Iowa Gravity Waves

Amazing video from NASA and the Iowa mesonet cameras capturing an "Undular Bore" which is a type of gravity wave that rolled through Iowa on October 3rd.

NASA scientist Tim Coleman of the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville, Alabama explains:

"These waves were created by a cluster of thunderstorms approaching Des Moines from the west," he explains. "At the time, a layer of cold, stable air was sitting on top of Des Moines. The approaching storms disturbed this air, creating a ripple akin to what we see when we toss a stone into a pond."

NASA "Undular Bore" video and explainer

It still amazes me how much we know, yet still don't understand about our atmoshphere.

PH

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