HOUSTON — Anvil clouds can often look like an alien spacecraft trying to land, We’ve had emails suggesting there is a UFO in the sky and immediately when I see the picture, it’s an anvil cloud.
What is an anvil cloud? Well, it’s when the rising updraft of air hits the tropopause, a layer of air above the troposphere, where the air temperature stops lowering with altitude. It's also called the equilibrium level.
The tropopause acts as a ceiling, like the top of a ceiling, so the rising updraft of the cloud has nowhere else to go and creates a cloud as it spreads out across the sky. That's the equilibrium level, when the air stops rising. That’s what gives the anvil cloud shape.
Also think of the anvil cloud like a mature thunderstorm. You have updrafts and downdrafts. As the air hits the equilibrium level, it’s forced to spread out and that’s where you get the expanding part of the cloud.
How does it get the name anvil cloud? Well, if you know a little bit about metal work, it’s shaped like an anvil (some say alien spacecraft, ha!) but it really looks and gets its name from the anvil instrument used for metal work.
Now there can be variations of the anvil cloud., Just like cumulus clouds, some can make rain. Some don’t. Some can be darker and produce thunderstorms, but they don’t have to.
Think vertical moving air!
You may think these clouds are rare. They really aren't. But they are always fun to see!
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