Upper level instability can be a thing of beauty

Greetings all!  Little to no change in the forecast, though a little more uncertainty is returning as to whether or not we're going to see thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday.  Temperatures are still on track to skyrocket, and we're sure to see some rain, timing aside.

While I was out to lunch today I looked up and saw some of the most beautiful and picturesque cirrocumulus clouds I've ever seen.  When these form on a hazy, humid day, watch out - storms are likely brewing.  When they form on a nice, high pressure day like today, however, they won't carry any omens with them.  Basically, these clouds represent upper level instability.  The air at the upper levels of the troposphere can be unstable and shift around without ever affecting the weather on the Earth's surface; only when surface-based air containing adequate moisture rises into such an environment do we get trouble, and on a day like today, that's all but impossible due to layers of warm, stable air at the mid levels.