Clouds and auroras 3 December 2015 Jane Golding : Supervising Meteorologist, NSW and ACT Region
Three 'etages' Low etage: surface to 8500 ft Clouds generally composed of water droplets Middle etage: 8500 – 20 000 ft Clouds generally composed of supercooled water droplets High etage: above 20 000 ft Clouds composed mostly of ice crystals
Cloud types Image from NOAA
Cirrus/Cirrocumulus/Cirrostratus
Altostratus/Altocumulus
Nimbostratus
Stratus/Cumulus/Stratocumulus
Cumulonimbus
When do you see Clouds instability (low level troughs, warm and humid summer time , jet streaks) Orographically induced (winds hitting slopes) When cold frontal system approaches, or in unstable mass behind Stuck under an inversion related to a high pressure system
Which ones are likely to affect Aurora Viewing • Frontal Cloud Bands (within ~8-12 hours of the front arriving) • Large Decks of Stratocumulus
Where do you get cloud information from Bureau 1. Public weather forecasts CAVEAT spatially and temporarily averaged cloud information, depending on where you get it. http://www.Bureau.gov.au/info/wwords/ 2. Himawari 8 http://satview.Bureau.gov.au
Exploring the Bureau's Himawari-8 Public Viewer http://satview.Bureau.gov.au/ image courtesy Bureau/JMA
animation courtesy JMA/CIMSS Comparing Himawari 8/9 with MTSAT-2 MTSAT 2 Himawari 8 satellite images courtesy Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) MTSAT-2 image courtesy JMA, Himawari-8 image courtesy NASA
Himawari-8 Public Viewer full domain view Philippines Singapore Indonesia Fiji Australia New Zealand image courtesy Bureau/JMA
Layer Control Window – choose Coastal image courtesy Bureau/JMA
Try animation to see the movement of clouds "+" to zoom in – click on image Start animation and speed this up "+"
Some low level cloud type examples (use Infrared Greyscale and Visible Greyscale to compare) Cumulus over land Stratocumulus
Some mid-high cloud type examples (use Infrared Greyscale and Visible Greyscale to compare) Altostratus Cirrostratus
Cumulonimbus cloud (use Infrared Greyscale and Visible Greyscale to compare) Cumulonimbus
Cumulonimbus cloud (also use Zehr enhancement) Cumulonimbus
More Information on Himawari and the Bureau • How to use the satellite viewer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mODSZFIYVqk • The weather comes alive (about H-8 with beautiful imagery): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-GFADBBfcA • Facts and figures about Himawari-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-AAGAhOaFU
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