Wild, Weird, Wonky Weather Phenomena

Weather constantly amazes us.? Why does it fascinate me?? I don’t know, exactly, but, way back, “in the days of Noah,” ?when I learned to fly, we had to take a whole section of lessons dealing with meteorology (weather).? In case you’ve never figured it out, flying is sort of affected by the weather.? Nonetheless, I loved the section dealing with weather. Through my decades of flying, people have said to me, “Oh, Tom … that flying stuff is dangerous, isn’t it?”? To which I always replied, “No, it’s not so dangerous.? It’s just unbelievably unforgiving!”

For the last week, while sitting in my cozy, warm office at home, ?things have run the gamut in Middle Tennessee.? Winds blew trash containers out into the road.? Ten inches of beautiful white snow graced Tennessee like we haven’t seen in a long time.? Then, it did a few hours of freezing rain and turned everything from serene to treacherous.? And all of this was followed by a miserable cold snap that was indicative of Fargo.?

All kinds of weather fascinates me. I was a member of an aircrew in a fighter squadron in the service and we had to take loads of meteorology.? Our lives depended upon correct knowledge.? Storms in the Western Pacific are different as night and day from what we get here in Tennessee. From stunning sunsets to terrifying thunderstorms to at-sea cyclones, there’s always something happening in the sky or on the surface.? ?Some weather phenomena are lesser-known and you hardly ever see the meteorologists on TV deal with some of these below.? Yet, to me, they are totally fascinating.? ?In this post, while weather is still on everyone’s mind (from the wild weather we’ve been experiencing), ?“Pilot/Meteorologist Tom” will enlighten you with some wonky weird weather types and will attempt to describe some of these mysteries.? I can’t go into everything but I’ll give you a few wild ones you don’t hear about that often.? Follow on below.

Lenticular Clouds.? Lenticular clouds can form over mountains, hills or even tall buildings.? Lenticular clouds get their name from the lens-like shape they form. Lenticular clouds form most often in winter, but it is not uncommon to see them at other times of the year.? Pilots avoid flying near lenticular clouds like the plague because there can be severe turbulence in the area.? There have been a few cases in aviation history whereby a smaller aircraft (4 to 8 passenger) has been turned upside down and slammed into the mountain because of severe lenticular winds.

Bomb Cyclone.? A bomb cyclone, in meteorologic parlance known as bombogenesis, is?a fast-developing storm that occurs when atmospheric pressure drops at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period.? A bomb cyclone occurs when a mid-latitude (the latitudes between the tropics and polar regions) cyclone rapidly intensifies, or strengthens, over a 24 hour period. This intensification is represented, as mentioned above, by a drop in millibars, a measurement of pressure used in meteorology. Warmer air rapidly rises, creating cloud systems, lowering air pressure and developing into a storm system that?circulates counterclockwise around that center of low pressure. Bomb cyclones occur mostly in the Pacific Ocean but some have taken place in the Atlantic.? The most famous bomb cyclone was Nuri which took place in November 2014 just off the Bearing Sea … and wreaked havoc of all kinds throughout the Aleutians.

Virga.? I encountered this phenomenon numerous times during my years of flying.? I know for a fact you have seen it many times as well;? you just might not know it was called virga. Have you ever seen rain falling from a cloud, but noticed that it was not reaching the ground? This weather phenomenon is known as virga. It occurs when rain falls from a cloud but evaporates before it reaches the ground. Virga is a sign of dry air, which means that no powerful cloud with large heavy raindrops can form. It can create stunning visual effects as the rain falls through the air. For example, you can observe how the cloud itself thins out and slowly dissipates as if it has fallen from the sky. Virga can also occur in the high clouds when ice crystals evaporate.? Impress the passengers in your vehicle the next time you see the cloud raining but not hitting the ground … and you tell them, “Look there, folks.? That’s virga.”?

