Ryan Vandersmith
@ryanvandersmith.com
Software engineer and cloud enthusiast.
April 7, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Incredible satellite view of today's bomb cyclone.
Credit: College of DuPage
#wxsky #wavecyclone #severewx
Credit: College of DuPage
#wxsky #wavecyclone #severewx
March 15, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Incredible satellite view of today's bomb cyclone.
Credit: College of DuPage
#wxsky #wavecyclone #severewx
Credit: College of DuPage
#wxsky #wavecyclone #severewx
This is caused by a mountain wave flattening a thin layer of clouds against the lower stratosphere:
March 10, 2025 at 8:23 PM
This is caused by a mountain wave flattening a thin layer of clouds against the lower stratosphere:
Above the clouds yesterday morning! #cowx #cloudinversion
February 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Above the clouds yesterday morning! #cowx #cloudinversion
Forecast visualization of the cold front sweeping through eastern Colorado today.
#COwx @bianchiweather.bsky.social
#COwx @bianchiweather.bsky.social
February 3, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Forecast visualization of the cold front sweeping through eastern Colorado today.
#COwx @bianchiweather.bsky.social
#COwx @bianchiweather.bsky.social
January 19, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Freezing fog + downslope winds + Christmas lights = magical views.
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #boulder #colorado #citylights #weather
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #boulder #colorado #citylights #weather
January 8, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Freezing fog + downslope winds + Christmas lights = magical views.
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #boulder #colorado #citylights #weather
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #boulder #colorado #citylights #weather
Yet another sunset cloud inversion earlier today! Denver city lights in the background. #cowx #timelapse #freezingfog #cloudinversion #bouldercounty #denverco #photography #abovetheclouds
January 6, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Yet another sunset cloud inversion earlier today! Denver city lights in the background. #cowx #timelapse #freezingfog #cloudinversion #bouldercounty #denverco #photography #abovetheclouds
Time lapse of a winter shortwave trough passing above a cloud inversion yesterday on the Front Range.
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #coldfront #snowstorm
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #coldfront #snowstorm
January 5, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Time lapse of a winter shortwave trough passing above a cloud inversion yesterday on the Front Range.
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #coldfront #snowstorm
#cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion #coldfront #snowstorm
Time lapse of fog above the city lights of Boulder, Colorado last night. #cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion
January 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Time lapse of fog above the city lights of Boulder, Colorado last night. #cowx #wxsky #cloudinversion
This will be an interesting test run for sure. Looks like the strongly surface-based inflow verified with the tornado north of Houston #txwx
December 28, 2024 at 6:27 PM
This will be an interesting test run for sure. Looks like the strongly surface-based inflow verified with the tornado north of Houston #txwx
Time lapse of rotor clouds spinning over the Front Range foothills yesterday, produced by a trapped lee wave. #cowx #wxsky #cofrontrange #colorado #mountainwave
December 23, 2024 at 7:22 PM
Time lapse of rotor clouds spinning over the Front Range foothills yesterday, produced by a trapped lee wave. #cowx #wxsky #cofrontrange #colorado #mountainwave
Comparison of this windstorm (left) and the one that occurred during the Marshall Fire (right). The resemblance is uncanny aside from a few notable differences in the temperature profiles.
December 19, 2024 at 6:09 PM
Comparison of this windstorm (left) and the one that occurred during the Marshall Fire (right). The resemblance is uncanny aside from a few notable differences in the temperature profiles.
Cross section of the mountain wave structure overnight. The ~100 mph gusts were suggested at least 4-5 hours ahead of time by the RAP forecast model, which showed extreme amplification with similar downward velocity to the windstorm which caused the Marshall Fire in 2021.
#cowx #wxsky
#cowx #wxsky
December 19, 2024 at 5:46 PM
This is fundamentally just a way to visualize the Effective Inflow Layer (EIL), which is used in operational forecasting and determines how storms transition to becoming supercells.
Interesting read on how the EIL affects supercell updrafts:
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Interesting read on how the EIL affects supercell updrafts:
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
December 18, 2024 at 5:05 AM
This is fundamentally just a way to visualize the Effective Inflow Layer (EIL), which is used in operational forecasting and determines how storms transition to becoming supercells.
Interesting read on how the EIL affects supercell updrafts:
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
Interesting read on how the EIL affects supercell updrafts:
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
In this context, "inflow" refers to the vertical levels of the atmosphere which contribute to a storm's updraft. The historic Greenfield tornado this year had a thick layer of uninhibited inflow from about 0-2km, steadily increasing towards the surface. This is highly favorable for tornadoes.
December 18, 2024 at 4:25 AM
In this context, "inflow" refers to the vertical levels of the atmosphere which contribute to a storm's updraft. The historic Greenfield tornado this year had a thick layer of uninhibited inflow from about 0-2km, steadily increasing towards the surface. This is highly favorable for tornadoes.
Environments with large CAPE and CIN at the surface are often associated with photogenic "mothership" supercells. The stable air creates a laminar appearance and usually keeps tornadoes from forming. This storm likely began elevated and then tapped into lower-level CAPE after developing rotation.
December 18, 2024 at 4:07 AM
Environments with large CAPE and CIN at the surface are often associated with photogenic "mothership" supercells. The stable air creates a laminar appearance and usually keeps tornadoes from forming. This storm likely began elevated and then tapped into lower-level CAPE after developing rotation.
In "elevated" environments, the inflow mostly comes from one or more layers above the surface, as shown in this sounding which produced 2.5" hail. A small amount of CAPE even exists above 6km! These environments tend to confuse the "effective inflow layer" shown on sites such as Pivotal Weather.
December 18, 2024 at 4:01 AM
In "elevated" environments, the inflow mostly comes from one or more layers above the surface, as shown in this sounding which produced 2.5" hail. A small amount of CAPE even exists above 6km! These environments tend to confuse the "effective inflow layer" shown on sites such as Pivotal Weather.