Early last year, we had a week of high pressure and spectacular temperature inversions. So different from the soggy-teabag we've got at the moment.

https://www.mattpedals.bike/above-silurian-clouds/

#writing #temperatureinversion #walking #weather

Above Silurian clouds

A week of high atmospheric pressure saw us happily marooned on hilltops, cut adrift in splendid Paleozoic isolation.

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Fifth Street saw two fire emergencies Xmas morning, but the smoke in this photo was not from them, but from our woodstove, due to a micro-weather inversion. #fire #fireemergency #emergency #smoke #woodsmoke #woodstove #stove #smoky #temperatureinversion #inversion #weather

Albuquerque: Balloonist Paradise

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s unique weather characteristics make it a popular destination for hot-air balloonists. While balloonists can control their altitude by warming or venting the air in their balloon, their horizontal travel comes at the mercy of the wind. (Just ask the erstwhile Wizard of Oz.) What makes Albuquerque special is a combination of topography, dry air, and altitude. Together, these features create the “Albuquerque box,” a circulation that gives south-flowing drainage winds below north-flowing prevailing winds.

The key to the box’s flow is a temperature inversion, where cooler, denser air is trapped near the surface and lighter, warmer air sits above. This typically occurs after a night of clear skies when much of the ground layer’s warm gets radiated away to space — something that’s easily done in high, dry altitudes.

Temperature inversions like this don’t last very long, though; by late morning, the sun’s warmth will dismantle the Albuquerque box. Still, it is a frequent enough occurrence, especially in the stable atmospheric conditions common in the autumn, that the city hosts an International Balloon Fiesta every October. (Image credit: B. Bos; via Physics Today)

#Albuquerque #ballooning #fluidDynamics #meteorology #physics #science #temperatureInversion #wind

Islands in the stream
That is where we are
No one in between

Once Dolly and Kenny’s duet had popped into my head on today’s walk, I couldn’t get it out again – even though the clouds were more sea than stream.

#walking #temperatureinversion

We spent most of the day above the cloud layer…….. But every now and again it came up to meet us. The edge of the cloud layer created curios monsters. #temperatureinversion