The Peconic Puffin

A blog about a group of windsurfers and other water sports enthusiasts, and their friends. Established 1993.

387549_10150466782447229_519162228_8379601_1624792489_nThis should cause Peconic Jeff to bug out.  Wave clouds…hell yeah!  Spotted on Facebook in a post by Ely, this image was taken in Alabama a day or two ago.  From the Cloud Appreciation Society:  "The breaking waveforms of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds are the result of shearing winds up at cloud level. KelvinhelmholtzwaveA particular type of turbulence can develop in a layer of cirrus cloud, which happens to form below an inversion …between air currents of differing speeds and/or directions. Sea waves break as their bases are slowed down upon reaching shallow water and their crests surge ahead. Cloud waves break in the same way: when their crests are pushed ahead of their troughs by the difference in air currents"

(Top photo attributed to Skip Walker.  Bottom photo courtesy Cloud Appreciation Society/Brian Wong)

Posted in , ,

5 responses to “Cloud Surf (Kelvin-Helmholtz On Yo’ Ass)”

  1. Jeff Schultz Avatar

    Cool pic. Hoping to wave sail some Kelvin-Helmholtz waves tomorrow morning (& SUP on Fri/Sat).

  2. Joe Avatar

    I love the one cloud that looks like a horse.

  3. Michael Avatar

    The Horse Joe cloud!

  4. Phil Avatar

    Nalu+nalu+nalu+horse+closeout set+airedale terrier+pork pie hat.

  5. Michael Avatar

    Phil, you are mad. Most pleasantly so.

Leave a Reply to PhilCancel reply

Discover more from The Peconic Puffin

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading