Cloud Formations Near Capetown Why do clouds form a 'tablecloth' which exactly fits the top of Table Mountain near Capetown, South Africa? Something about the table top tailors the clouds to fit it exactly. The thickness is smooth and even, at a rough guess about ten metres thick.
This is adiabatic compression of descending air. The air warms and clouds dissolve. The air is blown by a wind that's roughly perpendicular to the ridge, causing it to rise, cool and eventually condense on the windward side and sink and warm on the leeward.