Sunrise over the Kiamichi Valley brought a nice little surprise in the form of a middle-level standing-wave cloud, a ragged lenticular formation downwind from the Kiamichi Mountains (a range in the Ouachitas). Normally the terrain here, with rises “only” around 1000–1500 feet above the valley floors, would not provide enough lift in standing waves above the boundary layer to support such clouds. However, boundary-layer wave clouds and billows often are seen on satellite imagery clearly influenced by the east–west ridges in southerly or northerly flow, and standing waves can extend somewhat higher in strong cross-ridge flow fields. Here, the much higher cirrus clouds already lost pinks and reds and were transitioning from orange to yellow, while the lowest scud clouds in the boundary layer hadn’t caught sunshine yet. The lenticulars in between glowed a brilliant salmon hue for just a minute or two.
2 NW Whitesboro OK (20 Oct 21) Looking ESE
34.7209, -94.9116