High-school student Chen Shen (Member 65,442) saw this row of orographic Stratocumulus clouds at Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan Province, China. The term ‘orographic’ is used for clouds whose formation was influenced by mountains. Chen’s Stratocumulus developed as moist air was forced to rise as it reached the Cang Mountain range. It cooled as it rose, and this caused some of its moisture to condense into clouds, which Chen described as a ‘fluffy quilt for the mountain ridge’.
Thursday 2nd April 2026
April 2, 2026