Hole-punch and canal clouds form when aircraft pass through altocumulus clouds that are rich with supercooled water droplets.
Published Dec 30, 2015
Cold winter conditions set the stage for these unusual clouds that can form due to airplane traffic.
Published Dec 28, 2010
These “hole punch” clouds were just as apparent from above as they were from below. This MODIS image shows a number of round holes in a blanket of cloud cover over Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. A few of the “holes” are elongated, with what appear to be smaller clouds inside them.
Published Jan 31, 2007
Canal clouds are the linear sibling of super-cool hole-punch clouds.
Published Jan 11, 2017
Extremely cold and wet conditions in the mesosphere have led to abundant noctilucent clouds.
Published Jul 9, 2020
Whether a patch of clouds contains open or closed cells offers a clue about whether rain is falling below.
Published Feb 6, 2016
Data collected by a sensor on the Aqua satellite reveals the global distribution of clouds.
Published May 8, 2015
Actinoform clouds pop up off the western coast of Australia.
Published Feb 7, 2020
The rare night-shining clouds seen in this photo are both forming more frequently and becoming brighter, trends that point to changes in the atmosphere linked to greenhouse gases.
Published Jan 27, 2011
Patches of open-celled clouds off the west coast of Peru offer beautiful glimpses of the sea—and pointers to where rain may have fallen.
Published Aug 7, 2018
As spring turns to summer in the northern hemisphere, unusual streaks of clouds form high in the atmosphere around sunset.
Published Jun 27, 2019
An open-celled cloud over the Pacific Ocean had a shape reminiscent of a certain circular letter of the alphabet.
Published Sep 27, 2014
Satellite images separated by 50 years show actinoform clouds over the Pacific Ocean.
Published Jul 19, 2012
Acquired April 17, 2010, this natural-color image shows a network of open- and closed-cell clouds over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru.
Published Apr 28, 2010
Tendrils of fog outline river valleys as the Andes Mountains block advancing banks of ocean clouds.
Published Jun 14, 2015
It is not difficult to imagine that a gigantic volcanic eruption spewing thick clouds of ash and gas high into the atmosphere would change the weather. But these satellite images show that a small, steady, simmering eruption also affects the atmosphere.
Published Jan 31, 2008
