LENTICULAR CLOUDS
| Shooting Mode: Cinema / Timelapse mode: . 1800 shots, interval 2 seconds | Parameters: . Camera: Canon EOS R50 . Aperture: f/14 . Shutter Speed: 1/1600 . ISO: 800 LENTICULAR CLOUD EXPLANATION: Lenticular clouds, or lee-wave / cap clouds form when a stable layer of moist air and constant laminar flow of air (by wind) is disturbed by a large terrain obstacle, such as a mountain, tall building, and even some large hills. This causes the airflow to start moving in wave-like shapes, where due to the conditions, the air near / in the crest of the wave condenses into a smooth, saucer or lens-like cloud while it evaporates near the bottom. For a multi-layered, or 'stacked' lenticular such as this, multiple sandwiched layers of moist and dry air need to be present. HOW TO TELL A LENTICULAR CLOUD FROM A REGULAR ONE: 1. Shape If a cloud is shaped like a smooth lens, almond or saucer, there is a pretty high chance it is a lenticular WARNING: Some large fluffy clouds that are experiencing strong vertical growth (through updrafts / convection) MAY have a cap-like or lenticular-like cloud on top of one of the towers. This is NOT a lenticular cloud, instead it is a Pileus cloud which is also very interesting. ADDITIONAL NOTE: Lenticular clouds may not appear perfectly round/almond shaped, some have trails and others can be elongated. 2. Location Lenticulars form most oftentimes near or in mountainous / hilly areas, as they provide the correct large land barriers that cause a wave shape in the airflow. 3. Behavior Most lenticular clouds appear stationary or reform in the same location for long amounts of time (in this case, the shot was 1 hour long and the clouds evolved quite a lot but remained in the same location nonetheless. Classifications of lenticular clouds: There are 4 'main' kinds of lenticular clouds: - Stratocumulus Lenticularis: a low-level almond/lens shape cloud, usually flat and without much detail - Altocumulus Lenticularis: the lenticulars present in this image and the ones that most people talk about, with the potential to become stacked or vertically higher and UFO shaped when the conditions are right. - Cirrocumulus Lenticularis: A high level cloud (usually above 20,000 feet) which appears much smaller from the ground, and appearing thinner due to its composition being mostly ice crystals instead of water.
