PORTLAND, Ore. — Many clouds that strongly resemble jellyfish are drifting over the Portland area Tuesday, and many KGW viewers are asking: what are those?
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), these clouds are specifically "neat looking altocumulus with virga."
So, what's that exactly mean?
Altocumulus clouds are "mid-level clouds composed primarily of water droplets," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These groups of fleecy clouds share some characteristics as thunderstorm clouds, so they indicate that rain (of course, we're in the Pacific Northwest) will be on its way.
And as KGW meteorologist Joe Raineri said Tuesday, a cold front is moving onshore, with big drops in temperatures, a contrast from our warmer temperatures, with Tuesday afternoon reaching the upper 70s — not far from the record set in 1992, 79 degrees.
Meanwhile, virga are the trailing wisps attached to the base of the clouds, i.e. the jellyfish tentacles. These wisps are precipitation that will evaporate before reaching the ground.
Thus, when you combine altocumulus and virgas: jellyfish-like clouds.
PHOTOS: Portlanders share 'jellyfish clouds' drifting over area
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