Derecho.? If you're a flyer, this one will give you some heartburn.? It’s not used very often because it doesn’t occur very often.? But when it does …. Yikes.?? A derecho is?a very long-lived and damaging thunderstorm. A storm is classified as a derecho if ?the wind damage swath extends more than 240 miles and has wind gusts of at least 58 mph or greater along most of the length of the storm's path.? To put it in reference for you, a derecho is at least the width (swath) of a distance from Ardmore, Alabama to the Ohio River at Louisville.? Although a derecho can sometimes produce destruction similar to the strength of tornadoes, the damage typically is directed in one direction along a relatively straight swath. As a result, the term "straight-line wind damage" sometimes is used to describe derecho damage. If you're going to vector around the derecho, you're gonna detour a spell, I can assure you that.

Mammatus Clouds.? You’ve probably seen pictures of these ominous-looking clouds before. These type of clouds are weather phenomena that resemble a huge bubble wrap stuck to the cloud base.? I’ve even heard them called “goose bump clouds” by some folks. They are typically smooth on the bottom and have a more textured appearance on the top.? Mammatus clouds form?when cold, downward-moving air pocket-like formations push toward the cloud base, causing it to bulge and create these bubble-wrap-like shapes. Of importance, these weird clouds most often appear during or after thunderstorms, and while they look nasty, they’re mostly harmless. Weather scientists still don’t fully understand how they form, but their formation may result from the interaction between updrafts and downdrafts within a storm.? These are one type of strange clouds about which not much is known.

Cumulonimbus Clouds.? If you’re a flyer and you fly into one of these, you won’t be a flyer any more.? Cumulonimbus clouds are wicked looking multi-level clouds, extending high into the sky in towers or plumes, sometimes reaching sixty or seventy thousand feet in altitude!? ?These bad boys are commonly known as thunderclouds. Of all the cloud types known to science, ?cumulonimbus clouds are the only cloud type that can produce hail, thunder and lightning … and all at the same time.? ?I was told in one of my weather classes while in the squadron in the military, that ?cumulonimbus clouds will tend to get taller and taller until they represent a behemoth powerhouse, storing?the equivalent amount of energy as ten Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs.? For you aviation mavens out there, the updrafts inside a cumulonimbus cloud associated with a super cell thunderstorm can reach 140 feet per second!!! This corresponds to the wind speed of a hurricane. Moreover,?the turbulence inside a cumulonimbus cloud is extreme and will literally tear apart the aircraft.

Frost Flowers.? I thought I’d finish the tome by going from “the lion” (cumulonimbus) to “the lamb.”? Frost flowers are delicate, intricately patterned formations that can appear on the ground during cold weather. They form when moisture the down in the ground freezes and expands, pushing up through the soil in thin, dainty ribbons. The ice crystals then take on shapes that resemble flowers and they can be incredibly beautiful.? Of note, frost flowers can only form in conditions, most often when the air is very cold and dry, and the ground is not frozen. I just learned from German weather expert, Anastasia Myronets, how frost flowers form.1

·?????? The temperature drops and the moisture in the plant’s stem or leaves freezes.

·?????? The water expands and pushes out through small cracks in the surface.

·?????? The water creates thin ice layers that gradually build up into frost flowers.

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These frost flowers are not only a wonder to behold, but they also have ecological significance. Frost flowers can be a source of moisture for animals and plants during the winter months when other water sources may be scarce. They can also help to insulate the plants and protect them from the cold, acting as a natural barrier against low temperatures.? These delicate wonders of meteorology are just simply fascinating.

Conclusion:? These are just a scant few of the fascinating weather events that can be observed around our planet. While some of these natural phenomena can be dangerous (and really dangerous if you happen to be slipping the surly bonds of Earth),they’re each incredibly intriguing in their own way and remind us of the awe-inspiring power of God Almighty in how He knit all of this stuff together to work.? We can’t understand it because we are finite.

About the author: Tom Tucker is an honorably-discharged Vietnam veteran who retired from being a senior executive for two Fortune 500 corporations. He has earned B.S., M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees. He is a three-decade pilot whose hobbies are late 60s muscle cars and golf.? Currently, Tom is the northern Middle Tennessee representative for Mission Aviation Fellowship.

1? Myronets, Anastasia;? Rain Viewer:? Fascinating Weather Phenomena You Might Not Know About;? June 19, 2023

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