First Alert Weather In-Depth: Flying high without severe weather

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Are you feeling adventurous? Does hang gliding look like fun to you? Some 35 or 40 years ago Meteorologist Glenn Johnson may have tried the sport, but not anymore.

He admits it looks like a great way to enjoy the weather. Did you know hang gliding pilots look for cumulus clouds as an indicator on how to stay aloft? The cumulus clouds are usually a signature in the sky of where the air is rising. 

That rising air has a direct connection to the develop of thunderstorms. There’s something in meteorology called the convective cap that is directly connected to the vertical motion in the atmosphere. In an average summer day we get heating of the surface of the earth and this translates into little parcels of air that begin the rise – almost like a hot air balloon.

As the air rises, it will naturally cool as parcel goes higher and higher. Quite often it will reach a warmer layer in the atmosphere and if that warmer layer is substantial enough, the parcel stops rising. This is called the convective cap and this will have the tendency to stabilize the atmosphere reducing the threat of severe thunderstorms. In an uncapped environment that parcel will find less resistance and continue to rise higher and higher into the atmosphere. The degree of upward vertical motion is one of the main ingredients for the development of severe weather.

The difference between a capped and uncapped atmosphere can be the difference between a day of “garden variety” thundershowers or a day of severe weather. If the thunderstorms materialize, probably a good idea to put away the hang glider.