Weather can be thought of as the result of gradients in various atmospheric properties such as temperature, moisture, and pressure. The atmosphere is continually working to eliminate these gradients and restore itself back to equilibrium. Gravity waves are one of the mechanisms that the atmosphere utilizes in an attempt to restore itself to an equilibrium state. While these waves typically do not influence large-scale weather patterns, they can affect smaller scale weather events. They can sometimes be seen on radar images and produce some characteristic cloud patterns.
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What are Gravity Waves?
