Most of us would agree that we could do with a bit more sunshine this month. The situation becomes even more frustrating when we realize that today has already had about 4 hours of wall to wall sunshine!!
The trouble is that it occurred between about 04.30 & 0830 & since then it has completely clouded over---& not because any fronts are approaching
Once the sun rose this morning, it began heating the surface. At first the heating was very weak, but by 0800 was significant enough to allow bubbles of warmed-up air to rise into the cooler air aloft, much like a hot air balloon or a Chinese lantern.
At a certain height, the water vapour contained in these rising bubbles of air condenses.into cumulus clouds, which on occasions, as today, merge into a continuous sheet of cloud called STRATOCUMULUS (as in photograph)