Eye-catching clouds capture Colorado’s curiosity

Eye-catching cloud formations prompted questions from KRDO NewsChannel 13 viewers Tuesday morning. StormTracker 13’s Abby Acone offers this explanation:

These are great examples of ALTOCUMULUS clouds!

These clouds sit anywhere from over one to almost four miles in the sky! They are mostly made up of water droplets. Altocumulus clouds usually form by convection (has to do with warm air rising).

While altocumulus clouds can be a precursor to afternoon thunderstorms — much of southern Colorado will stay dry today. Isolated thunderstorms are possible along the mountains, Palmer Divide and southern portions of the I-25 corridor. Beyond that, we’ll stick with a mix of sunshine and clouds!

Source: The University of Illinois / The Weather World 2010 Project