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 /

    Waves in the sky - Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds over Swansea

09:00
6 May 2026

Waves in the sky
Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds over Swansea

Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds forming rolling crest shapes above modern buildings under a clear blue sky, with smooth white cloud bands resembling breaking ocean waves.
Wave clouds pictured over Swansea. - © Carole Saunders

Crashing waves are usually spotted off the coast on windy days, but every so often the skies above can bring an altogether different type of waves.

Spotted over Swansea, Wales, wave clouds or Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds are quick to form and quick to disappear without a trace soon after.

These clouds appear when the air is very unstable. Forming when faster-moving, warm air flows over slower-moving, colder, and denser air. If the speed at which the warm air travels over the colder air is fast enough, the undulating wave-like formation in the cloud appears.

This phenomenon can be spotted anywhere - just be quick at getting your picture!

Ryan Hathaway

More on the topic

Wettest week in England for two years. Stormy assistance. . . Thursday 29 October 2026
Weather map for Saturday 24.10 showing a swirling Atlantic low, Storm Boelo, west of Scotland and widespread blue rain bands across the UK, Ireland and northern France.
Thursday 29 October 2026

Stormy assistance

Wettest week in England for two years
Widespread fog grips Thursday morning. Take care on the roads. . . Wednesday 28 October 2026
Split image showing a fog forecast across southern England with temperatures of 8–9°C, alongside cars driving through dense mist on a sunlit road.
Wednesday 28 October 2026

Take care on the roads

Widespread fog grips Thursday morning
Staying fairly blustery across Ireland. Autumn greetings. . . Thursday 29 October 2026
Wind map showing 35 mph winds near Galway and Cork, 25 mph near Dublin and Belfast, and lighter winds across western Britain, with a windsock symbol.
Thursday 29 October 2026

Autumn greetings

Staying fairly blustery across Ireland
All weather news

This might also interest you

Storm Chandra makes impact. Severe gales & heavy rain. . . Tuesday 27 January 2026
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
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
Flooding, gales, and heavy snow. Storm Chandra. . . Tuesday 27 January 2026
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
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