Pancake cloud
Monday, August 24, 2026
 |
| Photo by Barbara Twaddell |
Hopefully someone will provide the correct name for this cloud; in the meantime I get to call it a pancake.
I don't recall seeing one like this before. Apparently it cast a dark shadow and dropped a small amount of moisture.
--Diane Hettrick
Posts
3 comments:
This is a lenticular cloud (Altocumulus lenticularis).
Appearance: These clouds are stationary, lens- or saucer-shaped formations that often resemble stacked pancakes, UFOs, or smooth plates.
How They Form: They form when moist air flows over a topographic barrier—like a mountain range or large hill—creating a series of atmospheric standing waves. As the moist air cools at the crest of the wave, it condenses into a cloud, re-evaporating as the air descends on the other side.
Lenticular Cloud
Those sneaky UFOs, disguised as clouds... clever!
Post a Comment