Intriguing images of a grand cumulus congestus cloud with a microburst pouring a rain shaft over the water were captured by Rick Geiss in Gulf Shores, Alabama, in July 2016. These images have recently become popular online. The image, known as the “perfectly symmetrical mushroom cloud,” has captivated the internet with its perfect mushroom shape, evoking images of huge Christmas trees or Super Mario’s beloved fungi in real life.
The image was tweeted by Alabama meteorologist Jake Dunn, who referred to it as “quite possibly the best example of a mushroom cloud I have ever seen.” since when the picture has become widely popular. However, what precisely is this cloud?
A cumulus congestus cloud, according to Jeff Halverson, a severe weather expert with The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang. It is a typical storm cloud form that is distinguished by a tall cone of fluffy white vapor poised precisely on a narrow stem of ominous gray rain. The updraft’s margins draw drier, cooler air inward and upward, which evaporates some of the cloud’s edges and shapes the cloud’s distinctive shape, giving it a tapering look.
A “pop-up” thundershower, which often forms and dissipates in less than 30 minutes and occurs independently of bigger weather systems like cold fronts, is what the viral cloud is. A pop-up storm only requires a small amount of rain and the intense summer sun to form. High in the sky, warm, humid air rises, and ultimately the air column, or updraft, rises to a height where the humid air begins to cool into water droplets. After gathering within the cloud for around 15 or 20 minutes, the rain begins to fall again.
Halverson earlier stated that “as the downdraft plummets straight down through the updraft, it snuffs out its buoyancy.” The storm practically rains itself out in its final minutes if there isn’t a self-sustaining updraft.
Even though the picture could be fascinating, it’s vital to keep in mind that not all mushroom clouds are benign. For instance, pyrocumulus clouds are a unique case. These clouds can generate their own lightning, thunder, and even violent winds when they form over raging wildfires.
Finally, it is apparent why this absolutely symmetrical mushroom cloud, photographed by Rick Geiss from Gulf Shores, Alabama, in July 2016, has become so popular on the internet. It is a gorgeous and rare illustration of a cumulus congestus cloud and a pop-up thundershower. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that not all mushroom clouds are as benign, so you should proceed with caution when you see one.
