View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Sheryl R. Garrison in Southern Alberta, Canada, took this picture of lenticular clouds on November 12, 2022. Sheryl wrote: “It appeared like a space invasion as we headed towards the mountains on the weekend. I couldn’t assist however consider the headline … Breaking Information: Rocky Mountains Invaded by Lenticular Clouds.” Thanks, Sheryl!
Lenticular clouds are lens-shaped or saucer-shaped clouds. Typically, they sometimes kind the place steady moist air flows over mountains. When this occurs, a sequence of large-scale standing waves could kind on the mountain’s downwind aspect. Then, if the temperature on the crest of the wave drops to the dew point, moisture within the air could condense to kind lenticular clouds. In consequence, because the moist air strikes again down into the trough of the wave, the cloud could evaporate again into vapor. So, lenticular clouds can seem and disappear comparatively shortly.
Conversely, individuals who reside in low-lying or flat terrain are unfamiliar with lenticular clouds. And, simply to confound issues, lenticular clouds sometimes additionally kind in non-mountainous locations as the results of shear winds created by a weather front. Subsequently, individuals usually mistake lenticular clouds for UFOs.
Take pleasure in these images of gorgeous lenticular clouds from EarthSky neighborhood members all over the world. And, you may share your personal lenticular cloud images with us at EarthSky Community Photos.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tirza Grant took this picture of lenticular clouds on December 27, 2022, from Rancho Mirage, California. Thanks, Tirza!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Meiying Lee shared this picture from Syue Mountain, Taichung, Taiwan. Meiying wrote: “At 7:42 within the morning of August 23, 2022, after climbing at midnight for almost 4 hours, I lastly reached the primary peak of Syue Mountain. It’s the 2nd highest mountain in Taiwan with an altitude of three,886 meters. The climate was clear and I used to be very fortunate to fulfill a lovely, clear lenticular cloud within the blue sky and mountains. It appeared like a hat, and really very like a UFO.” Thanks, Meiying!
Images of lenticular clouds in 2021
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Terri Jonas in a airplane over Mount Rainier captured this picture of lenticular clouds on September 14, 2021. Terri wrote: “I am going between Sacramento and Seattle a pair instances every week by airline and all the time look out to see the Cascade volcanoes alongside the way in which. I beloved seeing the lenticular clouds on this day. It appeared tremendous attention-grabbing to me! I really like clouds as a lot as volcanoes and mountains!” We do, too! Thanks, Terri!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jill Phipps in Tucson, Arizona, captured this picture on January 18, 2021. She stated: “These clouds caught my eye as I used to be driving house final evening. I had by no means seen something like them. To me they appeared like alien craft, or stacks of pancakes.” Thanks for sharing your picture with us, Jill!
Images from earlier than 2021
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Doug Blaney of Weed, California, captured this picture on February 12, 2020. It’s one in every of many lenticular clouds seen on this space. Weed is about 10 miles (16 km) west-northwest of Mount Shasta, which is one in every of California’s most well-known landmarks. Learn concerning the lenticular clouds close to Weed, California, within the Washington Post. Thanks, Doug!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Roberts caught this picture of lenticular clouds over Mt. Rainier, Washington, on June 6, 2017. Thanks, David!View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Richard Doyle captured this lenticular cloud at Qualicum Seashore, British Columbia, Canada, on April 11, 2014. Thanks, Richard!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Richard Hasbrouck caught this picture in Truchas, New Mexico, on January 11, 2014. Thanks, Richard!View larger. | Lenticular clouds over Sangre de Cristo mountains, New Mexico, by EarthSky Facebook pal Geraint Smith. See one other picture of lenticular clouds by Geraint Smith in EarthSky Community Photos.
Backside line: Lenticular clouds seem like UFOs. See images of lenticular clouds in numerous components of the world, from the EarthSky neighborhood.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio sequence in 1991 and based EarthSky.org in 1994. At present, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this web site. She has gained a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, together with having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a power for good on the planet and an important software for the twenty first century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like internet hosting a giant world occasion for cool nature-lovers,” she says.
