reply to post by MaxJohnson
OK....prepare to become "un-baffled".
What baffles me is the lack of moisture in the air yesterday. It was bright, clear and dry. If moisture is in the air, it is
visible.
A common mistake, and one that is seen constantly in these sorts of threads about "chemtrails". It is the very misconception about our atmosphere,
and temperature and humidity levels that people feel when they are
on the ground.
Yes, it can very very dry, and warm, on the surface. And, directly overhead and very high up (where airliners cruise) it will always, always, always
be well below the freezing point of water. In addition, the Relative Humidity can be quite high. Water vapor is present in the air, always. Whether
you "feel" it or not. (If you felt air that was completely lacking any water vapor, you would definitely notice it! Especially breathing it).
So, at altitude above you, can be high humidity, with a close temperature/dewpoint spread. Actually, "saturation" of water vapor in the air is a more
technically correct term. Air can also be "super"-saturated, and still look "clear". Water vapor is always invisible to the naked eye.
You might like this aviation weather website (It is on the page for Ontario right now, you can search other locations):
Air Sports Net
Also, same site has Winds Aloft information in an easy-to-read format:
Winds Aloft for Ontario, CA
The aviation format pilots read is a bit harder to learn to decipher, but with practice anyone can do it. Heck, they even taught me!! (Many years
ago....sigh). Here is what it looks like, it's at the bottom of the page inked above:
Raw Data
ONT 9900 2625+05 2733+05 2734+01 2729-13 2927-28 283645 274553 265656
Each block of numbers is for an altitude. There are only none data points....fewer for locations at higher ground elevations, of course.
Looking at the last set on the far right, that's at 39,000 feet. "265656" is decoded to read:
Wind from 260° True. Velocity is 56 knots. Temperature is -56°C.
(The website in easy-read information converts knots to MPH and °C to °F. ALL temperatujres above 24,000 feet omit the [ - ] minus sign, since
it is always below 0°C up there).
There have been legitimate news broadcasts of chaffe from so called military jets and it blanketed Big Bear and the surrounding
areas.
Have a link? Missed that. You say "blanketed"...seems a bit of an exaggeration, perhaps?
Military chaff is really not that extensive, when deployed. It makes a mess of radar, but that's what it is intended for.
edit on Fri 18 November 2011 by ProudBird because: (no reason given)