Home
Weather Dublin
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Over England and Wales: Lee waves on the WeatherRadar

10:30
10 December 2024

Over England and Wales
Lee waves on the WeatherRadar

Waves formed on the WeatherRadar yesterday, not in the ocean but in the sky over the Pennines and Cambrian mountains.

Monday afternoon, as cloud cover stretched across much of the UK, cool, moist air in the north-easterly flow was also forced to ascent the mountain barriers of the Pennines and Snowdonia.

This causes so-called gravity waves to develop, an oscillating up and down motion of the flow as the airstream interacts with the terrain. The cloud lines are at right angles to the wind direction and appear upon hitting mountainous, or hilly, areas.

Mountain waves are a type of lee wave, otherwise known as standing, stationary waves.

Air ascending up a mountain range happens all the time if the wind direction is right. What is crucial during a lee wave event is an inversion, a stable layer of air that acts as a "lid" above the cool, moist air mass below.

Every time the air rises, it cools and forms a cloud that sits at each crest of the wave. When this airflow hits the inversion it subsides and dries again.

On the WeatherRadar, you can see all the ripples flowing over the mountains, continuing southwest.

Have you seen any near you? If so, send us a picture, we would love to see them. Upload yours here!

Get involved! Using the uploader
Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
Wind forecast map of the UK and northern Europe showing strong orange wind zones around a low-pressure system marked with a white “L,” alongside a black-and-white windsock warning icon.
Tuesday 12 May 2026

Gusty conditions ahead

Low pressure brings windy days
Radar image showing a thunderstorm cell over northern Italy, near Brescia and Bergamo. Next to it, several large white hailstones in a hand.
Weather VideosTuesday 12 May 2026

Severe storms in Italy

Damage caused by large hailstones
Satellite weather map of the UK and western Europe showing rain bands across Britain, a rain cloud icon over Scotland, and a thunderstorm icon near Belgium and northern France on Wednesday 13.05.
Wednesday 13 May 2026

Hail also possible

Thunderstorm risk for parts of the UK
All weather news
This might also interest you
Split image showing aerial flooding in a town with muddy water covering roads on the left, and a rural road on the right blocked by heavy snowfall with vans stopped and a person walking in snow.
Tuesday 27 January 2026

Storm Chandra

Flooding, gales, and heavy snow
UK temperature map dated 14.02 showing widespread subzero values in blue shading, with readings such as −4 in Glasgow, −3 in Dublin, and −2 in London, alongside a blue thermometer icon.
Friday 13 February 2026

Icy conditions

A frozen start to the weekend
Split image showing strong winds over the UK on a forecast map and widespread rain and snow on a weather radar map.
Tuesday 27 January 2026

Severe gales & heavy rain

Storm Chandra makes impact
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwitteryouTubelinkList