I was up near Vista Ridge doing some trail maintenance today, and saw this OUTRAGEOUS lenticular cloud forming to the NE of Mount Hood on the way out -- this is the view from Lolo Pass road with my pocket camera (all of my gear was at home... sigh...) just to give you a sense of how bizarre this was. Wow! It must have been spectacular from the vicinity of Zigzag Mountain, where the cloud would have appeared behind the mountain.
Hopefully, somebody got a decent image of this!
Tom
Posted by Darren White on July 22, 2007 at 10:26 AM
I am a sucker for cloud shots like this....I am fascinated by how they work their magic around mountain tops....look at the way that one on the right is just hugging that mountain......amazing!
I've noticed them beginning to form all afternoon up and down the Cascades (as seen from North Portland). Must be related to the tropical air flow that we've been having. Weird!
Tom
Posted by Mike Stovall on July 22, 2007 at 8:45 PM
That's quite a cloud show you captured there, Tom. I happen to think this IS a pretty decent image of the cloud, although I know what you mean about the possibilities of getting it positioned right above the mountain.
Posted by Ned Fenimore on July 23, 2007 at 1:24 AM
I'm a cloud worshipper too, Ned. I wish I was a "cloud whisperer" so that they'd follow my instructions when I'm talking to them out in the field...
I noticed a slightly smaller stack right on top of Mt. Adams last night, when I was heading back down toward Hood River - plus a smaller set just to the west. It was well after the sun had dropped from view, but I'll bet it was a pretty nice show. I've always understood lenticular clouds to be a sign of a strong jet stream above, and that would certainly fit the weird weather we've been having over the past week.
There's a ridiculous story behind this photo: I had been carrying my pocket camera (an older Canon Digital Elph) all day while doing trail work, and it was quite wet from all of the rain and dew we were working in. So when I pulled it out to grab the cloud shot, the lens mechanism immediately fogged up beyond recognition. So, first, I tried warming up the lens in front of the dashboard vent, and that made it MORE foggy... then, thinking about fog dynamics out in the field, I tried turning on the AC, and that cleared up the lens... at least until I pulled it away from the direct stream of cold air, anyway. So after a few more misfires, I took this photo while holding the camera in directly in front of the AC, and pointed out the window of the car..!
Tom
Posted by Tom Kloster on August 12, 2007 at 10:47 PM
I did some more work on this image to create an enlargement that shows a bit more of the bottom of the "donut". I'm just fascinated by these..! I think we're having more of them this year, too. Weird..!
Discussion
9 repliesHopefully, somebody got a decent image of this!
Tom
Tom
I noticed a slightly smaller stack right on top of Mt. Adams last night, when I was heading back down toward Hood River - plus a smaller set just to the west. It was well after the sun had dropped from view, but I'll bet it was a pretty nice show. I've always understood lenticular clouds to be a sign of a strong jet stream above, and that would certainly fit the weird weather we've been having over the past week.
There's a ridiculous story behind this photo: I had been carrying my pocket camera (an older Canon Digital Elph) all day while doing trail work, and it was quite wet from all of the rain and dew we were working in. So when I pulled it out to grab the cloud shot, the lens mechanism immediately fogged up beyond recognition. So, first, I tried warming up the lens in front of the dashboard vent, and that made it MORE foggy... then, thinking about fog dynamics out in the field, I tried turning on the AC, and that cleared up the lens... at least until I pulled it away from the direct stream of cold air, anyway. So after a few more misfires, I took this photo while holding the camera in directly in front of the AC, and pointed out the window of the car..!
Tom
Tom