Odd Wave Cloud Above Montella

August 31, 2005

Sexy_cloud_spain_05

Provided by: Alexandra Clua
Summary authors & editors: Alexandra Clua; Jim Foster

This strange looking lenticular wave cloud was observed on June 17, near Montella, Spain, a small village about 40 km south of Andorra, near the Sierra Cadi (part of the Pyrenees Mountains). Lenticular clouds are most often orographic in nature, and they result from waves in the air flow on the leeward side of a barrier, typically a mountain range. Once formed, they can remain nearly stationary with respect to a given location for several hours. On occasion, they take on rather bizarre shapes and can be quite attention-getting since their appearance is often considerably different from other clouds in their general vicinity, as is the case above.

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