Omnious looking mammatus clouds engulfed the sky over Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 9, 2016.
But, in a way that’s so common in nature, their dangerous aspect goes hand in hand with a magnificent beauty.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-9.jpg)
Mammatus clouds are an intriguing enigma of atmospheric fluid dynamics and cloud physics.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico.jpg)
Most commonly observed on the underside of cumulonimbus anvils, mammatus also occur on the underside of cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, and stratocumulus.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-10.jpg)
They also form in contrails from jet aircraft and pyrocumulus ash clouds from volcanic eruptions.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-1.jpg)
Despite their aesthetic appearance, mammatus have been the subject of few quantitative research studies.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-2.jpg)
Observations of mammatus have been obtained largely through serendipitous opportunities with a single observing system (e.g., aircraft penetrations, visual observations, lidar, radar) or tangential observations from field programs with other objectives.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-5.jpg)
Theories describing mammatus remain untested, as adequate measurements for validation do not exist because of the small distance scales and short time scales of mammatus.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-6.jpg)
Modeling studies of mammatus are virtually nonexistent. As a result, relatively little is known about the environment, formation mechanisms, properties, microphysics, and dynamics of mammatus.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-7.jpg)
Proposed formation mechanisms are anvil subsidence, subcloud evaporation/sublimation, melting, hydrometeor fallout, cloud-base detrainment instability, radiative effects, gravity waves, Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, Rayleigh–Taylor instability, and Rayleigh–Bénard-like
convection.
![mammatus albuquerque new mexico, mammatus, mammatus clouds, mammatus albuquerque new mexico picture, mammatus albuquerque new mexico october 2016, mammatus albuquerque new mexico video](https://strangesounds.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mammatus-albuquerque-new-mexico-3.jpg)
But in mammatus reasearch much still remains to be learned. Can these clouds be used as a window into the microphysical, turbulent, and dynamical processes occurring on the underside of clouds.
But sure is that the clouds are quite new especially in last times