As the first really intense heat of the spring baked Western Australia, a remarkable weather phenomenon unfolded.
Because the clouds had a very unusual source of moisture, that's why.
Cumulus clouds are the puffy "cotton wool" clouds with which we are all familiar, and they require heat and moisture to form. Heat in that part of Australia is a given at this time of year, but moisture is usually lacking in a region that includes parts of both the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts.above show, 2023 winter rainfall was way above the long-term average in the areas where the cumulus cloud "dots" formed this week.
All that extra rain made lush grass grow in areas where the ground cover is usually dusty or stony when the springtime heat arrives, and this week's clouds dots drew their moisture from the unseasonably lush vegetation. That's right, cloud can actually also form by drawing moisture from vegetation through a process known as "
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