Storm on the Mountain

(Click image to enlarge)

These mammatocumulus clouds were seen one evening just after a hail storm in Tennessee's Appalachian mountains. They are a spectacular sight, but they also make one wonder if taking cover would be wiser than taking photographs. These cloud formations are often associated with severe thunderstorms and usually extend from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud, but may also be found under altocumulus, altostratus, stratocumulus, and cirrus clouds, and even volcanic ash clouds.