S'COOL Cloud Chart: Cumulonimbus

S'COOL Cloud Chart: Cumulonimbus

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Cumulonimbus
thumbnail of billowing cumulonimbus
Billowing Cumulonimbus
thumbnail of thunderstorm clouds
Thunderstorm
thumbnail of developing thunderstorm clouds
Developing Cumulonimbus
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Billowing Cumulonimbus

 This photo of a billowing cumulus cloud came from the GLOBE program. This is clearly an opaque (very thick) cloud. Cloud cover is hard to determine from this single view, but is probably partly to mostly cloudy.
Photograph of billowing cumulus clouds

Thunderstorm

 This wide-angle photograph shows an intense early evening (about 6:15 pm) thunderstorm over Virginia Beach as observed from Poquoson, Virginia (a distance of about 25 miles or 40 km). The weather earlier in the day had been unsettled due to the passage of a cold front; however, the appearance of the thunderstorm was surprising since the sky conditions were mostly clear in Poquoson.

The photographer was alerted to the presence of this thunderstorm during the broadcast of the local weather report when radar images indicated intense rainfall over Virginia Beach. Photo by David Kratz.
Thunderstorm clouds

Developing Thunderstorm

 This striking photograph shows the developing phase of a summer thunderstorm in New Jersey, USA. Note the very dark appearance of the base of the cloud, which is an indication of a very thick developing cumulus cloud. Also note the vivid interplay of sunlight at the cloud edges.

Photo by Rosemary Fields, of Hunterdon Christian Academy, Flemington, NJ, USA, in North Branch, NJ, August 2002.
Developing Thunderstorm clouds

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Last Updated July 13, 2000
Lin H. Chambers. Responsible NASA organization/official: Leonard R. McMaster, Director, Atmospheric Sciences Competency