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Pompano
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Baja Clouds - A Weather Forecast
"You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds." THOREAU
Okay Nomads, here's question for you. When you're out walking with your head in the clouds, did you ever wonder...
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"What kind of clouds are these, anyway?"
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The answer in my case, as shown here, is...Cirrus..or 'serious' as I called them in my youth.
That's these high, wispy, often transparent clouds that form in the upper layer of our atmosphere called the troposphere. Just so
you know, cirrus clouds are formed when water vapor freezes into ice crystals at altitudes above 8000 meters (26,000 ft). They tend to be very thin
due to the sparse moisture at such a high altitude. Streaks may appear straight when wind shear is absent, giving the clouds the appearance of a
comma or tangle, an indication of high-level turbulence. Those falling ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground, hence we usually get
no rain from these guys.
There are several variations of cirrus cloud. The ones I photographed above are cirrus fibratus...you remember, the ones our folks
taught us to call Mare's Tails, because of their resemblance to a "mare's tail" appearance.. long, fibrous, and curved. Possibly
like your prom date.
Other variations you may have seen.. sometimes these clouds are so extensive that they are virtually indistinguishable from one another, forming a
sheet of cirrus called cirrostratus. The un-enlightened masses just look up and say...Overcast.
Manmade marvels: Cirrus clouds have also been observed developing after the persistent formation of contrails from an aircraft. Increase in
air traffic is a possible cause of an increasing amount of cirrus clouds. We all see jet contrails more and more..everywhere on earth..
aircraft leaving condensation trails that can turn into cirrus clouds. This happens when hot exhaust, mostly water, freezes, leaving a visible trail
leading back to Al Gore's jet zooming around the globe.
Cirrus clouds..What do they Forecast?
Isolated cirrus clouds do not often bring rain, however, high numbers of them like those I photographed in Coyote Bay the other day
can indicate an approaching frontal system or upper air disturbance. WIND! It is a good weather indicator for 'whether' you go
fishing or not. Cirrus clouds can also be the remnants of a thunderstorm. A large shield of cirrus and cirrostratus typically accompany the high
altitude outflow of hurricanes or typhoons.
This many cirrus usually signals a change in weather in the near future, usually becoming increasingly stormy. In our case near
Mulege it meant increased winds at sea..resulting in another day spent ashore due to whitecapping conditions yesterday...carumba! Gimme some nice
fluffy pillow clouds anytime...
...Maybe manana?
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Aha..I may have found another hobby that will keep me from working. A good winter project..collect as many photos of these
cloud types as possible from my patio, and check out their related forecasts.
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[Edited on 11-11-2009 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Mexitron
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Out here in Texas a plume of cirrus clouds often means the top of a nearby mega-thunderstorm has been blown off by the jet stream and its just a
matter of time before you get swamped! No, really I'm cirrus about it.
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Pompano
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You betcha, Mexitron. Cirrus clouds usually predict just that..approaching weather disturbances.
Note: I spent some time in Texas..whew..a sandstorm outside of El Paso once blurred my windshield.. permanently.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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grace59
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Pompano,
So sorry you had to stay ashore, but the photos you posted certainly are beautiful. Much nicer than that gray layer of stratocumulus clouds that
hang out here all winter. Hope you're out on the water soon.
Whenever I hear that rainy, chill wind blow. I think it may be time to head for Mexico. Tengo que obedecer mi corazon!
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Skeet/Loreto
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Pomp:
One of the many things this Old Man does during the Days is to watch the Clouds over the beautifull Windy Plains of the Texas Panhandle.
The Big Buidups, The Thunderboomers, the making of a Toronado, A green Cloud dropping Hail, remembering the times I have Soared along their edges and
to their Tops, dropping out and doing a tight spin to their bottom and then back up on top again.!!
Clouds are Fantastic!
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BFS
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Hey thanks for the good info.
So by funny coincidence i took a picture of a beauty of a cloud this morning and was just looking at it on my computer when i read your post.
Around here clouds blast by in a blink but you will always find this type somewhere in the sky. Do you know which type it is?
Aq
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Taco de Baja
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| Quote: | Prefixes and Suffixes Used to Describe Clouds:
Clouds are defined by both the way they look and how high they are in the atmosphere. For example, cirro (meaning "wisp of hair") is
a prefix given to high-altitude clouds (above 20,000 feet). Alto (meaning "high") is a prefix given to mid-altitude clouds (between
6,000 and 20,000 feet). There is no prefix for low-altitude clouds. When clouds are by the ground we call them fog.
Nimbo (meaning "rain") as a prefix, or nimbus added as a suffix, in a cloud name indicates that the cloud can produce precipitation
(rain, snow, or other forms of falling water). Cumulo (meaning "heap") refers to piled-up clouds. Strato (meaning
"layer") refers to flat, wide, layered clouds.
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cloud link
[Edited on 11-11-2009 by Taco de Baja]
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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Skipjack Joe
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My favorite clouds are the ones that make a mackerel sky.
And they are just as great seen from the above as from the below. At least that's what I think I'm seeing when flying over the Pacific. A very
peaceful experience, if you've ever had it.
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Skeet/Loreto
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Aqblugreen;
What your photo shows is the formation of a part time Thunder cloud into a "Standing Lenticular"
On eday many years ago I was coming from Fresno Calif. going to Bishop Calif.{Across the Sierras near Leeving . I was in a Cessna 182 at 11,000 Ft and
as I came over mamoth pas I started descending to about 9,000 ft. when i saw a beautiful lenticuliar over Leeving, I went over to the edge and picked
up the updraft and went to 19,300 at 2600 ft per minute with the Engine power at idle What a ride!!
