Did you see them today? Phil here, Ive received many texts today regarding holes in the cloud cover. Here is the explanation: First we need very high and cold clouds which we had today called altocumulus. They are made up of small water droplets very close to the freezing point. If for whatever reason they freeze completely they will turn to ice and fall from the sky. During their fall they will fall apart. Not too long ago a study was performed suggesting that planes passing through these clouds, can disturb those small water droplets to freeze and drop... thus leaving a hole punched out of the cloud deck. The study suggests: that aircraft propellers and wings cause the formation of those initial ice crystals. There are zones of locally low pressure along the wing and propeller tips which allow the air to expand and cool well below the original temperature of the cloud layer, forming ice crystals. Again, it turns the small droplets into ice and the weight makes them fall, melting on their way down and never reaching the ground. In our neck of the woods it could also result from just a good hot air bubble rising and punching a hole in the clouds.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 20:46:03 +0000
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