Noctilucent Clouds

Tracking Areas of Fire Weather, Severe Weather, and Winter Weather

Gusty winds and dry conditions will continue to bring fire weather concerns to the southern Plains through Friday. Severe thunderstorms including a few tornadoes, large hail and damaging wind gusts are expected across parts of the Midwest and lower Ohio Valley today. A Pacific storm will bring low elevation rain and thunderstorms across southern California and heavy snow through the Sierra. Read More >

Noctilucent Clouds

On the morning of October 28^th,rare noctilucent clouds were visible over Monterey. Noctilucent clouds are thin silvery-blue cirrus-like clouds frequently seen during summer twilight conditions at high latitudes (above 50°) in both hemispheres. These clouds are primarily composed of ice crystals at heights 50-70 miles above the earth's surface. (source) However, the clouds seen this morning were formed by the launch of the NPOESS Preparatory Project spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Below are two images of the noctilucent clouds.