Friday, August 28, 2015

Mackerel Sky More Wet than Dry

Summer rains are coming, and that's a good thing. It's been really dry this year and Powell Lake where my cabin floats is at a record low.

An old weather saying, "mackerel sky, more wet than dry," comes to mind. Clouds here in Coastal BC offer a beautiful display in addition to their forecasting properties. I'm constantly taking pictures of the sky in all of its moods.


A mackerel sky is made up of altocumulus clouds, indicators of moisture and instability in the atmosphere. The clouds ride at intermediate levels from 2400-6100 metres (8000-20,000 feet). Altocumulus clouds often precede rain showers or snow flurries.


"Mackerel sky" is the common name for these clouds because they look like scales on a mackerel. -- Margy

8 comments:

  1. Beautiful skies, and keeping my fingers crossed you get some rain out of those mackerel skies!

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  2. What else can you say about this sky but beautiful?

    Worth a Thousand Words

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  3. Spectacular sky shots, Margy. I'm looking forward to the rain in Vancouver this weekend ;-)

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  4. I love those skies!!!!

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  5. Those cloud formations are pretty impressive!

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  6. We heard the rain finally came to the west coast. Great cloud photos.

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  7. I saw some of your recent posts - love your floating garden! Clouds are such fascinating things, never being the same twice!

    Lisa at Tales from the Love Shaque

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy