These wave clouds created a stunning sunset over Colorado's Front Range
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via YOURTAKE
These amazing clouds seen over Colorado’s Front Range are called Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds (though technically Stratocumulus Fluctus), named after the two scientists that discovered the instability that causes them. They’re caused by air moving out of the Northwest that gets disrupted as it hits the Rocky Mountains, causing waves in the clouds. This weekend, there was a jet of air at about 9,000 feet moving at 20 mph, and the air at about 14000 feet was moving twice as fast. This is called speed shear, and it caused the waves to crest and break. These displays most common in the fall and winter months. They are actually very common in our clouds along the Front Range, but to have this type of pronounced definition is very unusual.
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