![]() ![]() Turbulence is relatively common around these clouds when updrafts and downdrafts converge. "Either around a cumulonimbus cloud, which routinely has high magnitude air currents around it, or around the edges of one of the jet streams." Jet streams are essentially rivers of wind high above in the atmosphere, and have a huge influence on climate, as they can push air masses around and affect weather patterns.Ĭumulonimbus clouds are commonly referred to as "thunderclouds," because they are, according to the U.K.'s Met Office, "the only cloud type that can produce hail, thunder and lightning." They are born from convection - warm air rising due to it being less dense than the surrounding atmosphere - and "exist through the entire height of the troposphere," the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, which extends to about 33,000 feet (opens in new tab) (10,000 m) above sea level. "There are two main places," Gratton said. So, where is a plane most likely to encounter such conditions? "Conversely, if the headwind rapidly increases, or the plane enters a rising column of air, this can cause it to suddenly climb." "If a plane is flying along at a constant speed and height, then suddenly the headwind reduces, or it enters a descending column of air, this can cause the aircraft to suddenly descend," Gratton explained. This immediate change in wind speed or wind direction happens over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere, and can occur at both high and low altitude, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (opens in new tab). The term "windshear," meanwhile, is used to describe a "sudden change" in wind velocity. ![]() Turbulence is, according to the National Weather Service (opens in new tab), "one of the most unpredictable of all the weather phenomena that are of significance to pilots." Planes are most likely to experience turbulence when they come into contact with a "relatively random large magnitude current, or a rising or descending column of air," Gratton added.
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