#2352 "Singleton Snow SCUD"

The cold and unstable air mass was producing very vigourous snow flurries. The snow even accumulated at least 2 centimetres. There was a large towering cumulus to the west which provided the backdrop to this convective sky. The scattered cumulus under deck is commonly called SCUD cloud by meteorologists. The deck is the lifted condensation level of the particular air mass. Any cloud that forms beneath that level must do so by using moisture provided by the precipitation that has already fallen.

SCUD forms beneath the
Lifted Condensation Level of the Air Mass

This SCUD cloud was backlit by the sun that was getting low over the western horizon. Clouds that are illuminated from the back are darker in their centres than at their edges. If the piece of cloud is especially thin and fragmented the entire cloud might appear relatively bright. Close examination of those clouds will indicate they are still a bit darker where the cloud is the most optically thick. Shafts of snow were falling from the larger towering cumulus further to the west. I had planned on barbecuing outside as a tribute to the approaching warmer weather but had decided against it with the snow on the ground.

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