STANDING IN A CORNFIELD IN INDIANA, I once saw a fat roll cloud (like #4 below) float directly over my head. It’s a 12-year-old memory that remains fresh. There was a moment of mild panic just as the cloud reached me — Is this what a tornado looks like right before it hits? I thought. This is some freaky unnatural shit and I do not know how I’m supposed to react.

I imagine a lot of these photographers having similar hesitations as they set up for the shots below. While it was relatively easy to put together this collection due to the huge number of crazy cloud pictures available online (did you know there’s a Cloud Appreciation Society?), many of the phenomena shown here are pretty rare…and potentially panic-inducing.

1. Lenticular cloud, Mt. Fuji, Japan

Altocumulus lenticularis is one of the more obviously ‘bizarre’ cloud types — they don’t occur too frequently, so when you see one, you take notice. They often form above or near mountains, as moist air flows rapidly over a rise in elevation. Mt. Fuji makes a pretty sweet base for this one.

Source unknown

Continue reading “60 insane cloud formations from around the world [PICs]”