Clouds are commonly formed due to the condensation of water vapor in the air. This occurs when moisture saturated air comes in contact with comparably cooler air or land and causes water vapor to condense into water droplets and thus form clouds. There are numerous water droplets within clouds that are on an order of magnitude of 10 micrometres (one thousandth of a milimetre).
Lenticular clouds, also termed lens clouds or mountain waves, are a specific type of cloud that require unique conditions to be formed. The fast moving transport of moisture saturated air across a landscape (~ 45km/hr) is first needed. Then, a topographic barrier (e.g. mountain) is required to redirect the moving air vertically upwards to quickly cool and condense the saturated air into water droplets and create a cloud formation on the windward side of the mountain. At this point, a cloud formation can be seen at the summit of the mountain. However, the air is then transported back down the leeward side of the mountain (opposite to the windward side) due to gravity, causing the air to warm and return to a water vapor state, therefore evaporating the cloud.
Overall, the air pathway for lenticular clouds creates a quick hump overtop of an elevated topographic area, causing the rapid formation of a cloud at the summit of a mountain and then a later rapid evaporation of the cloud at the lower boundary. This phenomenon causes lenticular clouds to appear stationary but are actually being formed by rapid air movements.
This explanation is a simplification of the meteorological process that is occurring in this phenomenon and lenticular clouds can vary in size and shape depending on vertical wind and temperature profiles. For example, higher topographic elevations may cause lenticular clouds to appear thicker and larger due to cooler temperatures allowing for increased condensation.
