Fully developped Cumulonimbus's lined up materializing the otherwise invisible boundry between two different air masses. We are in A320 CS-TNT cruising towards Rome working the radar and experience to find this squall line's weak spot and making yet another comfortable crossing.
Hi captain,
ReplyDeletethank you for that great photo,
can you please tell me where in the picture we can identify
the two air masses? Is the top thin layer the hot air mass
and right beneath it the cold air mass making its way from the left?
also where in that cloud formation would you consider safe to cross?
thank you,
regards and great flights :)
Luis
Olá Luis,
DeleteThanks for your comment.
Other than the squall line itself, there are no visual indications of two adjacent air masses. The neatly lined up Cumulonombus clouds have formed where the colder (and therefore more dense)airmass slips under the warmer one and causing it to rise and triggering condensation. If you were to measure temperature, pressure and moisture on either side of the squall line, differences would be detected. Fortunately, Cumulonimbus clouds form as separate "units". Even when they are tightly packed, there are gaps between them. The aircraft radar enables the pilots to detect these gaps and safely navigate through them. Hope to have helped. Abraço!
Yes it did help, Thank you for the explanation,
ReplyDeleteI got to install one of those Airbus radars in the Cessna 172 that I usually fly in :)
obrigado, e bons voos :)
abraço,
Luis