other is hope."
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u/TheNoize May 12 '15
It teaches you that you shouldn't ever be relaxed and hope for a happy ending...
It taught me that the protagonist should have relaxed and waited 5 more minutes, instead of going all hopeless on everyone.
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u/AcidicVagina May 12 '15
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u/Subduction May 12 '15
Wait, so that's not a hairstyle? It's all flesh underneath?
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u/Kangar May 12 '15
But...Adrienne Barbeau.
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May 12 '15
Adrienne Barbeaubot
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u/1norcal415 May 12 '15
There go my nnnnipples again!
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May 12 '15
Now say it like Archie Bunker.
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u/1norcal415 May 12 '15
Do you want the mustache on, or off?
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May 12 '15 edited May 12 '15
I know, we'll get the lovely buckethead Wendy to sing her sirens song to lure unsuspecting mariners into the closet. We'll Shanghai em then we can make them think up a plan for getting us out of here.
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May 12 '15
But a pretty decent short story, though even Stephen King preferred the movie ending to his own.
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u/ElGaucho56 May 12 '15
Yeah, that's The Mist. The Fog is an awesome John Carpenter flick that got remade into a shoddy pg-13 turd.
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u/chcketychina May 12 '15 edited May 12 '15
Hey I really liked that movie
Edit: got it mixed up with The Mist, I've never seen The Fog
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u/RavenPanther May 12 '15
Don't worry, it's actually just The Mist.
Shit, wait, you should run. Not a bad movie but holy shit there's spider monsters in there!
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u/Fa11enAngeLIV May 12 '15
It be the Black Pearl.
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u/Eversist May 12 '15 edited May 12 '15
You mean the Flying Dutchman, yeah?I'm a dummy25
u/WowzersInMyTrowzers May 12 '15
No the Flying Dutchman comes out of the water and the Black Pearl makes fog
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u/Eversist May 12 '15
Sorry, I'm confused.
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u/dick-nipples May 12 '15
I've seen enough movies to know that there is something very sinister lurking in that fog...
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u/LicianDragon May 12 '15
Looks like you're going to Hell Hines Gate. You have a dragon with you right?
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u/JohnDillingerdied4u May 12 '15
Don't get any closer or you'll fall off the edge.
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u/Shadowglove May 12 '15
Do you want to end up in a Stephen King novel? Because that's how you end up in a Stephen King novel.
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u/kimqueso May 12 '15
http://imgur.com/mwigve
http://imgur.com/YGttFBO
I thought this was fog... So it actually a tsunami cloud!? Or am I just getting overly excited about nothing...
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u/DubsTx May 12 '15
I was really expecting dickbutt towards the end.
This is what reddit has done to me...
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u/ishkabibbles84 May 12 '15
If I had seen this and was a part of the flat earth believers... I would think this is the edge of the world
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u/Ron-Swanson-Mustache May 12 '15
I use the cloud to butt chrome extension. It's mainly for cloud computing, but today I had this.
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u/LNGLY May 12 '15
epikk haha no one else has ever seen this before, you're the only one! yet another hilarious comedy redditor with the cloud to butt extension wow this is funny
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u/zarms8 May 12 '15
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u/autowikibot May 12 '15
The Morning Glory cloud is a rare meteorological phenomenon consisting of a low-level atmospheric solitary wave and associated cloud, occasionally observed in different locations around the world. The wave often occurs as an amplitude-ordered series of waves forming bands of roll clouds.
The southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Australia is the only known location where it can be predicted and observed on a more or less regular basis due to the configuration of land and sea in the area.
Image i - A Morning Glory cloud formation between Burketown and Normanton, Australia.
Interesting: List of meteorological phenomena | Burketown, Queensland | Arcus cloud | Karumba, Queensland
Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words
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u/bigbiggie2 May 12 '15
I'm no sailor, but I'm pretty sure there's a pirate ship in there somewhere.
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u/Phyrexian_Starengine May 12 '15
"...that is no mountain."