Marine stratocumulus clouds invade Peru’s southern coast

Marine stratocumulus clouds invade Peru’s southern coast Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features marine stratocumulus clouds invading the valleys along Peru’s southern coast, which are among the deepest on Earth.

The oceanic and atmospheric conditions that produce marine stratocumulus clouds off the coast of Peru often emerge during early spring, as well as during the austral winter from June through August.

Marine clouds are usually prevented from moving inland because they are low and are easily blocked by coastal hills and mountains.  North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be described as the northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. Because it is on the North American Tectonic Plate, Greenland is included as part of North America geographically. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 16.5% of the Earth’s land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third-largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa

In this image, the low valleys of the Yauca and Acarí river canyons have allowed the clouds to move inland.

According to the Met Office, stratocumulus clouds are indicators of a change in the weather and are usually present near a warm, cold or occluded front.

Image Credit:  NASA Earth Observatory 

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer