Woman's Cloud Photo could be Catalyst for New Cloud Type
"Sing to God, sing praise to His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds—His name is the LORD—and rejoice before Him." -Psalm 68:4
A photo taken by amateur photographer Jane Wiggins, while at work in her 11th-floor law office, may be just the evidence needed for defining a brand new type of cloud—something that hasn't happened since 1951, according to a USA Today report.
The clouds' formation on that June day back in 2006, was like nothing Wiggins had witnessed before. (Photo by Jane Wiggins, AP)
"It looked like Armageddon," she said. "The shadows of the clouds, the lights and the darks, and the greenish-yellow backdrop. They seemed to change."
Wiggins had posted her photo on the UK-based Cloud Appreciation Society's website, and after some similarly unusual photos were added by others, the society's founder, Gavin Pretor-Pinney began to consider whether or not there should be a new official cloud type added. A panel from the Royal Meteorological Society is reportedly deciding on the possible new variety. If the new cloud type is a "go," the recommendation will be made to the World Meteorological Organization to add it to the International Cloud Atlas.
Pretor-Pinney says that clouds seem to fascinate because "they're the most poetic parts of nature—a part of nature that's in constant flux and change. They have an effect on our emotions... and imagination." The sky, he says, is "the last wilderness."
Wiggins is excited that her photo might possibly "have a place in history." She adds that since the day she captured that image, she has "never seen anything like that again."
