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
Late-summer views as shooting stars fly. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday 23 August 2026
Split image showing a meteor streaking through a star-filled night sky on the left and wispy white cirrus clouds sweeping across a vivid blue daytime sky on the right.
Sunday 23 August 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Late-summer views as shooting stars fly
Slow moving rain brings flooding. More alerts live. . . Thursday 27 August 2026
Weather radar at 11:00 on 27.08 showing widespread heavy rain from Liverpool through the Midlands to eastern England, with an arrow indicating rain moving north.
Thursday 27 August 2026

More alerts live

Slow moving rain brings flooding
Blood Moon rises early Friday morning. Partial lunar eclipse. . . Thursday 27 August 2026
Stages of a lunar eclipse
Thursday 27 August 2026

Partial lunar eclipse

Blood Moon rises early Friday morning
All weather news
This might also interest you
A frozen start to the weekend. Icy conditions. . . Friday 13 February 2026
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
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan. Up to 1,000 mm of rain. . Weather Videos. Wednesday 8 July 2026
The image shows an intense tropical cyclone over the western Pacific, east of Taiwan and the Philippines. The centre of the system is depicted as a light purple and white vortex with a clearly visible eye, surrounded by a ring of red and orange areas indicating the strongest wind speeds. A white arrow marks the typhoon’s predicted track towards the north-west, in the direction of Taiwan. To the west of the storm lie the Philippines, with the cities of Manila and Cebu; to the north of these lies Taiwan, with Taipei. Further west, the Chinese coast, including Hong Kong, and parts of Vietnam can be seen. The coloured wind map shows predominantly green areas outside the storm’s core, indicating significantly weaker winds. White streamlines illustrate the typhoon’s anti-clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. The highest wind speeds are concentrated around the eye of the cyclone.
Weather VideosWednesday 8 July 2026

Up to 1,000 mm of rain

Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan
Bright and warm conditions take hold. Spring-like outlook. . . Thursday 23 April 2026
Split UK map showing warm temperatures up to 21 degrees in orange on the left and clear sunny conditions with temperatures from 12 to 18 degrees on the right, with sun icons across the country.
Thursday 23 April 2026

Spring-like outlook

Bright and warm conditions take hold
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