Morning Glory Cloud

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Morning Glory Cloud near Burketown .
Aerial view of the Morning Glory Cloud (between Burketown and Normanton, Queensland ). The occurrence of several wavefronts as here is rather rare.
Morning Glory Cloud satellite image over the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The Morning Glory Cloud is a boundary layer phenomenon . This phenomenon can be observed regularly in the northern Australian Gulf of Carpentaria in springtime (in the southern hemisphere). This is a seemingly rolling cloud ( Roll Cloud ), a so-called. Atmospheric soliton , of several hundred kilometers long, but only one to two kilometers height and width, which can reach a speed of up km to 60 / h.

It got its name after the arrival time (dawn) on the coast of Queensland . The front of the cloud is preceded by strong updrafts, while in the rear area of ​​the cloud the air sinks and becomes turbulent . This creates an apparent rolling movement. The cloud offers ideal conditions for glider and hang-glider pilots and is therefore particularly popular for “cloud surfing”.

Emergence

When sea breezes from both sides of the Cape York Peninsula meet, they create a convergence that begins to migrate as an atmospheric wave . The moist air condenses on the top of this crest of the waves and forms the characteristic cloud that is carried westward by further easterly winds. The origin of the Morning Glory Cloud has not yet been fully explored. Attempts are currently being made to use this fairly regular cloud phenomenon to develop forecast models for tropical storms.

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