Indianola Playground Mural

The Mountain's Out: Art and nursery rhyme by Sydni Sterling 2024

The Mountain's out...

...surrounded in Lenticular clouds and wearing a cloud cap. Lenticular clouds are formed when winds come off the ocean. As the wind hits the mountain it is forced to rise, and that's when we see the water vapor cool and condense into a cloud that looks like a cap. The air currents then move down the mountain forming small rotor clouds near the ground. Lenticular clouds are often a sign that wet weather is just around the corner.

A lenticular cloud is a good "forecast indicator" as tall mountains accentuate incoming high-level moisture well ahead of an approaching front. This interception of high-level moisture forms lenticular clouds, and as a result, they are a good warning sign of an approaching weather front and sometimes a big snowstorm.

Lenticular clouds are quite common but they may seem strange. The spiritual meaning of the cloud is why they're distinct. The Lenticular cloud is considered an emblem of mystery and wonder across many cultures. In some Native American cultures, lenticular clouds are believed to be the place where spirits reside.

Here are some facts about Takhoma. Its height is 14,410 feet, making it the fourth highest mountain in the continental United States. Its glaciers hold more snow and ice than the twelve other Cascade volcanoes combined.

Takhoma's twenty-five separate, named glaciers comprise the largest single-peak glacier system in the United States outside of Alaska. The largest of these glaciers descend into forested lowlands near the foot of the mountain. Measurements of the movement of the Nisqually Glacier date from 1857 and become detailed after the turn of the century, constituting the longest such record in the Western Hemisphere.