Earlier this month around the 5th, on checking the overhead from a new morning backyard, I noticed that a stream of probable contrail evolution , heading from the west to east in noticeable fashion, at a certain point turned lacunosus. There was an area in the sky, almost overhead , perhaps a tad south and west of my observation point, that when the exhausted atomized kerosene (jet engine fuel) was carried to it, the guazey gunk transformed from willowy stratus , to perforated grate. Well, and there was a nice long stream out west all lined up to take its turn. It was a great show. Of course, the exchange of energies is not free and sooner or later the cost would end the generating physics, ( what came after will be subject of another spread)but while that spot,,area,,zone, existed..oh my...not a Scream..but a human reaction none the less.

This is what I find unfortunate about Munch and his series of The Scream paintings. Upon witnessing a very red sunset , a cosmic dread he experienced. Perhaps I or you experience the Cosmic when observing the clouds but I have never felt a " dread " about it. Okay. maybe some of my photos are dreadful, but just remember you all don't see all of them. If anything , its a Cosmic cleansing I experience, perhaps a purification, nothing as heavy as " dread". Did I read somewhere that painter Munch was experiencing trying times in his life when GWW's volcanic dust bloodied up the sunset for Munch to get in touch with the Cosmic? Anyway..you got to remember,,living in Arizona,,a State that memorialized crepuscular rays or are they anti-crepuscular rays?,,on it State Flag of all places, is a place where folks believe the more outrageous, tacky, " colorful" the sunset...the better. There is no dread in a Az
sunset.

So,,like this is the 3rd or 4th good lacunosus display since monsoon season. I recall that lacunosus is made by thermals punching holes in stratus. So the " out of the west heading east " contrail stratus runs into the Phoenix heat bubble and voila'..I got a free ticket to the Cosmic...and I never left my backyard. There is no lack of the Cosmic.
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I thought contrails only persited in the cirrus layer?

Sweet stuff, MikeL, butShakira, dont trust MikeL's recall too much - lacunosus can occur at all three etages says the Handbook:

http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/collecting/andrew-bluemel2/

Contrails persist given the right temperature and humidity (RK Pilsbury). Thus when a warm front is approaching and cirrus begins to form the air is already moist. Contrails can also persist as altocumulus.

MikeL observes his clouds were possibly old contrails.

Yes, Shakira, H has a good read of what I was trying to say. I wasn't witness to the origin of the stream of cloud, but all other cloud in the morning sky was contrail and this stream had all the signs of being a much expanded thus old, contrail. Also, I am using the word " stratus" in meaning a sheet like or blanket like horizontal formation,,rather than a specific genre of cloud.

I am in belief that the spent old contrail was descending in elevation. What you may see if you look closely at the 3rd shot..is that the lacunosus is beginning to go virga like, thin wind blown streaks. I have some neat shots of that stage of the morning show and I promise to put them up soon. But my point is, virga is descent in elevation ,and what followed the lacunosus appeared to be of the same nature.

For Anybody's Information ( FAI) I used a polarizing filter rotated to maximum effect with camera already set at high contrast and orange filter effect on Black and White or Monochrome setting,,to get that lacunosus to pop out in contrast like that. With that much filter , 1/3 of an F stop over exposure got the best results.

Number three: Cloud fires extinguishing the heavens. Like a forest, it regenerates.

A photograph to be consumed by......

I thought 'guazey gunk' (first post, line 3) was just MikeL speak. But hey, Poth's mag says (page 42) 'heavier gobs of slush called graupel tend to transfer electrical charge'. It's obviously just my ignorance again.

Gini you saw the next,,and ran with it! Haa, you got ahead of me but there is plenty of clue in the 3rd photo.

So, a contrail expands out and drops lazily over Phoenix only to be peppered by the city's morning rising thermals turning the thin blanket into a doily affair. But a stream of warm moist air from the south mixes into the weave of things creating a 2nd act to the show. The shots below display the transitions and beauty of a transformed, regenerated sky.
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Whoa, these are great! All my favourite woollen socks are pretty lacunosus too.

Jari