High cirrus clouds on October 18th

Cirrus clouds are high in the atmosphere and are teased into wispy shapes by the strong winds. They have a challenging shape to paint since they are made of ice crystals and are both reflective and transparent.


These clouds came by at about noon in the east and seem to foretell the coming rain at night. Cirrus clouds can be formed by a warm front moving over cool air.


Amusingly, Goethe likens cirrus clouds to "tiny lambs" in his poem on this cloud type.