Sunday, March 18, 2018

Cloud Temperatures

Cumulus clouds over NearSys Station made me wonder how the temperature across them changed. So I recorded two thermal images using the Seek Reveal and detected a 12 degree difference between the coldest and warmest portions of the cloud.

The ground temperature was 20 degrees F while the warmest and supposedly lowest portion of the cloud was -7 degrees. Assuming a dry adiabatic lapse rate of 5.4 degrees per 1,000 feet, the cloud base was at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The highest point of the cloud was 2,200 feet higher.

Colder and presumably higher portion of a cumulus cloud

The cloud's warmer ba

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