Hail Bags and Baby Bottoms
Last Sunday morning in Sunday School class Yolie requested prayer for protection from the weather. On the way to church they had seen big "hail bags" in the clouds, and as Yolie said, "No one really needs hail right now." Everyone in the class with a shred of farmer connections sighed in agreement at this understated observation.
I also grinned to myself at hearing Yolie's "hail bags" term--something I had never heard before. Then I realized I didn't really know the proper term for those clouds. I always thought of them in the terms my sister Carol used to use for such clouds: baby-bottom clouds. They do look like squeezable, soft, rounded sculptured shapes--in contrast to their true vicious character. They form on the underside of billowing thunderheads that are often favorable to the formation of precipitation in the form of big ice balls. Apparently there is no official name for this cloud feature. The following site shows a picture of such clouds and calls them "Big bags" or "Mamma" clouds: http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/weather/2003/questions.shtml.
Yolie's dairy farmer husband, who I assume uses the "bag" term would feel validated by the information in the following quote from the above site: Beneath these clouds a strange cloud formation often forms, and we in the trade call it "Mamma" cloud, as those down-draft winds cause udder-like protuberances to form under cumulonimbus clouds (often irregular and ragged) which are bulbous - as in the picture above.
With the wheat standing ready for harvest, our persistent rains, often accompanied by the threat of severe weather, make waiting on dry weather a little difficult. But we are all grateful to have been spared so far from flooding and tornadoes and hail, for the most part.
We had a time of more angst than usual yesterday morning when the wind picked up and reached speeds of 50-70 MPH, or even 90 MPH as reported in the next county. With the wind came .8 inch of rain--more in nearby areas. A local feed business suffered damage when the wind blew in an overhead door to the warehouse and soaked feed stored inside. A hopper-style grain bin also lost its moorings and crashed into a display window at the front of the business. The "Welcome to Pleasantview" billboard sign presented an unpleasant view of snapped-off supporting poles and missing sign parts. Nearby greenhouses lost coverings and suffered other structural damage. I heard of two backyard trampolines that became airborne. One of them tore loose the power lines when it slammed into the side of Eldo's house.
The wind blew in around 5:00 AM, before most of us were out checking for any strangely-shaped clouds. I heard the roar and wondered if we should head for the basement but settled for huddling under the covers, praying and listening for the ping or crash of hail along with the roar of the wind. The hail never came, thank God. High winds and baby bottom/mammary-gland-like clouds--Sunday School or no--signal time for prayer petitions.
I also grinned to myself at hearing Yolie's "hail bags" term--something I had never heard before. Then I realized I didn't really know the proper term for those clouds. I always thought of them in the terms my sister Carol used to use for such clouds: baby-bottom clouds. They do look like squeezable, soft, rounded sculptured shapes--in contrast to their true vicious character. They form on the underside of billowing thunderheads that are often favorable to the formation of precipitation in the form of big ice balls. Apparently there is no official name for this cloud feature. The following site shows a picture of such clouds and calls them "Big bags" or "Mamma" clouds: http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/weather/2003/questions.shtml.
Yolie's dairy farmer husband, who I assume uses the "bag" term would feel validated by the information in the following quote from the above site: Beneath these clouds a strange cloud formation often forms, and we in the trade call it "Mamma" cloud, as those down-draft winds cause udder-like protuberances to form under cumulonimbus clouds (often irregular and ragged) which are bulbous - as in the picture above.
With the wheat standing ready for harvest, our persistent rains, often accompanied by the threat of severe weather, make waiting on dry weather a little difficult. But we are all grateful to have been spared so far from flooding and tornadoes and hail, for the most part.
We had a time of more angst than usual yesterday morning when the wind picked up and reached speeds of 50-70 MPH, or even 90 MPH as reported in the next county. With the wind came .8 inch of rain--more in nearby areas. A local feed business suffered damage when the wind blew in an overhead door to the warehouse and soaked feed stored inside. A hopper-style grain bin also lost its moorings and crashed into a display window at the front of the business. The "Welcome to Pleasantview" billboard sign presented an unpleasant view of snapped-off supporting poles and missing sign parts. Nearby greenhouses lost coverings and suffered other structural damage. I heard of two backyard trampolines that became airborne. One of them tore loose the power lines when it slammed into the side of Eldo's house.
The wind blew in around 5:00 AM, before most of us were out checking for any strangely-shaped clouds. I heard the roar and wondered if we should head for the basement but settled for huddling under the covers, praying and listening for the ping or crash of hail along with the roar of the wind. The hail never came, thank God. High winds and baby bottom/mammary-gland-like clouds--Sunday School or no--signal time for prayer petitions.
posted by Mrs. I at
10:41 AM
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