Dark clouds that move in odd ways

[digigeek]

I'd really like to know if anyone else has experienced low, dark clouds that seem to move intelligently and against the wind, as if something is using them as cover.

I've seen these several times when out fishing in the Chesapeake Bay off of Virginia Beach, VA. The area is full of military, NASA research, nukes, etc., so I don't find it odd to almost expect to see strange things.

 

[Rick Deckard]

Not really, but the idea of 'moving against the wind' is misleading - the atmosphere is layered and those layered can be moving in different directions. So you might be feeling a northerly breeze at ground level, but several hundred feet up a different layer could be moving in a different direction.

I saw this affect quite clearly last year - I was out walking along a valley ridge in the countryside and there was a guy paragliding along the ridge (it's basically a steerable parachute with a canvas seat). He was able to fly for a couple of miles with the wind and then come back against the wind at a different altitude - it did seem quite counter-intuitive at the time and when he past us on his way 'out', I did wonder how he would get back.

I think it's the same process for hot-air balloon pilots. Gain or loose height to catch a different wind direction.

I haven't looked this up, so if anyone wants to contradict my explanation, I'm happy to concede.

 

[digigeek]

I see what you are saying. The thing with the ones that I've seen is that they were no more than 100-200 yards from me and very low, anywhere from 100 to 1000 feet above the bay.

The closest one I've ever seen was 100 yards east of me on the other side of the Ches. Bay Bridge Tunnel 2nd to 3rd Island bridge, I was about 100 yards west of the bridge - the cloud seemed to be about 20-30 feet off the bridge vertically and only 20 feet or so on the opposite side (East/Bay side). The darned thing moved very sharply at one point, I pointed it out to two friends, who, of course, never saw it move but did remark tat it was really odd looking. Then it was gone the next time I looked (we were moving at a good clip and it was a bit choppy so I had to watch the water).

You know what? Being out on the water a lot sometimes gives me unique insight. Remember the photos of that supposed "alien" found by the Russian fishermen? Anyone who fishes the Ches. bay a lot immediately knows the bottom-side of a skate of ray when they see it. Funny. Of course, loads of people knew what it was, but as I said, if you fish a lot in the ocean you'd spot it immediately.

 

[Rick Deckard]

I know what you're saying about clouds - I've often seen dark cigar-shaped clouds, though they float around as you'd expect.

The weather does throw up some quite perplexing phenomena at times. A few months ago I was driving home along a country lane, it was about midnight and it was foggy. As I'm driving along with the fog suddenly cleared - to height of about 3 feet. The road had dipped down a few feet and was level for about half a mile and the fog stubbornly refused to go below 3 feet. It was weird. From the road upto about half way up my windscreen the way ahead was crystal clear, but then above that it was thick fog. The light of my fog lamps was bouncing off the underside of the fog layer. I had to duck down to see the road through the windscreen.

It's obvious that the less dense fog was sitting on a colder, denser layer of air. Before I realised what had happened, my initial reaction was "what's up with this picture"?

There's nothing remarkable about that except I have driven down that same road for a number of years and never seen the fog do that before, so it caught me off guard. But it does demonstrate, to me at least, that the weather can produce some rather unexpected effects.

 

[mike]

i saw a doco on the loch ness monster that had a similiar feature

there are currents that run under the surface of the loch that carry debris driftwood etc against the wind, it gives an impression the "object" is moving steadily against the wind

 

[digigeek]

i saw a doco on the loch ness monster that had a similiar feature

there are currents that run under the surface of the loch that carry debris driftwood etc against the wind, it gives an impression the "object" is moving steadily against the wind

So you're claiming I saw Nessie? (duck)

 

[mike]

no lol

it was just an example where "the wind" as we percieve it and its effects can fuzz the data


the use of clouds as cloak and or side effect of propulsion featured in close encounters as i recall

 

[Rick Deckard]

no lol

it was just an example where "the wind" as we percieve it and its effects can fuzz the data


the use of clouds as cloak and or side effect of propulsion featured in close encounters as i recall

And "Independence Day", which I flip-flop between like/dislike every other day (mostly dislike because of it's dumb plot and Will Smith).