Incoherent scatter observations of the nighttime E region valley above Arecibo often show 'intermediate layers' within this valley. A detailed study of one particular such layer indicates that average production rates within the layer must be of the order of 1--5 cm-3 s-1 (i.e., much higher than estimated levels of scattered Lyman &agr; and &bgr;) in order to satisfy the ion continuity equation, unless the percentage of metallic ions within the layer is very high, which is probably not the case. By studying the shape of the layer and its evolution in time it is possible to infer vertical ion drift velocities, which cannot yet be measured directly at night in the E region by using coherent scatter because of the low signal levels. Using these drift velocities, one can roughly estimate either the north-south or the east-west component of the neutral wind, depending upon the altitude.