Uncommon Cloud Formations

Lenticular clouds (so named because they are shaped like a lentil seed… or a lens [UPDATE]) form along mountain ranges, and are occasionally mistaken for UFOs:
Unlike other clouds, lenticular clouds don’t move. No matter how strong the wind is, lenticular clouds stay in a fixed position in relation to the mountain range or the observer. The reason for this is that the air being forced up by the mountains, or by the standing waves, cools off as it rises and expands. As with other clouds, this causes the water vapour that it contains to condense and form the cloud but, in the case of the lenticular cloud, the air, or wind if you like, keeps going and soon starts to descend again after it passes the top of the mountain or wave. This causes the air to heat up and revapourise the condensed water so the air becomes clear again. This forms the cloud shape, but the material that is making the shape is constantly forming and disappearing as the wind flows through it.

Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds are formed when
there are two parallel layers of air that are usually moving at different speeds and in opposite directions. The upper layer of air usually moves faster than the lower layer because there is less friction. In order for us to see this shear layer, there must be enough water vapor in the air for a cloud to form
* A gallery of uncommon cloud formations.
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