- How storm-scale subsidence affects cloud formations: flanking line
- W023022Z
- How storm-scale subsidence affects cloud formations. A storm trails a thin cloud line along its gust front. The flanking line extension is smooth, indicating that the air is drawn together and condensed forcibly in a stably stratified situation. The stability may have been imposed by subsiding air from downdrafts outside the passing storm. Since there is no bubbling in the cloud tube, it shows a gap between the LCL (lifted condensation level where cloud forms) and the higher LFC (level of free convection where cloud towers become buoyant and rise of their own accord). The cloudy air slides toward the storm where it breaks free, shoots skyward, and merges with the main updraft.
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