Flight Level???

[banned username 2]

Take a look at the Radar Summary chart (http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USNationalWide.asp?loc=usa&seg=LocalWeather&prodgrp=SevereWeather&product=RadarSummary&prodnav=none), during thunderstorm season it is easy to find MANY storms with Precipitation Tops at FL600, remember that is precip top, cloud top can be 5,000+ ft higher...

I've been at FL470 several times and still had cloud tops well above me!

 

[mar]

Check my theory

You know you're in the trope because temps tend to decrease as you get higher.

When that stops, you're getting in to the stratosphere. There is still "air" up there (sheesh!), but now the temps increase as you get higher.

It's been a few years since my Met class with the very odd Dr. John Holley (anyone else?).

But let's clarify:

Troposphere: Decreasing temps.
Tropopause: Constant temp.
And *then* the Stratosphere.

The height of the troposphere is mostly determined by latitude. It's quite low (30,000') in the north and quite high (40,000') around the equator.

 

[moxiepilot]

Falcon Cap - thanks for the new wx link - always looking for good sites out there

 

[typhoonpilot]

It's been a few years since my Met class with the very odd Dr. John Holley (anyone else?).

But let's clarify:

Troposphere: Decreasing temps.
Tropopause: Constant temp.
And *then* the Stratosphere.

The height of the troposphere is mostly determined by latitude. It's quite low (30,000') in the north and quite high (40,000') around the equator.

You beat me to it Mike.

The Tropopause is a thin layer forming the boundary between the Troposphere and Stratosphere. The height of the Tropopause varies from 65,000 ft. over the Equator to 20,000 ft. or lower over the poles. Temperature tends to remain constant or increase slightly as you go higher in the Tropopause.

TP

 

[mar]

More trivia

The height of the Tropopause varies from 65,000 ft. over the Equator to 20,000 ft. or lower over the poles.

Do I remember correctly that this difference is due to the centrifugal force from the rotation of Earth...or is that just a silly mnemonic that I conjured up to help me remember that it's thicker near the equator?

Anyway, I also seem to recall that if Earth was the size of an apple the entire atmosphere would only be as thick as the skin of the apple.

I was thinking about Unanswered original question: Where do you stop finding air? And I think that for all practical intents and purposes Outer Space is generally considered to be 100 miles up.

But, yeah, 99% of the weather is found in the troposphere.

 

[TonyC]

Do I remember correctly that this difference is due to the centrifugal force from the rotation of Earth...or is that just a silly mnemonic that I conjured up to help me remember that it's thicker near the equator?

OK, now we have to spin off (punny, huh?) into a discussion of "centrifugal force." IS centrifugal force a real force, or just a misnomer conveniently attached to inertia acting against a centripetal force?







I think you're right, MAR. Inertia, centrifugal force, whatever ya call it.



.

 

[RichardRambone]

I was told only those with PFT type ratings could go up there. I think you can get there with some of them Burt Rutan sideburns though.

Dang thats the second funniest thing Ive read today on this post. Cheers to you.

 

[dash8driver]

when does the air run out? well, that really depends on how long you want to breathe.


mar,

i think you're right there too... i wasnt sure if it was my mnemonic either..hah.


tony,

this centrifugal/centripetal force debate should be a whole new thread.. right under the id/evo thread. perhaps god's role in centrifugal force should be introduced as well.

 

[Huggyu2]

The highest cloud tops you are ever going to see can peak as high as 65,000 feet...but very rare, and only in supercell thunderstorms.

Not true. Near the equator, where the tropopause is higher, you'll see T-Storms above 70,000'.

 

[gkrangers]

Not true. Near the equator, where the tropopause is higher, you'll see T-Storms above 70,000'.

Fair enough.