Green Sky and Tornadoes

[Red Tail 444]

Always wondered what caused this, especially that we're in a severe T storm alert. Some of what I was told, were simply old falsehoods. It's nice to know someone actually did some empirical research.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa029&articleID=25F743DC-E7F2-99DF-3BB7C05144B603BD

After learning that hail, or terrain, were not the cause, this article further piqued my interest.

Read on.

[Ripsnort]

Thanks. When living in the midwest, I experienced two "Green Cloud" cells that both produced tornado's, and come to think of it, they were both late afternoon, early evening time frames too.

[Shifty]

I've heard.........HEARD, the green color is caused by hail stones in the cloud. The story seems to say that's not the case.

Also your probably going to only see the green cloud in the afternoon. Thunderstorms that produce tornadoes rarely happen in the morning. The  storm usualy spends majority of the day building into a super cell.

[lasersailor184]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Thanks. When living in the midwest, I experienced two "Green Cloud" cells that both produced tornado's, and come to think of it, they were both late afternoon, early evening time frames too.

Here in the mid atlantic states, a green "Aura" to everything signals a severe thunderstorm about to come through.

I've never seen a green cloud, however, I have many times seen just everything take an odd shade of green.  The trees and grass just look different.

[Meatwad]

We had a "green" storm blow through here in the spring. It was about 2pm when it hit. The times werent really going along with that story, but we did get some dime-nickel size hail out of it

[Masherbrum]

Originally posted by Red Tail 444
Always wondered what caused this, especially that we're in a severe T storm alert. Some of what I was told, were simply old falsehoods. It's nice to know someone actually did some empirical research.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa029&articleID=25F743DC-E7F2-99DF-3BB7C05144B603BD

After learning that hail, or terrain, were not the cause, this article further piqued my interest.

Read on.

Hail is NOT the reason.   Hail is the by product of dust, massive updrafts of cold air in a Cumulonimbus cloud.   Sky color has nothing to do with it.

Sky coloration is caused by the scattering of sunlight as it passes through the atmosphere. As we view the sky it is the scattered light that we are seeing.

Also, the coloration will vary as the amount of lightning strikes increases.

[AWMac]

Heh... Oklahoma here.

Green clouds, flyin sheep, sideways rain/hail and ears popping from pressure drop means one thing.... sell the house.

The best beef is the half of carcus pulled from the tree... no brand on it?

It's Mine!

I've pulled great beef, pork and chicken from just my pool.

Livin on Tulsa Time...



Mac

I know the secret behind Green Clouds....

[FBBone]

Originally posted by AWMac
Heh... Oklahoma here.

Green clouds, flyin sheep, sideways rain/hail and ears popping from pressure drop means one thing.... sell the house.

The best beef is the half of carcus pulled from the tree... no brand on it?

It's Mine!

I've pulled great beef, pork and chicken from just my pool.

Livin on Tulsa Time...



Mac

I'm comin' to yer place for some good old fashioned BBQ!!!:aok

[AWMac]

Originally posted by FBBone
I'm comin' to yer place for some good old fashioned BBQ!!!:aok

Just bring the Beer... I'll have everything else....



Mac

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
Here in the mid atlantic states, a green "Aura" to everything signals a severe thunderstorm about to come through.

I've never seen a green cloud, however, I have many times seen just everything take an odd shade of green.  The trees and grass just look different.

That's what I speak of. Didn't mean to give the impression of an actual green cloud, but as you said, the "Aura".

[Gumbeau]

I've seen green storms several times in my flying career along with dozens of other weird phenomena.

Green is ALWAYS extremely severe weather.

That doesn't mean hail or tornadoes on the ground necessarily.

There is hail associated with EVERY thunderstorm.

Here is why........

Thunderstorms are by their very nature very tall cloud structures.

During the building phase rising air carries moisture aloft until it cools and becomes heavy enough to fall back down the center of the storm. Early in the storm's life cycle this moisture is carried back up after falling.

Once a thunderstorm builds large enough some of this moisture cycle escapes out of the bottom of the storm, falling as rain.

Every thunderstorm builds to heights above the freezing level, causing rain to freeze into ice.

So there is hail in every storm.

Larger storms propel some of this ice to the top reaches of the storm where the strong winds at high level push it out of the top downwind of the storm. This forms an overhang of cloud downwind. Flying under this at high altitudes has proven very dangerous.

Most of the time this hail is small enough that it melts before it hits the earth.

That is why just before the main rain shaft hits there are scattered large cloud rain drops on the ground.

It is melted hail.

Really large drops with a significant gap between them and the main shaft  indicate a strong storm. It was strong enough to eject large hail out the top of the storm and the wind is strong enough to push them well ahead of the storm.

It is basically a mortar firing hail in advance of the rain shaft.

[rpm]

I miss Harold Taft.

[Shifty]

Originally posted by rpm
I miss Harold Taft.

Man there's a blast from the past!

Reminds me of when I was a kid, wasn't Taft channel 5?

Do you remember Bob Gooding, and Murphy Martin the anchors from Channel 8?

[rpm]

Originally posted by Shifty
Do you remember Bob Gooding, and Murphy Martin the anchors from Channel 8?

Both of them were instructors of mine in broadcasting school.

[Shifty]

LOL cool.