Wave Clouds from Airplane Window
February 28, 2004
Provided by: Kenneth Lange
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Kenneth Lange
During a flight from Los Angeles, California to Des Moines, Iowa on October 3, 2003, I observed the wave clouds pictured above. These cloud formations can occur after the passage of a cold front, for instance, when air crosses a mountain or other such topographic barrier. They're typically observed when the lower atmospheric is stable -- vertical motion is rather limited. The wind flow is perpendicular to these wave clouds.
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