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Stratocumulus Clouds over the Mackenzie Mountains

The DayLandCloud RGB above shows a view of low stratocumulus clouds over the Mackenzie Mountains on the border between the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada on January 13th, 2021. The rippled appearance of the clouds is the result of gravity waves generated by strong low level stability and wind above the rough terrain. You may also notice that in this image, the clouds are thin enough to see some of the mountain valleys below.

The image above is the VIIRS i04 (3.74um) which also shows a good view of the wave pattern. Winds at 850mb, above a strong inversion at the surface, are generally from the south to southwest and notice how most of the waves are perpendicular to the wind direction. However on the eastern side of the area of clouds, there are also intersecting wave clouds which are generated by a southeast wind. 

This is the profile (shown below) from Norman Wells, just northeast of the area showing the strong low inversion.