There are several clouds stacked into this lenticular cloud over the Island of Hawaii. Air usually moves more horizontally than vertically but when wind comes off a mountain, strong vertical oscillations take place. The clouds form layers where the air is saturated with moisture. While the cloud looks as though it's stationary, the wind speed is extremely high. Glider pilots love these clouds. If the wind speed is higher than the glider's stall speed then the glider can head directly into the wind. This feels like being suspended in space although the instruments indicate the glider is still flying.
This lenticular cloud was not photoshopped. It was taken by Kay Ekwall and has been used all over the world, boldly going where no cloud has gone before. A case of being in the right spot at the right time.
4 comments:
I once noticed that one brand of thingy* from inside a toilet tank looked like the S. S. Enterprise. But that is nuthin' compared to this cloud. It is fantabulous. Thanks for sharing it.
Janet
Oh, I forgot to add this:
*by thingy I meant plunger or bobber or whatever the name is of that rubber part that stops up the hole as the tank is filling.
Beautiful cloud photographs.
Janet, don't worry, every woman here would know exactly what you meant by "thingy".
My computer faces a large window much like yours does Laura, so cloud gazing is part of waiting for dail-up.
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