photo #5565808

Kees Neve (Member 57,271) was all set for his flight to Sydney from the airport on Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, when it was cancelled due to strong winds producing this Stratocumulus lenticularis cloud. Beyond the green hill, two imposing peaks, Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower, were hidden in the smooth cloud formation, which is also known as a cap cloud. Subtropical winds often produce cap clouds as they carry moisture in from the Tasman Sea and climb the steep slopes of the mountains. While it may be annoying to have your flight cancelled, the regular humidity on these remote slopes produces an isolated cloud-forest ecosystem in which species of plant thrive that are found nowhere else in the world.