Lenticular Clouds Above Mount St. Helens
February 04, 2008
Provided by: Kyle Hokanson
Summary Author and Editor: Jim Foster, Kyle Hokanson
The photo above showing lenticular wave clouds seemingly emanating from the snow-covered summit of Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington was taken on October 22, 2007. Lenticular clouds are observed when stable air near saturation is forced to flow over mountain ranges, elevated plateaus or high hills. The lifting cools the air to the saturation point thus forming clouds. Lenticulars appear stationary because they're confined to wave crests, which often migrate quite slowly. Photo taken from the U.S. Forest Service VolcanoCam.