GALLERY: Cumulonimbus 'anvil' clouds tower over Utah skies

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Mother Nature put on a display of convection (rising air) over the mountains, lifting moisture rapidly toward an invisible ceiling in the atmosphere.

The event began with a small cumulus cloud, and then the rising air currents kept the cloud building process going until the little cumulus cloud turned into a tall and amazing cumulonimbus cloud.

The addition of nimbus to the cloud name means it became a rain-producing cloud. The most spectacular part of the cloud occurs when it reaches an invisible ceiling that marks the end of the troposphere, which is the part of the atmosphere closest to the earth where we all live.

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This invisible ceiling is called the tropopause, and suddenly becomes visible to us earth-bound humans as the strong updrafts with the cloud send moisture slamming into this boundary and the thin cirrus clouds then spread out in all directions.

It is called the anvil, and clearly shows the ceiling of the tropopause, the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere which is the next layer of our atmosphere.

This boundary can be found between 20,000 and 60,000 feet depending mainly on pressure and temperature. It takes a lot of energy to lift moisture to these heights. I am always looking at clouds and am amazed at the raw beauty of the natural world.