Cloudscapes: Muse Fuel

Clouds, you say? What's so fascinating about them?

Ah, the poor, dissed cloud. So often we think of clouds as merely "overcast" or "gray." As writers, do we often overlook the variety and possibilities of clouds?

Clouds can serve as harbingers of more than just the weather. They can set tone and inspire a sense of majesty, danger, terror, impending doom, hope, magic, mystery, wonder, anticipation, or awe, to name just a few emotions.

Here, as fuel for your muse, are some amazing photos of New Mexico cloud formations courtesy of The National Weather Service Cloud Landscape.

A Lenticular cloud formation over Espanola in January 2009, looking very much like a hovering mothership. Whimsical? Or an omen? Photo by Joe Schiel.


Mammatus cloud formations over San Jon in Jun 2003. Imagine your MC staring up at a sky full of ominous spheres. Or is it a sign of hope? Photo by Gerald White.


Double Cloud Shadow in June 2007. Eerie, yet inspiring. Photo by Becky Ramotowski.


Dawn on the Caja Del Rio Plateau in February 2007. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. No oceans in this vicinity, so what other superstitions might it inspire? Photo by Charles Harrison.


Dissipating rainclouds near Roswell. Roswell? *queue Twilight Zone theme* Photo by Steve Johnson.


More mammatus clouds from May 2004. A great wall of water vapor. Photo by Jay Blackwood.


A shelf cloud over Glenrio in July 2005. I don't know about you, but seeing something like this incites a feeling of apprehension. Are clouds supposed to look like that? What powerful forces in the atmosphere would cause this pattern to form?


This is a pyrocumulus formation. As the scientific name implies, the pyrocumulus are actually clouds formed by large fires, such as the Pine Canyon Fire in September 2005. Wildfires can create their own weather patterns. Photo by Linda Hawson.


Sunset over Albuquerque in 2004. This sunsets marks a transition between two realities, the very different realms of day and night. Photo by Jay Blackwood.

I hope you've enjoyed and been inspired by your journey through these majestic clouds. Altogether now. Ooooooh! Ahhhhhh!