Thursday, August 27, 2009

This is an example of a channeled, classic jet stream and the associated cirrus cloud. The jet stream is on the northern or cold side of the cirrus cloud. The axis of maximum winds is pretty straight or "channeled" in these situation. The jet maximum core is probably just at the leading edge of the thickest cirrus associated with the jet stream. For me, this meant that the jet stream was directly overhead and just outside of the painting. The clouds can tell you a story if you know the vocabulary. It is Greek to most people these days but the rural population of early Canada understood.
There is a patch of altocumulus floccus in the right entrance of the upper jet and this is consistent with the earlier diagnosis. The floccus type cloud tells us that the warm air mass south of the jet stream is quite unstable but pretty dry as well. Nothing bad is going to happen at least for a while.

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