photo #5205084

This Cumulus flammagenitus cloud was spotted by Stephen Gray (Cloud Appreciation Society Member 47,206) near Valdora in the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland, Australia. The form of Cumulus takes its name from the Latin flamma, meaning ‘fire’, and genitus, meaning ‘generated’, for it formed as a result of farmers burning cane fields. The heat causes the air to rise, and the combustion produces hot water vapour along with the smoke. Since the water vapour cools as it rises, it condenses into water droplets, using the tiny particles of smoke and ash as the seeds on which to form. This mixture of smoke and water gives the flammagenitus form a more grey or reddish appearance than regular Cumulus. While this is a small one, flammagenitus clouds that form over volcanoes or forest fires can grow into towering Cumulonimbus storm clouds capable of producing lightning or rain. On rare occasions, the showers from a Cumulonimbus flammagenitus can even extinguish the wildfire blaze that gave rise to it.