I took this image while backcountry ski touring near Eldora, CO on November 27th at 1:45 PM. In the image I’m facing southwest and capturing the incoming storm or post-storm clouds, which were accompanied by strong winds and blown snow. I believe that the fluffy clouds seen in the bottom half of the image coming up over the distant mountains are a Foehn cloud wall. Above that, the rippled yet uniform cloud in the top half and top right section of the image is an altocumulus lenticularis mountain wave cloud formation that is moving this way because of high winds. Finally, in the top left of the image I believe that the formation may be cirrostratus undulatus because of how thin the dispersion of clouds is and the high winds during the image. The sounding data for Grand Junction at 6PM MST is shown below.
This sounding data indicates that there should be clouds expected at about 2500m-3000m, which could be indicative of the Foehn cloud wall formation, and then again from about 4500m-5500m, which could be indicative of the altocumulus lenticularis mountain wave formation. Additionally the strong eastward winds that are seen driving cloud movement in the image are shown in the skew-t diagram from about 3000m all the way up to the top of the measured altitude.
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Those waves in the clouds on the right are really fascinating, love that these clouds blanket the mountain valley
Absolutely bonkers cloud combo with 2 legendaries and a rare
Caribou! Always a fun spot to go to. I like how the clouds in the distance look like a blanket, I feel like we don’t see that a whole lot in Colorado. Is this taken from the top of the hill?
This is a beautiful image. I like the muted colors and the expansive nature of the picture. This really makes me feel like I am in the mountains.
It’s interesting how the cold the colors of the image are.
You always have the craziest cloud pictures. I remember your last one being unique and crazy as well
This photo is incredible– it’s really cool seeing the cloud separation from the sounding data visualized in real life. The ‘bumpy’ clouds covering the mountains in the background are really cool as well and have a spooky feel to them
The whole color palette of this image is very cold-looking, all the colors work really well together and create a cohesive feel. Awesome cloud image!
I really like how wispy the clouds are in the background, it creates a cool effect especially against the harsh lines from the trees.