A is perfectly clear: it conveys the fact that the crests and troughs remain stationary (motionless) even though the air that forms them (i.e. the crests and throughs) is moving rapidly. C corrects the verb error.
E obscures the meaning: it suggests that one might not expect stationary crests and troughs to be formed by rapidly moving air. Nowhere is the original is it suggested that the crests and troughs are what one might not expect to be formed.
The following two sentences differ in meaning in much the same way:
It is surprising that the woman chosen to be the next head of the IMF is a European lawyer.
It is surprising that the next head of the IMF will be a female European lawyer.