Contrails or cirrus clouds?

Contrails, short for condensation trails, are visible trails of condensed water vapor exhausted from jet engines. Often they appear and fade away almost immediately. Sometimes they linger in the sky as trails or are teased out into wisps by the wind. In the latter case, they look like cirrus clouds.


It is thought that after contrails spread out, they essentially become cirrus clouds and affect the planetary climate in similar ways. On days when contrails disappear almost immediately, one can expect continuing good weather. When contrails persist for hours, there will be a change in the weather.


Friday, November 18th was a transitional day from our cold front to warmer weather leading into rain by Monday. This sky pattern was visible at about noon on November 18th in the southeast.