Lenticular clouds over Mount Rainier, Washington
© Delrious/Shutterstoc
A peak in the clouds
World Meteorological Day brings us to Washington’s Mount Rainier, a huge stratovolcano with a habit of creating its own weather systems. Jutting out about three kilometres above the surrounding landscape, its high altitude interrupts the flow of air that comes in off the Pacific Ocean, creating unusual weather such as the saucer-shaped clouds on our homepage. They’re called lenticular clouds, and because of their distinctive appearance, they've been suggested as an explanation for some UFO sightings. Thanks to the science of meteorology, we know they’re a normal weather phenomenon, commonly occurring on the downwind side of obstructions such as mountains, buildings, or other tall structures.
Related Images
Canberra’s National Carillon at dawn
Winter at the Isis Temple in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Glastonbury Tor and St Michael's Tower in England for the start of the Glastonbury Festival
Aerial of the Amazon River Basin near Manaus, Brazil
Hope Valley, Peak District, England
A thunderstorm rolls across the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota
Mount Fuji and twin rocks (Ushitukiiwa) in Matsuzaki, Japan
The shoreline of Cahuita National Park, in Costa Rica
Bing Today Images
Lake Tanganyika, Africa
Mar 22, 2026
Blue Spring, Te Waihou Walkway, New Zealand
Mar 22, 2024
Lake Powell, USA
Mar 22, 2023
Thousand Springs State Park, Idaho, USA
Mar 22, 2022
Fort de Joux in the Jura mountains of France
Mar 22, 2021
Storm near Lamar, Colorado
Mar 22, 2017
A Holi festival in Washington DC, United States
Mar 22, 2016
