Description

I had never seen one in the daytime, nevertheless as evening was setting in. I wasn't sure what it was, and it only lasted a short time. I have since found out it is a 'fallstreak', or, as coined by sailors of old, mares' tails. They are fibrous, hooked-shaped clouds that are composed of ice. Particles of ice begin to form from supercooled water droplets. As the crystals grow in size, they become too heavy to be supported by the updraft or the updraft dissipates and they begin to fall. The particles falling from the cloud compose the "tail" of the fallstreak. These particles fall at near their terminal speed, whilst in the horizontal direction, they travel nearly at the speed of the local wind. This shot was taken from my porch in a small rural NW Florida community. I just thought it was beautiful.

Exif: F Number: 4, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 10/600 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 64, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 21.10 mm, Model: DSC-H1