Top Tweets for #waveclouds
🟥 ☁️ Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds
Often called "wave clouds" or "billow clouds," these are rare, visually striking cloud formations resembling rolling ocean waves or breaking crests.
❤️ 🔁 #KelvinHelmholtzClouds #WaveClouds
🎞 @BenjaminBrownSteiner
▶️ They typically appear as a series of regular, horizontal, wave-like bands or curls in the sky, often at the boundary between two atmospheric layers.
These clouds are usually thin and wispy, resembling cirrus or altocumulus clouds, and are most visible during sunset or sunrise when illuminated by low-angle sunlight, giving them a dramatic, glowing appearance.
They form under specific meteorological conditions involving strong wind shear, where two adjacent air masses move at different speeds or directions.
Typically, a faster-moving layer of air flows over a slower-moving layer, creating instability at their interface.
This shear triggers turbulent eddies that roll up into wave-like patterns, similar to ripples on water.
The clouds form when moisture in the air condenses within these turbulent waves, making the patterns visible.
They are often associated with strong vertical wind shear near jet streams or frontal boundaries and are most common at altitudes of 16,500 to 40,000 feet (5–12 km) in the upper troposphere.
▶️ Wind Shear Setup: A significant difference in wind speed or direction exists between two adjacent air layers, often near a temperature inversion or jet stream.
▶️ Instability Development: The shear creates a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, where the faster-moving air causes the interface to become wavy, forming rolling eddies.
▶️ Condensation: If sufficient moisture is present, water vapor condenses into visible cloud droplets within the wave crests, outlining the turbulent patterns.
▶️ Short-Lived Nature: These clouds are transient, typically lasting only a few minutes, as the turbulence dissipates or conditions change.
🟥 ☁️ Asperitas clouds
They are rare, dramatic wave-like formations resembling a turbulent sea from below.
❤️ 🔁 #AsperitasClouds #WaveClouds
🎞 @entertainmentinc8062
▶️ Recognized in 2015, they're supplementary features of stratocumulus/altocumulus clouds, appearing as chaotic billows in unstable mid-latitude weather.
▶️ Moist stratocumulus/altocumulus layer forms.
Horizontal wind variations create Kelvin-Helmholtz waves.
Updrafts/downdrafts distort cloud base into undulations.
Cooling moist air forms pouch-like structures. Dissipate in 10-30 minutes, often before rain/storms.
Just saw a perfect KH wave cloud sitting @yvrairport awaiting my flight! 🌊☁️
📍 Vancouver Intl Airport | 1754h PT | 10 Oct 2025
#ShareYourWeather #BCStorm #BCStormWatch #WaveClouds #YVR #YVRwx #KelvinHelmholtz
Those are some beautiful KH #clouds — not as rare as one might think but to get ones like this in the PNW, a little more rare.
Another reminder our atmosphere acts like a fluid!
Nice catch Ben, gotta tag @brendonme for these ones
#WaveClouds #KHclouds #SweetCloudAction #WAwx
Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds spotted short time ago as viewed from Lake Stevens. #wawx
Day 13 in #Japan and I finally get some messy #KelvinHelmholtz #WaveClouds over the hills near Mt Fuji.
This one’s for you @brendonme! 🗻🌊☁️
#ShareYourWeather #KHckoud #SweetCloudAction #Fujiyoshida #Japan
A timelapse of some baby Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud action in the clouds above @iah airport in #Houston #TX — a nice one at the end! 🌊☁️
#SweetCloudAction #TXwx #IAHwx #HOUwx #WaveClouds #KHcloud #Timelapse @CloudAppSoc
As the sun rises this morning, @NOAA's #GOESEast 🛰️ can make out some beautiful #WaveClouds over part of the Appalachian mountains, and a long line of #thunderstorms moving out over the Atlantic Ocean.
Get your Tuesday forecast here: https://t.co/wJGBXDcNu2
But if @brendonme isn’t tagged did they really even happen? 😜
#KHwaveclouds #WaveClouds #KelvinHelmholtz
Check out these cool Kelvin-helmholtz clouds over the San Luis Valley this evening. I've been waiting a long time to capture this awesome phenomenon! @CReppWx #cowx #waveclouds
Mtn #waveclouds on the leeward side of the #OlympicMountains where the wind downslopes creating clearing as it warms & dries, as the wind moves back up, clouds reform & are near stationary as the wind flows thru them.
(Diagram below)
Oh and nice #timelapse @WhidbeyWXGuy!
#WAwx
1-hour timelapse of the lenticular cloud display over the Olympic Mountains this morning! (With Music)
Higher-res➡️https://t.co/VAkIqxfPsM
#wawx #pnw @KClarkWx @KSeattleWeather @NWSSeattle @RandySmall @wheeler244 @BenJurkovichWX @SeattleWXGuy @ScottSeattleWx @ensembleator
This Day Snow/Fog composite from @NOAA’s #GOESEast 🛰️ helps us distinguish between #WaveClouds rippling over New England (bright blue/white) and snow on the ground across parts of the Northeast (maroon).
Learn more about what causes wave clouds here: https://t.co/BJpxiZiyDO
While not the prettiest, day 3 of #KelvinHelmholtz #WaveClouds being spotted over Metro #Vancouver #BC — these ones over #WestVancouver on the #NorthShore! 🌊☁️
#ShareYourWeather #KHcloud #SweetCloudAction #BCwx #YVRwx #BCstorm @brendonme @Brad604 @KGordonGlobalBC @jwhittalTWN
Ok, now these are next level #KelvinHelmholtz #WaveClouds over #Colorado this AM! 🌊☁️
Usually on the BC coast you see them atop clouds above the stable layer below. These ones condensing as the moisture moves into the cooler unstable layer above!🤩
#SweetCloudAction @brendonme
Some more #KelvinHelmholtz #WaveClouds this week as fog and winds aloft make for the perfect conditions for some atmospheric wave making! 😀
Oh and beautiful views Brad!
#SweetCloudAction
This morning, @NOAA’s #GOESEast 🛰️ is treating us to a lovely view of #WaveClouds rippling over the #Northeast. These clouds form when stable air flows over a raised feature—such as mountains—causing air to rise and descend repeatedly.
Learn more: https://t.co/U7OZ7VRyWe
@MattMakens @TubbsShow
Check out the waves I caught here in Cape Canaveral, FL!
#flwx #Kelvin_Helmholtz #waveclouds
GM! Here's a new midjourney series called Wave Clouds. It envisions audio spectrograms, waveforms, and other acoustic phenomena as cloud formations.
#wip #ai #midjourney #spectrograms #cloudscape #waveclouds
This morning, @NOAA’s #GOESEast 🛰️ is treating us to a lovely view of #WaveClouds rippling over the #Northeast.
These clouds form when stable air flows over a raised feature—such as mountains—causing air to rise and descend repeatedly.
Learn more: https://t.co/pJ6pTzgTM5
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