Interesting clouds

Cap'n Jack

Cap'n Jack

Final Approach
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Cap'n Jack
Sorry- no pictures.

I was driving home and saw a towering cumulus uild in front of me. As it grew, I saw what appeared to be 2 standing lenticular clouds above it. The cumulus continued growing and distorted the lennies, and punched through them- the lenticulars merged with the cumulus (may have been a cumulonimbus).

Were the lenticulars formed by the same mechanism that they form over mountains?

If the winds were stong enough to make lenticulars, whay wasn't the building cumulus torn up?

I'd have taken pictures but the clouds had merged by the time I got home, it just would have been a shot of a towering cumulus or cumulonimbus.
 
cumulusclouds.jpg
 
A few weekends ago I also saw clouds like that and wondered how they formed.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
This is more or less what it looked like, but with only 2 lennies.
Click to expand...

My guess is the atmosphere was rather unstable at the surface and up to the level where a high speed jet stream was active.. Also there seems to be a temp inversion at that same level for two reasons..
1 - the presence of the Lennies..
2- the very top of the CB has rather smooth looking surfaces instead of the lumpy looks. High winds and warmer air will contribute to that scenerio.. IMHO.

Great pics though..... I Love clouds..:yesnod::yesnod::yesnod:

Ben.
 
yes they are lennies and form from the same processes that form lennies in the mountains. the cumulus was probably not torn up in the wind because the updraft velocity was enough to keep it organized.

There are many examples of glider pilots working lift on the upwind side of cumulus clouds in a similar manner to ridge lift and also of flying in wave that is created by cumulus buildups.
 
tonycondon said:
yes they are lennies and form from the same processes that form lennies in the mountains. the cumulus was probably not torn up in the wind because the updraft velocity was enough to keep it organized.

There are many examples of glider pilots working lift on the upwind side of cumulus clouds in a similar manner to ridge lift and also of flying in wave that is created by cumulus buildups.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Air acting as a barrier to air...interesting!
 
tonycondon said:
yes they are lennies and form from the same processes that form lennies in the mountains. the cumulus was probably not torn up in the wind because the updraft velocity was enough to keep it organized.

There are many examples of glider pilots working lift on the upwind side of cumulus clouds in a similar manner to ridge lift and also of flying in wave that is created by cumulus buildups.
Click to expand...

Are you saying Lennies are NOT created by 'high' winds blowing across a ridgeline ?
 
N801BH said:
Are you saying Lennies are NOT created by 'high' winds blowing across a ridgeline ?
Click to expand...

i'm not sure how to accurately respond to that. i get confused by not statements.

Lennies are caused by any lifting of air in a stable airmass to the point where the water condenses. This lifting mechanism could be downstream ripples caused by the dropoff from a ridgeline or some sort of atmospheric barrier. there are lots of different mechanisms that cause waves in the atmosphere. we used to often see miles and miles of wave bars in Iowa, far from any ridgeline that could produce wave. Likely an atmostpheric barrier somewhere upwind causing that. It doesn't take mountains either, I've seen satellite photos of wave clouds caused by the mississippi river valley on the iowa/wisonsin and iowa/illinois border
 
N801BH said:
Are you saying Lennies are NOT created by 'high' winds blowing across a ridgeline ?
Click to expand...

I agree with Tony, I hate "not" statements.
Any amount of airflow over a "ridge" can cause a "lennie" effect.
Orographic lifting up any surface matter can cause condensation in the rising airflow. In this instance the lennie is a cap cloud on the "surface matter" that is another cloud.

The rising CU is one airmass rising into another airmass of the upper level airflow. Temperature differences, etc. The rising CU becomes a "ridge" forcing the upper level airflow to rise up and over the CU. Orogrpahic lifting and forced condensation.

Ever "ridge soar" up the exposed face of a CU above the cloud base of the CU?
 
This just passed over my house in the last hour with a line of storms right behind it:

310172_10150335249603650_546033649_8202076_2145754791_n.jpg
 
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