The Real Reason Why Clouds Move

Wind is caused by pockets of hot air moving to colder areas, and they sometimes form fast currents called jet streams that can carry clouds across continents and oceans, bringing warmer temperatures along with them (via UCL). A cloud caught in a jet stream would be obvious to anyone who happened to witness it, but

Wind is caused by pockets of hot air moving to colder areas, and they sometimes form fast currents called jet streams that can carry clouds across continents and oceans, bringing warmer temperatures along with them (via UCL). A cloud caught in a jet stream would be obvious to anyone who happened to witness it, but sometimes clouds can be moving while appearing stationary.

According to NIWA, lenticular clouds, which form near hills, seem to resist even the strongest of winds, but this is actually an illusion. Droplets on one end of the cloud are being pushed back, but since the wind is pushing the air towards it, new droplets immediately replace the ones that have been moved. This occurs at both ends of the clouds, meaning it constantly replaces itself while appearing to sit calmly in the face of heavy wind. The movement of clouds can be a fascinating process that can bring the salvation of rain, the destruction of storms, or just a neat optical illusion where a very busy process can seem like nothing is happening at all.

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