Weather
Ask the meteorologist: Why do some clouds look like jellyfish?
Jellyfish clouds: Have you ever seen clouds in the sky with swooping "tails" that look like jellyfish? We asked WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth.
Have you ever seen clouds in the sky with swooping "tails" that look like jellyfish?
Jellyfish clouds
According to WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth, these clouds that resemble jellyfish are patchy altocumulus clouds with virga (rain that evaporates before it reaches the ground) at the bottom of the cloud.
"These clouds form in the mid-levels of the atmosphere," Wilmoth explains.
The shape comes when there is a disturbance in the mid-levels.
"The moisture from that disturbance is producing those jellyfish clouds," Wilmoth said.
Ask the meteorologist content
- Ask the meteorologist: Are there any such things as chemical trails in our skies? Do they affect our weather?
- Ask the meteorologist: Why are clouds white?
- Ask the meteorologist: What is the between stratus and cirrus clouds?
- Ask the meteorologist: Can you have a rainbow without rain?🌈
- Ask the meteorologist: Why are storm clouds dark?
