TURBULENCE AROUND TROPICAL CUMULI

Abstract

The rapid fluctuations in airspeed experienced by an airplane have been used to define the areal distribution of turbulence associated with a cumulus cloud. In the majority of clouds examined, the turbulence was not confined to the cloud but was distributed around it asymmetrically. This asymmetry appears to be related to cloud shear. A mechanism by which the observed cloud-turbulence pattern may form is described.