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Turbulence associated with an orographic banner cloud over Montana

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images + plots of pilot-reported turbulence, with and without an overlay of Turbulence Probability [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images along with a Turbulence Probability product (above) showed the formation of a banner cloud in northwestern Montana on 14 March 2022 — this orographic cloud feature appeared to be anchored to the Lewis Range and Sawtooth Range, which rise to elevations of 8,000-9,000 feet. The Probability of Moderate or Greater (MOG) Turbulence correctly peaked at values of 70-80% during the course of the day in the general vicinity of the banner cloud — including around the time of a pilot report of Moderate Turbulence at 38,000 feet at 1341 UTC.

A GOES-16 Cloud Top Height derived product (below) indicated that the banner cloud tops were in the 37,000-40,000 feet range (darker blue enhancement) — the altitude of many pilot reports of turbulence that day.

GOES-16 Cloud Top Height derived product, with plots of pilot-reported turbulence [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Categories: Aviation, GOES-16