Saturday, October 29, 2011

Seussian Clouds

What a special sight greeted me at day's end the other night!
click on the picture for a larger view!

These unusual Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds are formed when two different layers of air move past one another at different speeds. They're rarely seen because they usually only last for a minute or two before dissolving.
In fact, in the minute or so it took me to grab my camera, they had already unfurled from tight curls to these gently undulating waves.


I think they look like Dr. Seuss birds, don't you?

I wonder if these swirly clouds were the inspiration behind Van Gogh's Starry Night?


4 comments:

  1. OOOOO! Pretty! They remind me of Moira Shearer morphing into flowers, birds, and clouds at the end of the movie "The Red Shoes."

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  2. ahhhh . . . thanks for the reminder, it's been a million years since I've seen that!

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  3. what amazing clouds... thank you for this entire journey. I am reading every post, with amazement.

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  4. Thanks, Kate!
    They make me giggle every time I look at those pictures! I'll have to dig out my old Dr. Seuss books again and find those birds.
    Actually, those clouds were shot from my deck here in Colorado - had to squeeze them in between my China journey posts.

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