Cumulonimbus Clouds (Cb)
Microphysics
Cb Calvus
Cb Inflow
Cb Hector I
Cb Hector II
Cb Calvus Capillatus
Development
Cb above Taunus
Cb from Aircraft
Cb in the Tropes
Views of Tropical Cb
Cb Mammatus I
Cb Mammatus II
View from Aircraft
Cb Incus
Cb - Ci I
Cb - Ci II
Squall lines from Cb
Overview

 

 


Tropical Cumulonimbus Calvus Capillatus Clouds (Icing)


The cruising altitude was 11.2 km with an outside temperature of - 54 deg C. The temperature was -24 degC at an altitude of 8 km, whereas it was - 5 degC at 4.9 km. This means, that the icing of under-cooled droplets had to occur in the region of the cruising altitude. In most images this Cumulonimbus cloud shows a clear convective structure in the upper parts, so that it is still a Cb calvus. However, the icing has already started in the front part of the right side. In CbIcing4.jpg this can be noticed at the winglet pointing downwards.

When the first stripy, iced structure has been already formed at a Cumulonimbus cloud, but a fully developed anvil does not exist yet, the kind of cloud is called "capillatus".

 

CbIcing1.jpg to CbIcing7.jpg: S. Borrmann, flight Varig RG2375 from Fortaleza to Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2 March 2004

Camera Parameters

Olympus E-1 SLR with 14-54 mm objective. Light exposure and sensitivity (100 ASA) are chosen by program automation of the camera. The images were taken in the sRGB range with a resolution of 2560 x 1920 Pixel x 24 colours.

 


 
Lens aperture
Time of exposure
Focal length
Time
CbIcing1.jpg

8

1/640

54

3:45:47 p.m.
CbIcing2.jpg

8

1/640

54

3:46:06 p.m.

CbIcing4.jpg

9

1/400

17

3:46:50 p.m.

CbIcing5.jpg

8

1/640

 

3:46:59 p.m.

CbIcing7.jpg

8

1/640

44

3:47:44 p.m.