Where you'll find mountain waves comes down to the shape of the terrain and the velocity of the winds. If you're going flying in the mountains, be sure to know what areas may be hotspots for mountain wave turbulence.

1) The downwind side of a mountain barrier.

As winter approaches and the jet stream moves south, fast-moving core winds get propelled over the western mountain ranges, increasing cross-barrier flow.

The downwind side of the mountain ridges will create a gravity wave with the greatest amplitude and energy. The faster the jet core, the more intense the turbulence will be, decreasing your chances of a fun day of mountain flying. The further from the ridge you are, the less severe the turbulence is.

2) Downwind of bowl-shaped terrain.

What's worse than a perfectly aligned mountain ridge? Mountains that create a bowl, like the Sangre de Cristo mountain range near Alamosa, CO.

As fast-moving jet stream air crosses over the peaks to the west, they funnel into the bowl, focusing and increasing the intensity of the wind. While this can occur anywhere with bowl-shaped terrain, this region is a perfect place to witness this.

As an airline pilot, I've crossed this range many times departing from Grand Junction, CO (KGJT). Some days you'll find yourself in moderate turbulence for upwards of 15 minutes as you transition to the southeast...and that's from the surface all the way up into the flight levels.

Have you ever encountered mountain wave turbulence? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Make better decisions flying around terrain this winter.

It's easy to think that mountain weather only happens in places like the Rockies. But the hills of Eastern Ohio can produce the same types of weather year-round. If you've ever flown near the Appalachians, you probably experienced mountain weather, even if you didn't realize it was happening.

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