Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    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
Autumn colours light the skies. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 13 September 2026
Split image showing a fiery red-orange sunset over a rural road and fields beside a golden sea sunset with a silhouetted seabird in flight.
Sunday, 13 September 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Autumn colours light the skies
A marked change in the weather. Cold front heading south. . . Monday, 7 September 2026
Map of Europe showing a cold front stretching from Scandinavia to Spain. Thunderstorms are shown in southern and central Europe.
Monday, 7 September 2026

Cold front heading south

A marked change in the weather
Severe weather hits Mallorca and Italy. Severe thunderstorms. . . Thursday, 10 September 2026
Numerous thunderstorms are sweeping across La Palma. The many lightning symbols on the radar and lightning map show that there is heavy lightning activity across large parts of the island. The thunderstorms are striking particularly in the island’s interior and in the south. On the right, you can see the aftermath: a large fallen tree has buried a car beneath it. Emergency services are clearing up the damage. So, along with the thunderstorms, not only heavy rain but also gusts of wind can become a problem.
Thursday, 10 September 2026

Severe thunderstorms

Severe weather hits Mallorca and Italy
All weather news
This might also interest you
Seasonal warmth between spring thunder. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 19 April 2026
Split image showing coastal sunset with layered lenticular clouds over rooftops and palm trees on the left, and a green valley with river and hills under soft daylight on the right.
Sunday, 19 April 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Seasonal warmth between spring thunder
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
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan. Up to 1,000 mm of rain. . . 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.
Wednesday, 8 July 2026

Up to 1,000 mm of rain

Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan
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

facebooktwittertikToklinkList