Lenticularis over a city?

[Steven strick]

We spotted these clouds over a mid-sized city in northern Wisconsin on August 1st. They look like Lenticularis but there’s no mountains around. Can Lenticularis clouds be just like this? Do they need a hill or mountain?

thanks, Steve

[Hans Stocker]

Nice lenticular formation Gregory. In my opinion they don’t care at all whether they hover above a town or not. Nevertheless a mountain or hill must be involved somewhere. The waves that can develop in the lee of a moutain can travel very far in the right conditions. That is to say that the air must be stable enough to prevent the wave-like layers of air to get disturbed. And then they pop up where the cooling of the air by rising of a layer with enough moist to cold enough heights betrays the position of the wave in the form of a lenticular cloud.

Any other opinions?

[Hans Stocker]

P.S.: I am sorry Steven. I don’t know why I addressed you above as Gregory. :)

[Steven strick]

So…it sounds like they can form over a mountain or hill, then move on from there, keeping their shape, as they move away from the mountain/hill. And, that might be what is going on here? Thank you.

 

no worried about the “Gregory” name…

[Hans Stocker]

Hello Steven, it is just a bit different than you think. The clouds don’t travel, the waves travel. This way a lenticularis cloud can hover above the same place, being the place where the air is forced to rise by the wave in order to condense and form a lenticularis cloud. Here is a nice timelapse that shows lenticularis clouds at the tops of waves seemingly staying in one place.

Hovering ufos

Here is a link with a scheme of what happens: Lenticularis explained

I  hope you like the info. With best wishes, Hans

 

[Ross Beck]

There were quite a few of these Lenticularis clouds over our small, flat town at elevation of 85 feet, but they were too close and too large to get in one photo.

Ross

[Ross Beck]

Sorry that I forgot some details:

Photo taken in early July 2020, 45 minutes north of San Francisco.

Ross

 

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