Cirrostratus

Cirrostratus Clouds Before Sunset

The clouds thinned and thickened and thinned again today, but they never cleared away completely. I stopped at the grocery store after work, and as I was leaving, I got out my camera and took a couple of photos of the sky.

Cirrostratus are sheets of high, wispy clouds. They are usually thin enough to see the sun and moon through, and they often produce beautiful halos and arcs. When these clouds thicken, as they were starting to do toward the west (the darker area to the lower right), it usually means that a front is approaching. We’re supposed to get snow and all manner of icy foulness starting tonight and lasting for, I think, about 24 hours.