Mammatus Clouds Observed Over Częstochowa, Poland! (credit: Adrian Nowak via Meteo Europe)

DISCUSSION: Just days ago, a very neat phenomena was observed over Częstochowa, Poland (which a city located in southern Poland).  This phenomena was that seen in the image above which were the mammatus clouds observed over Częstochowa, Poland.  To learn more about mammatus clouds, here is more information on them courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration!

"For mammatus clouds to form, the sinking air must be cooler than the air around it and have high liquid water or ice content. They derive their name from their appearance, like the bag-like sacs that hang beneath the cloud resemble cow's udders.

Mammatus are long-lived if the sinking air contains large drops and snow crystals since larger particles require greater amounts of energy for evaporation to occur. Over time, the cloud droplets do eventually evaporate and the mammatus dissolve.

Despite popular misconception, mammatus clouds are not a sign that a tornado is about to form. While associated with thunderstorms, mammatus clouds are not necessarily an indicator of severe weather. Mammatus result from the sinking of moist air into dry air. They are in essence upside-down clouds. The sharp boundary of mammatus is much like the sharp boundary of a rising cumulonimbus cloud before an anvil has formed."

To learn more about other neat weather events occurring across Europe, be sure to click here!

©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz