Peculiar Lenticular Cloud
July 19, 2006
Provided by: Lode Verhelst
Summary authors & editors: Lode Verhelst
This peculiar lenticular cloud was observed over Ursel, Belgium on April 28, 2006. Normally, air moves much more horizontally than it does vertically. On occasion, however, such as when wind comes off of a mountain or a hill, relatively strong vertical oscillations take place as the air stabilizes. The air at the top of an oscillation may be quite stratified in terms of its moisture content, and clouds will form at each layer where the air becomes saturated. The result can be a lenticular cloud with a strongly layered appearance. The lenticular cloud pictured above, which resembles a mathematical figure, formed in a single tilted layer -- the "top" is visible on the left, while the "bottom" is on the right.
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