http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/research/archives/2004/heavy_weather6198.cfm

Researchers at Oxford University have discovered that small-scale fluctuations, which are widespread in the atmosphere, may have a greater impact on weather systems than previously thought. The results could have important implications for accurate weather forecasting in the future.

The fluctuations are known as inertia-gravity waves because they are sustained by a combination of inertial and gravitational forces. They are prominent in the bottom 15 km of the atmosphere, and can often be detected from the surface of the Earth as 'stripy' features in clouds. Their horizontal wavelengths can be as short as 5 km too small to be picked up by current weather prediction models, which divide the surface of the Earth into grid-boxes measuring around 50 km by 50 km.

Thanks to thermalr fly.

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