1. Could have
been clouds
forming with
horizontal air
movement (say
west to east)
high up in the
atmosphere,
where the
west-to-east
moving air
encountered a
bubbling area of
turbulence
below.
Therefore, the
air was
rising (rising
air tends to
form clouds due
to adiabatic
cooling with
increasing
height) over the
layer of
turbulence,
creating the
saucer or cap
shaped clouds.
Since a
wide-spread or
elongated
parabolic cloud
didn't
form...that
would tell me
that there was
little moisture
in the
atmosphere at
that level.
2. These could
have been rare
and small
versions of
clouds most
usually seen
over tall
mountains --
lenticularis
clouds. These
clouds usually
look like stacks
of lenses or
pancakes, and
many times have
been thought to
be "flying
saucers". See
the link below
to compare.
They're also
caused by strong
west to east
winds flowing
around and over
the tops of the
highest mountain
peaks in
north-south
ranges, such as
the San Juan and
Sangre de Cristo
ranges in NM and
Colo. Most of
the time,
lenticularis
that form over
mountains will
be more
substantial in
size and shape
than what you
saw.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=lenticularis%20clouds&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
