Often times mammatus clouds form during a thunderstorm. During a thunderstorm there is a strong updraft which draws water molecules up from below. Up in the sky, the water condenses, becoming part of the thunderstorm cloud (anvil cloud). Because of the updraft, the water still rises and rises until it gets to the altitude of 57,000 feet. At this altitude, the water freezes into ice crystals and spreads out side to side. The ice crystals, grouped together, begin to sink because they have a higher density than the air. When the sinking ice crystals reach the bottom of the thunderstorm cloud, they sink a little bit more because of the large clusters of ice, and then stop creating a melon-field like impression of clouds.
To sum that up into one sentence: mammatus clouds form from cold icy air sinking from the top to the bottom of a thunderstorm cloud.
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