Courtesy: Panhandle Helicopter, Panama City Beach
The pictures have generated nearly 1000 responses on Facebook alone! They are awe-inspiring and yet freaky at the same time. To me, based on just the pictures, they are part of a process known as “Kelvin–Helmholtz instability”.
How do these clouds get their appearance? Basically, the heavier (or more dense) fog clouds are literally picked up and carried vertically in the atmosphere by higher wind speeds just off the water’s surface. The end result is the “wavy” motion or appearance of the clouds. In our case, the air was lifted up and over beach side condos, giving the clouds a look of almost crashing into the buildings!
The look quite ominous when seen in person, but really are non-severe in nature. Earlier in the winter, a series of these same type of clouds was spotted around Birmingham, AL.
Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds in Birmingham, courtesy ABC 33/40
If you want to read more about the science of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds, you can read about it via Wikipedia
