Watch: Dramatic lenticular clouds provide stunning show over California's Mount Shasta
A three-hour time-lapse video shot at California's Mount Shasta during sunset Sunday shows a stunning display of lenticular clouds hugging the summit.
Stunning time-lapse video of lenticular cloud over Mt. Shasta
Those within sight of California's Mount Shasta last weekend were treated to quite a show as thin layers of clouds pancaked on top of each other to make, in essence, a floating cap. (Video courtesy: Robert Renick via Storyful)
MOUNT SHASTA, Calif. – Those within sight of California's Mount Shasta last weekend were treated to quite a show as thin layers of clouds pancaked on top of each other to make, in essence, a floating cap.
The atmospheric phenomenon, known as lenticular clouds, is usually found either draped over or floating near mountain tops and ridges. These clouds are formed when that layer of the atmosphere is just on the cusp of saturation.
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As air flows over mountain summits, the gentle lift provides just enough cooling for the air to reach saturation and form a cloud. As the air sinks on the opposite side of the mountain, it becomes warmer and drier, leaving saturation and becoming invisible again.
A lenticular cloud flows over Mount Shasta in California on Jan. 22, 2023.
(Robert Renick via Storyful / FOX Weather)
It may appear the cloud is static, but as this three-hour time-lapse video from photographer Robert Renick shows, the air is constantly flowing through the clouds.
These types of clouds can be a signal of precipitation within the next day or so as the atmosphere moistens ahead of the incoming storm. In this case, the clouds came in advance of a weak cold front approaching the West Coast.