What Causes The Formation Of The Ripple Clouds As Seen In Cagayan de Oro Skies This Morning?

January 25, 2016, Cagayan de Oro skies were partially covered with what you may not have known as ripple clouds. Pretty to look at and take pictures of, but really, what forces of nature cause this phenomenon?

Meteorologists say that these ripple clouds are sometimes formed from cirrus or stratus clouds. And causing the obvious pattern was known as “gravity waves” which is known as the influence of gravity in some places that causes ripple effect.

Generally, air flows along a horizontal path, but sometimes imbalances occurs in the density of the air causing it to oscillate up and down as it moves along. And in striped cloud patterns, the air flows perpendicular to the cloud lines. In circumstances such as when the air is very moist, a full ripple clouds with no clear shy slots in between can be witnessed, and on the other hand, when the air is too dry, there will be no clouds at all. But in all cases, the air moves in a wavelike pattern.

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Let’s take for example, a pond. Any disturbance from the surface can cause waves. Just like what happens when a stable layer, which is a thin layer of the atmosphere where the temperature doesn’t decrease very much ith height, is being disturbed causing waves of air to move along it. Thus creating the ripple clouds.

Commonly happens during chillier months, this ripple clouds are hinting a chance of rain for the coming weekend.