Kicked out at the top and spun back down to 9,000. Will never forget it.
Skeet
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burnrope
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At first I thought this was a Craigslist posting. It's very informative. Thanks for the link Taco.
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Pompano
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Skipjack, I love those mackerel skies, too...reminds of one of my favorite Mirrolures.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Aqblugreen;
What your photo shows is the formation of a part time Thunder cloud into a "Standing Lenticular"
Skeet |
Right you are, Skeet...in some parts those are known as a stack of pancakes.
And with that, it's time for lunch...
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I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Skipjack Joe
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What, no clouds?
You need this guy to help you out.
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Pompano
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I LOVED IT when the Rainmaker got the boys to run around pounding those drums. Hey...I have wished for rain in the same way on the dry plains Up
North. Just NOT in Mulege again.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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bonanza bucko
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Those standing Lenticulars.....Alto Cumulus Lenticularus.....clouds are formed when there is a strong wind over a mountain and there is a layer of
unstable air between two layers of stable air. The cloud stands still because it is formed by the air rising and cooling and then it is evaporated by
the air falling and heating up.
If you fly a sail plane...glider to most folks...you go looking for "Lenies" because they are an elevator. All you need to do to gain lots of
altitude fast is to put your nose into the wind and jockey the stick back and forward to change your air speed so it matches the wind on your nose by
looking at the ground and staying over one spot......you go straight up!. When you are high enough you can "step out" of the Lenie and play with the
altitude..do loops and rolls and, if you're good and brave too, a split S or two. Some guys set altitude records in sail planes in Lenies....up to 35
and 40,000 feet. They get a clearance from the FAA to fly above 18000, wear O2 masks and electric socks and suits. I know people who have flown
from Minden, Nv., where there is a "Wave Camp" in the fall, all the way to Mt. Baldy above LA and back by riding Lenies.!!!
Most sail planes have at least 20:1 glide ratios......you lose one foot for every 20 you fly horizontally....some have 50 or 60:1 ratios. So if you
get 10K feet out of a Lenie and you soar at 50 knots you can go about 35 miles in a 20:1 sail plane before you gotta go looking for more lift.
If you fly a powered plane through a Lenie you will get some violent bumps....you are powering trough a wave just as a speed boat powers through one
in the water. You had better slow down the "Maneuvering Speed"....the speed at which, for your weight, the airplane's wing will stall before anything
bends or breaks.
Under a Lenie in the mountains there is sometimes a "rotor cloud"....literally a spinning cloud on the downwind side of the mountain. If you get into
one you will never forget it...if you survive.
The way to think about Lenies is to remember a big rock in a fast flowing stream where the water flows over the rock and then produces waves down
stream of it where there is no rock.
Clouds are fun and like a beautiful book and, if you fly in them like me, you come to respect them as almost nothing else. There are many good books
about flying in cloud. Among them is "North Star Over My Shoulder" by Bob Buck, TWA, retired. He was Howard Hughes's personal pilot, flew a DC3 at
175 knots around the world with Tyrone Power, a Hughes MGM star at the time.....long trip! He flew a whole bunch of other fun trips....for instance
one around the world north to south to north over both poles in a B707....before GPS or Loran....guess what a compass does over the pole? He also did
research in WWII in a B-17 on the static produced in antennae by storms....he did that by flying for hundreds of miles in solid thunderstorm in the
InterTropic Convergence Zone which is about 5 degrees (guess) north and south of the equator.
Thanks for reading about .00001% of what I think about clouds and flying. Hope you're not bored.
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Pompano
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CLOUDS!
Not to worry about being bored, Bonanza. Clouds have been man's pastime since forever.
Up North Thunderheads have always been my passion since childhood.
"When clouds appear like rocks and towers,
The earth's refreshed by frequent showers."
.. but fog can be entertaining at times....Right, all you Oregon Coast dwellers?
Here's a prairie thunderstorm mixed with some stratus....THE FOG.
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Remnants of Hurricane Norberto clouds at Coyote Bay
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And occasionaly California encounters this: "Clouds do not always mean rain, but SMOKE is a sure sign of fire."
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And then there are the BAD BOYS..which form these devils. Been there, done that...
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=13673#pid1150...
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Those monsters of the mighty sky.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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BajaGringo
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Great thread my friend. Living on the water will eventually make you into a weatherman of some degree, learning to read the clouds, wind and surf. It
is a subject that never ceases to fascinate me...
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Skeet/Loreto
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Bucko: Great Lesson!!
For those who would like some more reading get a book "Exploring the Monster" by Whelan. If you Google up "Sierra Wave -Bishop Ca. you can pull up a
photo of Bob Symons riding the wave from 6,000 ft to 31, 000 in a P-38 with both Engines in Idle.
While towing Gliders at Bishop one day I dropped off Dan Schat in his Bolkow Phebus Glider at 6,000 Ft. He got the lift and went to 29,000 in a very
short time.
Buck please gives us your read on the forming of the Anvil of the Thunderhead and its results.
Thanks
Skeet
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Pompano
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
While towing Gliders at Bishop one day I dropped off Dan Schat in his Bolkow Phebus Glider at 6,000 Ft. He got the lift and went to 29,000 in a very
short time.
Skeet |
Hi Skeet, we did a fair bit of gliding..and towing same...on the windy areas of northern ND and Montana. Have you ever been towed aloft on a really,
really long cable behind a speeding car..then cut loose? Fun stuff.
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There has been a few glider pilots who have rode the thermals from Manitoba to Texas
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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BajaRae
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These are great....and thanks for the info....
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woody with a view
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similar to the original foto of Pompano's.
it looks like i/they was/were going REEEALLY fast!
[Edited on 11-14-2009 by woody in ob]
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