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Snow-Wing: UFO or Cloud?Atmospheric Scientists Find that Planes Can Cause Rain and Snow InadvertentlyNovember 1, 2011 Atmospheric scientists have discovered that planes can inadvertently cause rain or snow. In certain conditions, a plane passing through a cloud creates a sudden dip in temperature, which causes the cloud’s water droplets to turn into ice particles. The frozen water droplets become snow or rain, leaving behind a hole in the cloud. This effect is most common in locations such as Alaska, Colorado, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. |
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Science InsiderABOUT SNOWFLAKES: Snow is a form of precipitation. Rising warm air carries water vapor high into the sky, where it cools and condenses into water droplets. Some vapor freezes into tiny ice crystals, which can attract cooled water drops to form snowflakes. As snowflakes fall, they may meet warmer air and melt into raindrops, unless temperatures are below freezing close to the ground: then we get snow. A snow crystal is a single crystal of ice. It usually forms the shape of a hexagonal prism, but as the crystals grow, branches sprout from the corners, creating more complex shapes. Conditions such as temperature and humidity in the atmosphere can influence a snowflake's shape.
WHAT CAUSES RAIN AND SNOW: Rain and snow are two forms of precipitation, along with sleet, hail, dew, and fog. Rising warm air carries water vapor high into the sky, where it cools and condenses into water droplets. Some vapor freezes into tiny ice crystals, which can attract cooled water drops to form snowflakes. As snowflakes fall, they meet warmer air and melt into raindrops, unless temperatures are below freezing close to the ground: then we get snow. The American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report. |
More information on this storyOn The Web: Mysterious Clouds Produced When Aircraft Inadvertently Cause Rain or Snow To Go Inside This Science: Dr. Andrew Heymsfield Peter Weiss American Meteorological Society |
