Mysterious swirling cloud phenomenon captured via satellite
By
Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated May 17, 2021 12:20 PM EDT
A NOAA satellite captured "Von Karman" clouds over Guadalupe Island, off the coast of Mexico on May 8. They occur when "prevailing winds are diverted by elevated land features such as islands."
Satellites captured a beautiful phenomenon called Von Karman clouds off the coast of Mexico on May 8, and this occurrence has many wondering why and how these swirls are appearing over the Pacific Ocean.
"Von Karman Vortices form where fluid flow, in this case air, is disturbed by an object, usually a mountain or island," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
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These mysterious vortices were named after Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American physicist and one of the first scientists to describe this phenomenon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
They form when prevailing winds are disrupted by topographical features like mountains or islands, and this causes this wave shape to occur.
"When wind-driven clouds meet an island or elevated land area they flow around it clockwise and anti-clockwise to form the beautiful spinning eddies," Nicholls explained.
"The vortices appear downwind or in the lee of these obstructions and are so distinctive they can easily be spotted in visible satellite images, which clearly show cloud structures," said Nicholls.
In the case of satellite images captured off the coast of Mexico earlier this month, the obstructing feature turned out to be Guadalupe Island. As winds from the west moved eastward across the island, air and clouds were forced to move around it and ended up spinning, creating these stunning swirls.
"The spirals are more visible if there is a thin deck of clouds within the air stream, those clouds act like dusting fingerprints, revealing the beautiful details of the disturbed flow," said Nicholls.
A Von Karman vortex can't just occur anywhere, though.
"The areas in the world where these conditions are most frequently encountered are the regions of the Trade Winds," Nicholls said.
The Trade Winds are typically found between about 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. Despite this, these phenomenon don't necessarily have to form close to the equator.
This satellite image, taken May 20, 2015, shows another example of Von Karman vortices around the Canary Islands. (NASA)
Satellite sensors have spotted Von Karman vortices around the globe before, including near the coast of Chile, in the Greenland Sea, in the Arctic, and even next to a tropical storm, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
"As long as you can satisfy the requirements to produce Von Karman vortices, which include something like an island that 'sticks up' into the air flow, a favorable wind speed, and cloud cover that can help mark or visualize the wind footprint, they can occur elsewhere on the globe," Nicholls said.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
Mysterious swirling cloud phenomenon captured via satellite
By Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated May 17, 2021 12:20 PM EDT
A NOAA satellite captured "Von Karman" clouds over Guadalupe Island, off the coast of Mexico on May 8. They occur when "prevailing winds are diverted by elevated land features such as islands."
Satellites captured a beautiful phenomenon called Von Karman clouds off the coast of Mexico on May 8, and this occurrence has many wondering why and how these swirls are appearing over the Pacific Ocean.
"Von Karman Vortices form where fluid flow, in this case air, is disturbed by an object, usually a mountain or island," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
These mysterious vortices were named after Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American physicist and one of the first scientists to describe this phenomenon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
They form when prevailing winds are disrupted by topographical features like mountains or islands, and this causes this wave shape to occur.
"When wind-driven clouds meet an island or elevated land area they flow around it clockwise and anti-clockwise to form the beautiful spinning eddies," Nicholls explained.
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"The vortices appear downwind or in the lee of these obstructions and are so distinctive they can easily be spotted in visible satellite images, which clearly show cloud structures," said Nicholls.
In the case of satellite images captured off the coast of Mexico earlier this month, the obstructing feature turned out to be Guadalupe Island. As winds from the west moved eastward across the island, air and clouds were forced to move around it and ended up spinning, creating these stunning swirls.
"The spirals are more visible if there is a thin deck of clouds within the air stream, those clouds act like dusting fingerprints, revealing the beautiful details of the disturbed flow," said Nicholls.
A Von Karman vortex can't just occur anywhere, though.
"The areas in the world where these conditions are most frequently encountered are the regions of the Trade Winds," Nicholls said.
The Trade Winds are typically found between about 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. Despite this, these phenomenon don't necessarily have to form close to the equator.
This satellite image, taken May 20, 2015, shows another example of Von Karman vortices around the Canary Islands. (NASA)
Satellite sensors have spotted Von Karman vortices around the globe before, including near the coast of Chile, in the Greenland Sea, in the Arctic, and even next to a tropical storm, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
"As long as you can satisfy the requirements to produce Von Karman vortices, which include something like an island that 'sticks up' into the air flow, a favorable wind speed, and cloud cover that can help mark or visualize the wind footprint, they can occur elsewhere on the globe," Nicholls said.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo