Mammatus Clouds Are "Udderly" Fascinating

A Mammatus Cloud

One of the most odd-looking clouds you'll see are called Mammatus (or mammatocumulus) clouds. "Mammatus" means "mammary cloud." They look like little pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud, typically cumulonimbus rainclouds, although they may be attached to other types of clouds.  
   As a meteorologist, I find these fascinating, and have only seen them a couple of times. 
  In this blog you'll learn about the name, their cloud classification, where they're found and seen.


NAME ORIGIN -  The name mammatus is derived from the Latin mamma (meaning "udder" or "breast"). 

Photo Credit: 500px.com/Craig

THEY ARE PART OF THE CUMULUS FAMILY -    According to the World Meterological Organization (WMO) International Cloud Atlas, mamma is a cloud supplementary feature rather than a species or variety of cloud. 

HOW DO THEY FORM?  They are formed by cold air sinking down to form the pockets contrary to the puffs of clouds rising through the convection of warm air. These formations were first described in 1894 by William Clement Ley.

SEEN IN STRONG THUNDERSTORMS -  Mammatus are most often associated with anvil clouds and also severe thunderstorms. They often extend from the base of a cumulonimbus, but may also be found under altocumulus, altostratus, stratocumulus, and cirrus clouds, as well as volcanic ash clouds! When the occur in cumulonimbus clouds,they often indicate it's a strong storm, even tornadic.