Post-rain Cloud Bank over Scottsdale
Disclaimer: For those of you who live were this kind of weather is commonplace…I do apologize and you may be upset with the following comments.
This morning I woke up to rain, 900 foot overcast ceilings, mist, and haze, 2.5 miles visibility, and 59 degrees with an indication of three letters seldom seen together in Arizona aviation weather reporting, I F R. Instrument Flight Rules means the ceiling is less that 1000 feet above ground level and the visibility is less than 3 miles. The pilot must hold an IFR certificate and file an IFR flight plan to fly in these conditions. These are truly rare days in Arizona. A recent count showed only 15 out of 365 days last year were true IFR weather days. So I have to say, witnessing this weather is very interesting to me.
A pacific storm that had been brewing offshore finally made its way into the valley. This was a abnormally slow moving storm as we usually see the fast, here and gone thunderstorms in Arizona. As the ceiling started to lift this afternoon, it revealed an amazing tapestry of cumulus clouds. The dark surrounding clouds made one particular white cloud incredibly bright (pictured above). In person, I could hardly look straight at the cloud because it was so bright. You may not have been able to tell from the picture but the tops of the cloud were probably getting close to 50,000 feet. This would definitely be a “fly around” not “fly over” cloud.
Weather is truly amazing. Never take it for granted and NEVER forget the power that it holds.
- Never let the keychain hang straight down
— The Aerobat
