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Stunning Asperatus Cloud Shots From Pennsylvania MCS

Jun 6, 2011; 1:07 PM ET

Almost exactly two years ago today, I blogged about a new type of cloud called "Asperatus." Then a year later I blogged about Asperatus clouds that were sighted multiple times near a MCS (thunderstorm complex) in the Plains. On Saturday, the same thing happened here in Pennsylvania. This photo was taken by an AccuWeather.com Facebook Fan:

Although the formation conditions for Asperatus are not known, I said last year "they seem to happen when very moist air is trying to invade very dry air -- something that would be most likely to happen at the edge of an MCS." And I'm sticking to that. The first shot above was from Erie, Pennsylvania around noon Saturday, with the shot below captured in Vinco, PA about 2 PM (see also panorama):

high-resolution visible satellite image doesn't really show the asperatus clouds since they are essentially under the spreading "anvil cloud" of the MCS, but you can see the storm complex moving over the state.

Here are some additional shots from Erie, or should I say Eerie?

This one is really neat - I've never seen Asperatus like this:

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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