Bizarre Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves Appear Over Alabama
While driving through Birmingham, Alabama, Redditor alison_bee couldn’t help but notice the bizarre, repetitive wave shapes appearing in the clouds near the horizon. While these strange cloud formations look otherworldly, they’re an example of what’s called Kelvin-Helmholtz instability — which is a pretty awesome name for a spectacular phenomenon.
Tip: EdYong209 and tvjrennie on Twitter
Wow! Waves of doom! Cool! These atmospheric rarities are formed because the ground heats up due to daytime heating and the surface layers stay more stable than the air over it. These particular waves, called Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, occur as wind shear between the layers destabilize the topmost portion. This usually is not visible but when it is, it provides this awesome image. Please go to the source link for more pictures.
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