Orographic clouds over the Antarctic Peninsula

These orographic clouds are seen from an aircraft window, flying west over the Antarctic Peninsula to the Larsen C ice shelf in December 2017. These clouds are produced when winds blow directly across the mountain barrier, which is around 2000 m high and an extension of the Transantarctic Mountains that stretch down the spine of the peninsula. Clouds form when moist air is forced over the mountain barrier and ice or liquid cloud particles form from the gas phase.