© Kairo Kiitsak
Papsaare, Pärnu County, Estonia
Latitude: 58° 23' 45'' N
Longitude: 24° 25' 4'' E
31 July 2015 1337 (Local Time)
Camera direction: towards E
Image P/S code: S.10.3
Image I.D.: 5045
CL = 9, CM = 0, CH = 0
The photograph shows developing Cumulonimbus, with an estimated cloud top height of 7 km. The upper portion of the cloud is cirriform with a fibrous structure, identifying the species as capillatus. The top is spreading out in the early stages of anvil development (at 1 and 2), which is the supplementary feature incus. Just visible in the distance is another supplementary feature: praecipitatio, which can be seen falling as showers at 3 and 4. Cumulus mediocris and Cumulus fractus are also visible in this image.
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The surface chart shows that an occluded front had passed over the area, associated with a mid-latitude cyclone of 998 hPa that was centred over southern Finland.
The satellite image taken near the time of the photograph shows a speckled area of cloud over southern Finland and the Baltic states, where there were convective clouds and where associated showers were falling.
This image shows the strong vertical extent of a rising tower of Cumulonimbus cloud. The top is lit by the evening Sun, rendering the left-hand side bright white, while the remainder of the cloud is darker. The cloud top to the right is fibrous, indicating the species capillatus, with an anvil shearing off to the right – the supplementary feature incus. The top of the cloud (as seen from this perspective) is losing sharpness as this cell transitions from Cumulus congestus to Cumulonimbus. Beneath the cloud, the Sun is lighting up a strong precipitation shaft - the supplementary feature praecipitatio. The dark grey cloud almost surrounding the powerful convective cloud is Stratocumulus, while the white fibrous cloud to the upper left is Cirrus fibratus.
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