Change in the Weather in Idaho

Finally some great weather in Boise today. We had only .01" of rain in August, so this was welcome. We had lots of low lying, dark clouds set in this morning. I took a few photos of them and then compared them to the pictures in my National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Weather. It turns out that they were Nimbostratus Opacus. They did not provide a lot of rain, but it was an enjoyable break from the 90's we had been experiencing. I actually ran my air conditioner while watching football in October....this is not acceptable.

The weather in the desert can be like this. Rain shadow effects here are significant. With the Owyhee Mountains to our west, we frequently get robbed of big weather in Boise. However, this system was coming directly from the south to the north. However, getting over all the mountains in Nevada with the Ruby's and Jarbidge being the final obstacles, a lot of energy was lost by the time it reached us. So, it make for a pretty day with a lot of nice formations on the ridge line of the Boise Mountains.

So, Nimbostratus Opacus was my best bet for the clouds that I was viewing. However, my field guide states that these clouds provide steady and constant rain. I know that this is not always true, but we did not get any rain out of these today. If you have a better I.D. on these clouds, let me know.