Weather

Lenticular clouds form often in our area, but even this was a shocking sight

Photo of stacked lenticular clouds over Floyd County. Photo submitted through Pin It by Wayne M. (Copyright 2023 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.)

FLOYD, Va. – We feature your pictures that you send through Pin It, and we love doing so. The picture we featured Tuesday morning made my jaw drop!

Wayne M. captured stacked lenticular clouds. Their bases were illuminated by the rising sun, which made them even prettier.

Photo of stacked lenticular clouds over Floyd County. Photo submitted through Pin It by Wayne M. (Copyright 2023 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.)

Lenticular clouds form often in our area, and they usually have to do with the mountains.

Warm, moist air gets forced up the mountains. It then reaches a stable layer of air that knocks it back down on the other side of the mountain. This leads to a cap-like appearance to the cloud.

How lenticular clouds form

I explained this in detail on my Instagram.

If you have any weather pictures or videos that you want featured on 10 News, send them here.

Copyright 2023 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.