Sky Signs

This unusual cloud was the sign for the end of the beautiful day we had on Monday. The picture looks southeast across the Sound of Mull to Ben Talla in the distance, and the cloud ran straight across the sky, from the telecommunication masts on Glengorm to the south to Glas Bheinn in the northeast. Below the cloud lies the last of the day's blue sky, retreating southeastwards. Just visible at top right above it is the first high cirrus of a front coming in from the west, which brought yesterday's dull day.

It's possible that the cloud was formed by the jetstream running along the leading edge of the advancing front. It was such a clear feature that it was visible on the BBC's evening weather forecast satellite map.

This is this morning's spectacular dawn red sky over Maclean's Nose. In this case the old shepherd's warning about 'red sky in the morning...' is likely to be right: there's a cold front working its way into western Scotland from the Atlantic, due to arrive this afternoon, with rain and high winds forecast.