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New Cloud Type Discovered: ‘Undulus Asperatus’
(METEOROLOGYNEWS.com) In the first new cloud type to be officially designated in over 50 years, members of the Cloud Appreciation Society are pushing for official recognition of the undulating, ominous-appearing clouds.

Turbulent motions between differing air masses create undulating clouds as seen over rural Kansas in the early morning hours of April 28, 2006. Meteorologists are proposing these clouds be designated as the first new cloud type to be named in over 50 years: Undulus Asperatus.

The Cloud Appreciation Society has designated the clouds as “Undulus Asperatus” or alternatively, “Undulatus Asperatus.” The Latin term translates loosely as “turbulent undulation.” Such clouds are relatively rare, but have been photographed in several areas around the world.

The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity. These clouds are not considered a precursor to severe weather, rather appear to form following rain or thunderstorm activity.