Thick cirrostratus seems a dismal scene to a man of lower latitudes, when framed by trees that are still leafless in April! One thing you can count on up north for nearly half the year: lots of stratiform clouds—anything gray, dismal and overcast. But even the gloomy can be beautiful in a stark sort of way. Cirrostratus can be hard to judge for height, and thus difficult to distinguish from altostratus, especially if it’s very dense (as was this) and homogeneously fills the sky. Fortunately for that purpose, I had seen the development and thickening of these clouds for much of the morning, off and on, to gauge their character. A cirrostratus deck at night, from almost 20 years layer and 300 miles to the southwest, can be seen here.
Liberty MO (7 Apr 96) Looking E
39.2458, -94.4156