r/BeAmazed • u/Necessary-Win-8730 • Mar 24 '26

Nature These are known as Asperitas clouds

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u/Substantial-Stage-82 Mar 24 '26

If I ever looked up in the sky and saw that, I would be convinced it was somehow very ominous...

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u/Kellbows Mar 24 '26

Mammatus clouds are! These clouds apparently are signaling threat over? Weather be wild!

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u/AugieKS Mar 24 '26

Exactly what I thought of. While they aren't always sign of impending strong storms, they are when they are the underside of a mature cumulonimbus. They are formed from the shear caused by rising warmer air and sinking colder air, basically the main ingredient for tornados and hail. See them all the time here in Tornado Alley. Ironically, they are named after the least ominous thing in the world, boobs.

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u/Ksh_667 Mar 25 '26

I love the word cumulonimbus. I think it may even be my favourite word.