(Fremont County, WY) – The National Weather Service in Riverton (NWSR) recently captured and shared an image of what are known as “standing wave clouds,” which hovered above the Wind River Basin and in the Muddy Gap and Rock Springs areas on January 9.
The standing wave clouds are circled in red in the image below.
“These clouds form most commonly when strong winds aloft ride up and over terrain features,” the NWSR explains.
“As the air rises, it cools and condenses into clouds. When the air comes back down the other side, it sinks and you get clear skies. The result is clouds in a “wave pattern” with clear or mostly clear skies between. The clouds are nearly stationary, hence the name “standing” wave clouds, due to the locations of sinking/rising air not moving over time.”
The NWSR also shared that following last night’s storm system, “strong northerly winds began pushing air southward over the Owl Creek and Bridger mountains and resulting in a notable area of wave clouds in the Wind River basin.”
The other less distinct formation was “farther south between Muddy Gap and Rock Springs that extends southward into Colorado.”