Volume 10 , Issue 20

Clouds Over Durango CO

Hey Linda, the clouds over Durango pictured in the last newsletter are called cap clouds. Cap clouds form when warm moist air is quickly pushed up by being blown against an obstruction such as a mountain. The moisture condenses into a cloud which seems to hang just to the leeward of the mountain.

The clouds look stable, but they mark the spot where the air starts down the lee slope of the mountain, and airplanes need to avoid the turbulence associated with cap clouds. The clouds usually form over mountains, but can form over any elevated land mass if conditions are right.

As an aside to the UFO angle, my mother always believed in them. She would regularly ask me if I had seen any when I was flying. When I would tell her truthfully that I never had, she would just smile wisely, and say that she knew I could not tell her because the AF made me keep it secret.

The West Coast flu finally made it to Florida, and we are all down sick or just recovering." -- Lou
  |  View or Add Comments (1 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---