Nacreous clouds

Spotted these whilst cooking tea. Apparently they are nacreous clouds:

Nacreous clouds are wave clouds. They are often found downwind of mountain ranges which induce gravity waves in the lower stratosphere. Their sheet-like forms slowly undulate and stretch as the waves evolve. The clouds can also be associated with very high surface winds which may indicate the presence of, or induce, winds and waves in the stratosphere.

They form at temperatures of around minus 85ºC, colder than average lower stratophere temperatures, and are comprised of ice particles ~10µm across. The clouds must be composed of similar sized crystals to produce the characteristic bright iridescent colours by diffraction and interference.

Nacreous clouds are a type of Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC).

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.