Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cloud Making

No, this isn't a post about the Chinese and how they can make the clouds disappear, although granted, that would be rather nice right now. No, this is just a post about why it has been cloudy the last couple of days. Looking at the ground, its hard to believe that the white fluffy stuff laying on the ground is actually water that has frozen. Yes indeed! And water means moisture. Kansas winter air is known for its extreme dryness. While it means the skin turns to a desert, it makes good flying conditions. It generally means there isn't a lot of moisture in the air to make clouds or any sort of a weather system (unless it blows in from a-way north or a-way south).

But recently, the month of January decided to do a little experiment and raise the temperature above freezing for a couple of days. "Eh... what could happen?" it thought. Well, the white fluffy stuff said "I've had enough! I'm returning to my natural state!" and little puddles (well large in some areas) started to form on the ground. But we all know how water feels when dry air is around. I mean, why swim when you can fly? Yes, those water molecules started to fly. Now we have moisture in the air.

Air cools 2 degrees C/1000 ft. Air's dew point is the temperature at which, when the air is cooled, the air will condense and ultimately form clouds (or fog if you are on the ground.) So, if the temperature is 3C and the dew point is -4C, then when the air is cooled to -4C it will form clouds. Based on what we know, that would mean the clouds would form at 4000 feet AGL.

Today, the clouds are at 2,000 ft. While the moisture is having fun flying, I am not. Since I'm not current on instrument I can't fly. Maybe I should hire the Chinese to make it rain?

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the explanation. The meterologist in here is talking about dew point too, with our current plethora of white stuff. Interesting posting. And I like the black background. -Mom

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  2. Thanks, Sol! I always wondered what dew-point was, and your Mom pointed me to your blog! (You should write scientific textbooks someday! Kids will thank you!) -Aunt Sharon

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