The rise and fall of colliding air columns can make cloud patterns—gravity waves—similar to a boat’s wake.
Published Jul 14, 2016
Like a massive, ethereal bird gliding into the Persian Gulf, a large cluster of wave clouds spans the Arabian Sea from Oman to India. This cloud formation is likely an undular bore, which is created in the interaction between the cool, dry air in a low-pressure system with a stable layer of warm, moist air.
Published Jun 9, 2007
Dry air surging off the western coast of Africa ran into a wall of moist air over the Atlantic, creating a distinctive line in a marine cloud layer.
Published Feb 28, 2013
When undular bores ripple through the atmosphere, they leave remarkable patterns in the clouds.
Published Oct 9, 2020
Events on Earth’s surface can affect the development and shape of clouds in the sky.
Published Jan 3, 2017Image of the Day Heat Land Water Snow and Ice Remote Sensing
Downdrafts from thunderstorms sometimes fuel thin bands of cumulus clouds that race ahead of cold fronts.
Published Feb 13, 2016
Like ripples on a pond, a series of long, circular wave clouds radiate out from the coast of West Africa in this pair of photo-like images.
Published Oct 20, 2007
Cold air moving over relatively warm ocean water produced a pattern of clouds that lined up in organized rows.
Published Nov 14, 2019
Cloud streets form thousands of feet above the Earth’s surface.
Published Mar 12, 2017
Cool air moving across Arctic sea ice gives rise to long parallel bands of cumulus clouds over the Norwegian Sea.
Published Mar 31, 2016Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Water Unique Imagery Snow and Ice
The island itself is almost too small see in this image, but it serves as the starting point for the clouds that flow toward the northeast in a giant V shape. Amsterdam Island is a volcanic summit, the northernmost volcano on the Antarctic tectonic plate.
Published Dec 30, 2005
Valentine’s Day didn't warm a lot of hearts in the eastern United States.
Published Feb 16, 2016
Cold and dry air from Siberia typically produce this cloud formation over the sea from November through January.
Published Jan 7, 2018
Distinctive lines of clouds that mirror the shape of the shore hang over the Aral Sea in this photo-like image.
Published Mar 25, 2009
Data collected by a sensor on the Aqua satellite reveals the global distribution of clouds.
Published May 8, 2015
This astronaut view of blending air masses, wind fields, and light reflections is a combination of beauty and of insight about the environment.
Published Jul 22, 2013
A temperature inversion most likely created this stunning view of low clouds hugging the contours of the Sichuan Basin in Central China in early December 2008.
Published Dec 27, 2008
