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December 2007

Lenticular Clouds: a beautiful cloud type common in our winter sky that results from strong wind flow over rugged terrain. In Jackson, prevailing winds whipping over the Tetons from the southwest produce up-and-down wavelike patterns on the lee (valley) side of the Range. Lenticular clouds, which can occur at many levels of the troposphere (up to 20,000 feet above sea level), form at the peaks of these waves.

These eerie, elliptical cloud formations as a whole are usually stationary - or slow moving in the sky. Often overlooked, lenticular clouds often foretell changes in the weather such as an approaching snowstorm.