A Lenticular Cloud Over Hawai'i
			
		
		
			Credit & Copyright:  
Peter Michaud 
(Gemini Obs.)
		
		
			Can a cloud do that?  
Actually, pictured above are several 
clouds all stacked up into one striking 
lenticular cloud.  
Normally, air moves much more horizontally 
than it does vertically.  
Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a 
mountain or a 
hill, relatively 
strong vertical oscillations take place as the air stabilizes.  
The dry air at the 
top of an oscillation may be quite 
stratified in moisture content, and hence forms 
clouds at each layer where the air saturates with moisture.
The result can be a 
lenticular cloud with a 
strongly layered appearance.
The above picture was taken last week near Mauna Kea, 
Hawaii, 
USA.