Weather Flashback

Summary

The high layer of cloudiness in this scene is an orphan anvil. Orphan anvils occur when the lower portion of a cumulonimbus cloud dissipates; leaving behind the upper portion of the cumulonimbus cloud.  Orphan anvils form when cumulus convection below is no longer strong enough to support updraft. This could be due entrainment of (much) drier air at mid levels of the cumulonimbus cloud and/or the movement of a cumulonimbus cloud away from its updraft source.