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 /

    What's that cloud? Turbulent waves in the sky

06:00
24 February 2023

What's that cloud?
Turbulent waves in the sky

Undulatus asperatus
Undulatus asperatus in Devon, England. - © Gruffalo Griffin

We recently received this ominous-looking cloud, that quite honestly doesn't even look real. But we're here to tell you it very much is.

The cloud pictured above is "Asperitas" or "Undulatus Asperatus", translating as "roughened wave" in Latin. It was sent in by Weather & Radar user Gruffalo Griffin in Devon.

These clouds are part of a relatively new classification category, proposed back in 2009 by Gavin Pretor-Pinney of the Cloud Appreciation Society.

They form when there is instability in the atmosphere aloft, but relatively stable air at the surface. They have a well-defined structure and often look similar to rough ocean waves from below. After all, the atmosphere is a fluid.

As the air moves up and down it creates long, rippling waves, which in turn produces dramatic visuals of the sky.

Recommended external content from YouTube

We need your consent to show content from YouTube. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

I agree that content from YouTube will be displayed to me.
Privacy Policy
Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Europe's summer set to to break records. Extreme heat and drought. . . Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Split image showing a European heat map with temperatures reaching 39°C in France and Spain on the left, and a severely depleted river with exposed sandy banks beneath a bridge on the right.
Tuesday, 11 August 2026

Extreme heat and drought

Europe's summer set to to break records
Huge hailstones in Poland. Severe weather hits towns. . . Friday, 7 August 2026
Friday, 7 August 2026

Severe weather hits towns

Huge hailstones in Poland
Solar eclipse on Wednesday. Save the date. . . Monday, 10 August 2026
People are watching a solar eclipse. The sun is already partially obscured. Next to it is the weather radar forecast for Wednesday, showing an almost cloudless sky.
Monday, 10 August 2026

Save the date

Solar eclipse on Wednesday
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
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
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