Mild and Wild

We were quite amused when we walked by this condo ad yesterday. Amused because there are two layers of clouds in the picture and neither of them is a true stratus cloud. The pinkish lower layer is mostly cumulus or altocumulus fading into what might be a bit of stratocumulus or altostratocumulus in the lower right corner. Higher up is a thin layer of cirrocumulus clouds. Choosing stratus to signify ultimate atmosphere is probably misguided at best. Stratus clouds are typically gloomy, featureless, gray sheets of cloud that cover the sky. Fog can be considered a stratus cloud that is touching the ground.

No stratus clouds in the New York area today. Low humidity and sitting under the center of a high pressure system means clouds of any sort will be a rare sight until Wednesday, when a few clouds, and possibly a shower, may occur. As the high moves to our east the wind will shift and temperatures will rise. Today will be a bit warmer than yesterday and we should be into the upper 70s by Wednesday. The warm air should persist for several days before a slight cooling this weekend.

Since we've enjoyed a couple of visits to Greensburg, Kansas, Gothamist would be remiss if we did not mention the near total destruction of the town of 1500 people by a tornado Friday night. Greensburg sits on the western edge of Tornado Alley, the region of the Midwest where tornadoes most frequently occur. On Friday night conditions were right and an EF-5 tornado formed. The wedge tornado had wind speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour, was on the ground for 22 miles and was a mile-and-a-half wide at it's greatest extent. Loose objects become missiles at that speed --bark was blasted from trees. The destructive power of the tornado increases greatly once buildings get destroyed and more and more debris starts blowing around. It is too soon to know if Greensburg will be re-built.

Photo by yours truly for Gothamist.