“You can’t be cirrus, those clouds are amazing!”
Written by Hank Dodge, Colby College
I’ve gotten pretty into photography during my time in Botswana and clouds are one of my favorite things to take pictures of. I think they’re so much more dramatic and diverse than the clouds we have back home. So, instead of writing a blog on a species, I asked our instructors if I could take our fans out there reading this blog on a journey through the different types of clouds that we’ve seen on our trip.
Before we delve into the photos, I think I should give a brief summary on how most clouds form. After a little bit of research, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research provided a good summary of cloud formation. For the most part, clouds are formed as liquid water evaporates and rises into the air. As the vapor rises, it cools and oftentimes moves from a high-pressure zone closer to the ground, to a lower pressure zone higher in the air. These water vapor particles then bind to particles in the air such as dust and pollen (which are called condensation nuclei) to form the white things in the sky we all know as clouds.
Cumulus, Sankuyo
Stratocumulus, Xai Xai
There are many different types of clouds and some have different processes of forming. I’m going to focus on my favorite types and explain how they’re formed before showing some pictures I’ve taken along our trip.
Stratocumulus, Sankuyo
My favorite clouds to both view and photograph are called cumulonimbus clouds. These essentially look like mountains in the sky and in my opinion, are the most picturesque. Cumulonimbus clouds form when air heated by the ground (due to sunshine) rises towards lower pressure zones higher in the sky and cools. As this air cools, the water vapor condenses and forms clouds. Cumulus, cumulonimbus, and stratocumulus clouds all form in this way and these three types have been some of the most common clouds we have seen this semester. Here are a few examples:
This photo was taken at our campsite in Mababe and is a great example of a cumulonimbus cloud. NOAA’s website describes these clouds as “thunderstorm clouds” and it makes sense that we’ve been seeing them frequently with all of the rain we’ve gotten this year.
According to NOAA, cumulus clouds form in clear skies and gradually grow in the morning before shrinking in the afternoon. This photo was taken during an afternoon scouting mission of one of our transects in Khwai (that water is where the road was supposed to be!) and these clouds were in the midst of shrinking.
Stratocumulus clouds are similar to cumulus clouds but look longer in the sky and have more width. I think this sunset shot accurately displays how huge these clouds are.
Our last two examples of clouds are found higher in the sky. NOAA refers to the previous three types of clouds as “low clouds”. Altocumulus are referred to as “mid clouds”, and cirrus are “high clouds”. Both altocumulus and cirrus clouds are formed in the same way. Oftentimes, weather forms when two air fronts collide. When a warm air front moves above a cold air front after a collision, the warm air bursts upward forming these mid to high clouds.
NOAA states that altocumulus clouds are common mid clouds and will often appear in layers. On this morning in Mababe these clouds had taken over the sky and the sunrise was incredible.
Cirrus clouds have varying degrees of transparency depending on the separation of the ice crystals that comprise them (NOAA). This photo was taken one afternoon in Khwai after our wildlife tracks quiz.