A Cloudspotter's Paradise...

If you found yourself in clear conditions either side of Thursday's frequent downpours, some impressive skyscapes were on offer.

Many appeared courtesy of dramatic Cumulonimbus clouds, towering right up to the tropopause above parts of Somerset and Wiltshire.

I managed to snap this beauty while solidly stuck in a lengthy jam on the M32 at Fishponds, heading out of Bristol from work at around 4.30pm.

And what a corker of a cloud it was, too.

A mature thunderstorm - Cumulonimbus incus - seen from Fishponds, Bristol, 22 October 2009. Notice the pouch-like mammatus clouds visible at centre, directly above the church.

This Cumulonimbus incus had reached a mature phase, complete with a spectacular plume-like anvil, formed entirely of ice crystals, being swept away far to the northwest by the winds aloft.

The storm was located out east over Wiltshire, giving localised downpours there and a flash or two of lightning. As well as some mildly annoying reflections (no, they're not UFO's), my photo shows distinctive mammatus clouds billowing down from the underside of the anvil, signifying where cold air - having been carried high in vertical updrafts - was now sinking from this massive cloud's outflow.

If you took any similar shots of yesterday's showers and storms, do send them in to me - I'll put some here on the blog.

UPDATE Saturday 24 October - YOUR PHOTOS:

Paul Hayers sent me this excellent photo of the same storm (below), seen at a closer distance from his home in Kingswood. "It looked like marshmallows dropping out of the cloud," says Paul, describing the mammatus formation very evident in his picture...

Tom Hughes watched the storm from Wick, located out on the A420 east of Bristol: "I must admit, I'm a weather nut and am always looking for interesting weather," he tells me. Glad I'm not the only one, Tom! Thanks for your close-up photo of the mammatus (below). The storm must have loomed impressively at your location...