JACKSON, Wyo. — In 2017, for the first time since 1951, the World Meteorological Society announced 12 new cloud-related features to the International Cloud Atlas. One of these newly added cloud features was spotted over the valley in late November.

Buckrail photographer Nick Sulzer snapped some photos.

The wave-like clouds above the valley. Photo: Nick Sulzer // Buckrail

The clouds can be identified by their well-defined, wavelike structures. These formations are called Undulatus Asperatus or sometimes “asperitas.”

Blacktail Butte underneath some asperitas formations. Photo: Nick Sulzer // Buckrail

This type of cloud formation first started gaining recognition in 2006 when members of the Cloud Appreciation Society began uploading photos. A 10-year campaign ensued to recognize the asperitas as an official cloud classification.

“Asperitas clouds form in an unstable atmosphere, often influenced by the presence of atmospheric wave activity either resultant from wind shear, strong gravity waves or orographic mountain waves,” local atmospheric scientist Will Howard told Buckrail. “Typically asperitas has been associated with the passage of severe weather such as thunderstorms and other systems with significant instability.”

More asperitas undulating above. Photo: Nick Sulzer // Buckrail

Hannah is a Buckrail Staff Reporter and freelance web developer and designer who has called Jackson home since 2015. When she’s not outside, you can probably find her eating a good meal, playing cribbage, or at one of the local yoga studios. She’s interested in what makes this community tick, both from the individual and collective perspective.