Listed here are different clouds formations as seen on satellite imagery.
Actinoform cloud
It was the launch of the first weather satellite, NASA’s TIROS-5, that revealed the existence of actinoform clouds. Actinoform clouds are extremely large clouds that form over the open ocean, making them hard to see from the ground. On satellite image, these clouds have a ray-like appearance (‘actino’ is derived from the Greek word for ray).
Anvil cloud
Anvil clouds, also known as cumulonimbus incus, get their name from their shape that resembles a blacksmith’s anvil: a broad and flat shape that tapers towards one end. Anvil clouds form when moisture-laden air from a thunderstorm rises to the tropopause, the atmospheric boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The cloud formation flattens at this boundary and spreads out horizontally.
Overshooting tops
Domelike protrusions above the flat surface of an anvil cloud are called overshooting tops. The tops form when fast-rising air from a strong thunderstorm travels up through the anvil cloud and spills out over the top of the cloud. These updrafts often co-occur with strong winds, lightning, hail, and tornadoes.
This Terra satellite image shows an anvil cloud with an overshooting top off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi in the Gulf Coast region of the Untied States.
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Lenticular cloud
Lenticular clouds form when moisture-heavy moving air meets a physical barrier, like a mountain, and is forced upward. Moisture in the rising air forms clouds as it is pushed higher and the air cools, dropping the dew point. These clouds form parallel to the mountains and are often longer than they are wider. The name lenticular is named after the lentil shape of these clouds.
Wave cloud
Wave clouds are a type of undular bore that form when a disturbance in the atmosphere, like a cold front, creates waves of air. The wave clouds form at the crest of the waves, creating a striated pattern of long, thing clouds on satellite imagery.
Fonte : National Geographic
