Kelvin-helmholtz billows

From Glossary of Meteorology



Kelvin–Helmholtz billows

  1. Cloud forms that arise from Kelvin–Helmholtz waves.

  2. Vortical structures that result from the growth and nonlinear development of unstable waves in a shear flow.

    The billows get their name from the instability responsible for the growth of the unstable waves, Kelvin–Helmholtz instability.


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