We reconsider the onset of streamwise vortices in the thermal boundary layer flow induced by an inclined upward-facing heated semi-infinite surface placed within a Newtonian fluid. Particular emphasis is laid upon how the induced flow in the isothermal region outside the boundary layer affects the boundary layer itself at higher order, and how this, in turn, affects the stability criterion for the onset of vortices. We find that the stability criterion for thermal boundary layers in air is less susceptible to changes in external geometry than for boundary layers in water. In general, we conclude that the variation of the stability criterion with wedge angle (between the heated and the outer boundary surface) is too great for the theory to predict reliably where disturbances first begin to grow. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.