Cloud top height

[administrator]

There's a formula that allows the height of the cloud base to be estimated, but does anyone know of a formula that allows the height of the cloud top to be estimated? I'm thinking in terms of using pressure/temp/etc values and not trigonometric type formulas for working out the height based on angles/distances.

[jmcmurry]

Chris,

I don't know if this will help, but in searching I found the formula in http://www.brockmann-consult.de/CloudStructures/introduction.htm to show up on a couple sites.  Maybe a piece of the puzzle, maybe not.

h [km] = -8 * LOGS (cloud_top_press [hPa]/1013)

So now, where do you get cloud_top_press?

- Jim

[administrator]

Thanks for the useful pointer Jim. I think I have a source for the pressure at the cloud top so I'll have to experiment and see if it gives me sensible values.

[jmcmurry]

Great!  I'd be interested in seeing how that works out, in fact if it does, it could contribute to one of my scripts.

- Jim

[NorCal Dan]

Now you have me wondering what causes clouds to stop at a certain altitude?

[administrator]

Now you have me wondering what causes clouds to stop at a certain altitude?

The same things that make them appear at certain altitudes?

[Weather Display]

Now you have me wondering what causes clouds to stop at a certain altitude?

if you are not meaning a CB hitting the troposhere (where the temperature starts to get warmer again)
and instead are refering to mid height clouds
then the answer is inversion layers (i.e it hits a layer of air above that is warmer)
often called capping
if the heating is strong enough then it can break through this cap

often anticyclones have inversion layers, i.e colder air trapped underneath the warming sinking air

[embayweather]

Worth looking at Radiosonde plots to get a better understanding of cloud structure, base and tops. I found trying the RAOB demonstration program at
http://www.raob.com/, worth trying too. Even if you never buy the program itself there are a lot of things you can learn from it. The though looks amazing program looks amazing and does just what it says on the tin and more. I am hoping to buy it this year.

Best wishes

Mike