photo #7739345

Wayne Williams (Member 49,818) was driving home in Bertie County, North Carolina, US when he spotted cloud streets above. This formation would be classified more officially as Stratocumulus radiatus on account of it consisting of rows of low clumpy cloud that appear to radiate from the horizon due to perspective. Cloud streets like this develop in line with strong, steady winds. Moisture lifted by thermals rising off the Sun-warmed ground and forming into clouds encounters a temperature inversion (cold air beneath warm) that caps the air rising any further. Under this invisible lid of temperature, the air is forced to sink back down between the invisible thermals, creating gaps of clear sky. The rising and dipping flows are arranged by the steady winds into long parallel lanes: the highest of multi-lane highways.