TS or CB clouds or AIR MASS THUNDERSTORMS

• Solar energy heats air masses above ocean, these air mass becomes warm ,warm air masses
becomes light ,light air masses vertically ascends , meets 0 deg cel condensation level, changes
state from vapour to liquid called cloud-droplets[milli-microns in size] trillions of cloud-droplets
joined together is called CLOUD.
• During change of state latent heat [L.H.] is released this L.H is utilised again to rise
vertically,forming new cluster of CB cloud and the same mechanism repeats again & again, to give
multiple dense CB clouds of great vertical depths.This is a case of ABSOLUTE INSTABILITY
• SEVERE UPDRAFT IS HAPPENING, called as INITIAL or TOWERING or CUMULUS stage hence
landing & take off cannot happen beneath the base of low cloud
MECHANISM OF A CB CLOUD
FORMATION
1.There must be a deep layer of unstable air.
2.The air must be warm and moist.
3..Continous supply of moisture from water body,along with warm heat
energy to ascend vertically upwards.
4.Potential energy changes to kinetic energy
5.A trigger mechanism must cause the warm moist air to rise:
1. Heating of the layer of air close to the surface.
2. Rising ground forcing the air upwards (orographic uplift).
3. A solar heat energy forcing the air upwards.
4. Continuous moisture supply from water body
• The height of the tropopause is important when analyzing potential severity of a
thunderstorm. The tropopause height will vary with latitude and the season of the year.
• The tropopause height is higher in summer and lower in winter. The height is also
higher at the equator and lower at higher latitudes. The tropopause acts as a barrier to
resist the exchange of air between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
• The tropopause will prevent a thunderstorm from continuing to build, acting as a lid on
further vertical development
• . Only the most severe thunderstorms with rapidly rising updrafts have enough kinetic
energy to penetrate the tropopause before cooling and slowing down.
• Remember that the tropopause height does change seasonally and regionally. A
springtime 30,000-foot thunderstorm in Germany is potentially as deadly as a 50,000-
foot mid-west US thunderstorm in summertime.
• There is a rough correlation between the degree of tropopause penetration and
thunderstorm severity: the greater the tropopause penetration, the more severe the
storm.
MATURE STAGE : These clusters are no more able to hold the great
‘WEIGHTS’ of vertical heights due to over saturation.BASE IS UNABLE
TO HOLD THE WEIGHT OF WATER. [11-20km approx. sometimes
reaching lower STRATOSPHERE too],Once,R.H.[relative humidity]
reaches 100%, these droplets come down as severe down-drafts
,equivalently up-drafts too happen simultaneously as shown in
slide.Slowly, an immature ‘anvil’ is likely to form.
• MATURE STAGE
• UP-DRAFT & DOWN –
• DRAFT SIMUTANOUS-
• -LY HAPPENS.
IN DISSIPATING STAGE , 1] SEVERE DOWN-DRAFTS HAPPEN,
2] DURATION OF TIME RAINFALL HIGHEST THAN MATURE STAGE,
3] THE WEIGHT OF CLUSTERS BECOME WEAK,
4] WHEN WEAK THEY BECOME LIGHT,
5] WHEN LIGHT THEY VERTICALLY RISE ,
6] A AWIND ALOFT MAKES AN ELOGATION CALLED ‘ANVIL’
SUMMARY & COMPARISON OF ALL THREE STAGES OF TS OR CB CLOUD
AVIATION HAZARDS
Turbulence. Vertical movement within a CB can be as much as 50kt. The interaction between strong
updrafts and strong downdrafts causes wind shear and severe turbulence within the cloud.
Strong surface winds, variable in direction and strength, are common at surface level in the vicinity of
the CB. These can be particularly hazardous to aircraft on take-off or landing.
In-Flight Icing. Moderate to Severe icing can be expected, especially in the higher levels of the cloud.
Electrical disturbance. Aircraft flying in the vicinity of Cb clouds may experience electrical
disturbances effecting communications and navigation systems. The electrical phenomenon can be threat
to safe flight, is an indication of nearby CB activity. Aircraft in the vicinity of a CB are at risk of being
hit by Lightning.
Precipitation. Hail can cause significant structural damage to an aircraft. Other precipitation, such as 
snow, sleet, or rain, can contaminate airfield and runway surfaces creating a hazard to aircraft attempting
to take-off or land.
Extreme weather. Severe downdrafts, microbursts and fall in visibility are the features of
cumulonimbus clouds.
Wind shear at an altitude, & strong surface gusty winds, & sqalls are
possible.
Lightning & it’s hazards to flying

Lightning occurs as a result of a build up of static charges within a Cumulonimbus (CB) cloud

Due to severe vertical up-draft there is friction between air masses inside the clouds,
Friction generate static electrical charges both positive & negative
These charges intensifies further into strong electrical charges of cations & anions
Just a ‘’touch’’ of cation & anion can trigger a severe electrical current & thus lightning of very high voltage.
Discharges takes place between the cloud to cloud, cloud to the ground, or between two or more clouds.
 .. An aircraft passing close to an area of charge can initiate a discharge and this may occur some distance from a 
Thunderstorm.
Lightning strikes on aircraft commonly occur within 5,000 feet of the freezing level.
Lightning is accompanied by a brilliant flash of light and often by the smell of burning tyre inside the cockpit, as
well as noise.
A lightning strike can be very distressing to passengers (and crew!) but significant physical damage to an aircraft is
possible
The safety of an aircraft in flight can be affected depending on intensity.
. Damage is usually confined to aerials, compasses, avionics, and the burning of small holes in the fuselage
. Of greater concern is the potential for the transient airflow disturbance associated with lightning to cause
Engine shutdown on both Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) and non-FADEC engines with close-
spaced engine pairs.
Mechanism AND LINEAR LIGHTNING
FORK TYPE LIGHTNING
 PRECIPITATION
 Precipitation is a process of the condensation of atmospheric water vapour that falls under
gravity from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, heavy rain fall, snow, ,
and hail stones ete. ... This process is very active when the clusters become over saturated & the
base of low cloud is unable to hold the weight of clusters,then rainfall happens as  precipitation I
 . The development of precipitation
 Solar energy heats air masses above ocean, these air mass becomes warm ,warm air masses becomes light ,light
air masses vertically ascends , meets 0 deg cel condensation level, changes state from vapour to liquid called
cloud-droplets [milli-microns in size] trillions of cloud-droplets joined together is called CLOUD.
 During change of state latent heat [L.H.] is released this L.H is utilised again to rise vertically,forming new cluster of
CB cloud and the same mechanism repeats again & again, to give multiple dense CB clouds of great vertical
depths.This is a case of ABSOLUTE INSTABILITY
 SEVERE UPDRAFT IS HAPPENING, hence landing & take off cannot happen beneath the base of low cloud.
 When the BASE of the clusters are unable to hold the weight of water IT FALLS AS PRECIPITATION.
 Different types of precipitation in a tropical country like India are water-droplets,hail storms ,drizzle & snow only in
J&K state,’
• Relationship of precipitation, is given in clouds , & CB ,Air mass clouds etc,,,