Squibby Cliffs and Mackerel Sky
by Kathy Barney
Title
Squibby Cliffs and Mackerel Sky
Artist
Kathy Barney
Medium
Photograph - Photography-digital Art
Description
Martha's Vineyard coastline: "Squibby," as the locals call it, is located on the east lower side of the Island. It is near the Squibnocker Lake, Aquinnah (Gay Head lighthouse) and the town of Meneshma. The Sky: A mackerel sky or buttermilk sky describes a sky mostly covered by altocumulus clouds. It is rare with altocumulus and extremely rare in its cirrocumulus form.The occurrence of these clouds is an indicator of moisture and instability at intermediate levels (2400�6100 m, 8000-20,000 ft). Rainshowers or thunderstorms may occur should any lower cumulus clouds reach the layer of the altocumulus form.
However, the most common reason for the occurrence of a mackerel sky is an old, disintegrating frontal system. The cloud was probably originally altostratus and has been broken up into altocumulus as the weather front disintegrates (usually as a result of encountering an area of high atmospheric pressure). Little, if any rain most often follows a mackerel sky. Another common place that it is found is in the warm sector of a depression preceding the cold front and associated showery weather, however usually here it is obscured by lower stratus clouds. Mackerel skies are spoken of in the popular bywords, "Mackerel in the sky, three days dry," "Mackerel sky, mackerel sky. Never long wet and never long dry," and the nautical weather rhyme, "Mare's tails and mackerel scales / Make tall ships carry low sails." The phrase mackerel sky came from the fact that it looks similar to the markings of an adult king mackerel fish. ~WIKI~
Uploaded
August 22nd, 2014
Statistics
Viewed 1,012 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/24/2024 at 12:09 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
