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Aircraft turbulence associated with transverse cirrus bands

By Scott Bachmeier •

5-minute GOES-19 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm) images, with Pilot Reports of turbulence plotted in red, from 0946-1501 on 20 September [click to play MP4 animation]

Transverse cirrus bands — narrow cirrus cloud filaments oriented perpendicular to the mean wind flow at the altitude of those cloud features — have long been recognized as indicators of potential aircraft turbulence. Such was the case on 20 September 2025, when a Mesoscale Convective System over Kansas/Oklahoma began to exhibit transverse banding along its northern to eastern periphery as it moved eastward toward the mid-Mississippi Valley (above). Several high-altitude pilot reports of light to moderate turbulence were seen in the area of transverse banding.

A stepped comparison of GOES-19 Infrared Window (10.3 µm), Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm), Near-Infrared Cirrus (1.37 µm) and Red Visible (0.64 µm) images at 1301 UTC (below) showed that the transverse cirrus bands were best visualized using the Near-Infrared Cirrus and Water Vapor (and to a somewhat lesser extent, the Infrared) imagery — the presence low- to mid-level clouds tended to mask the appearance of some of the thin high-altitude cirrus bands.

GOES-19 Infrared Window (10.3 µm), Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm), Near-Infrared Cirrus (1.37 µm) and Red Visible (0.64 µm) images at 1301 UTC on 20 September, with Pilot Reports of turbulence plotted in red [click to enlarge]

Transverse cirrus bands are also occasionally observed near the axis of strong jet streaks and around the periphery of tropical cyclones.

Categories: Aviation, GOES-19