{"id":292018,"date":"2023-12-20T14:24:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T13:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=292018"},"modified":"2023-12-20T14:24:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T13:24:05","slug":"an-outbreak-of-polar-stratospheric-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=292018","title":{"rendered":"An Outbreak of Polar Stratospheric\u00a0Clouds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Spaceweather.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By DR.TONY PHILLIPS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec. 17, 2023:<\/strong>\u00a0(Spaceweather.com<\/a>) A cold wave just swept through the Arctic stratosphere.\u00a0Really<\/em>\u00a0cold. We know because on Dec. 17th these colorful clouds appeared over Sweden:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Above: A \u201cPSC selfie\u201d by Lights over Lapland driver Dimitrios Roukounakis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that magical time of year again,\u201d says Chad Blakley, owner of the aurora tour guide service Lights over Lapland<\/a> in Abisko, Sweden. \u201cWe just witnessed a spectacular display of polar stratospheric clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Widely considered to be the most beautiful clouds on Earth, polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are rare. Earth\u2019s stratosphere is very dry and normally it has no clouds at all. PSCs form when the temperature in the Arctic stratosphere drops to a staggeringly-low -85 C. Then, and only then, can widely-spaced water molecules begin to coalesce into tiny ice crystals. High-altitude sunlight shining through the crystals creates intense iridescent colors that can rival auroras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA\u00a0forecast models<\/a>\u00a0of the polar stratosphere show that temperatures have indeed dropped into the very low range required for colorful\u00a0Type II<\/a>\u00a0PSCs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Above: Note the temperature dip inside the highlighted yellow oval<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During a typical Arctic winter, PSCs appear no more than a handful of times, and the first sightings usually come in January. The apparition on Dec. 17th marks an early start, and may herald many more PSCs to come. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

more images:<\/strong> from Pekka L\u00e4hteenm\u00e4ki<\/a> of Helsinki, Finland; from Alan C. Tough<\/a> of Elgin, Moray, Scotland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s that magical time of year again,\u201d says Chad Blakley, owner of the aurora tour guide service\u00a0Lights over Lapland\u00a0in Abisko, Sweden. \u201cWe just witnessed a spectacular display of polar stratospheric clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":292025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"\u201cIt\u2019s that magical time of year again,\u201d says Chad Blakley, owner of the aurora tour guide service\u00a0Lights over Lapland\u00a0in Abisko, Sweden. \u201cWe just witnessed a spectacular display of polar stratospheric clouds.\u201d","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691825509,691821326,691818876],"class_list":["post-292018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-arctic-stratosphere","tag-cold","tag-sweden","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0f_twc_polarstratclouds_151222.webp?fit=1067%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1dXY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":294671,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294671","url_meta":{"origin":292018,"position":0},"title":"The Polar Vortex Wobbled in\u00a0December","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"(Spaceweather.com) Last month, sky watchers in Europe saw something rare and beautiful. 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Normally, the stratosphere has no clouds at all. But when the temperature drops to a staggeringly-low -85 C, widely-spaced water molecules coalesce into ice crystals and PSCs begin to form. Their aurora-like colors make them the most beautiful clouds on\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Branca-Cristina-IMG-20231222-WA0019_1703327190.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Branca-Cristina-IMG-20231222-WA0019_1703327190.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Branca-Cristina-IMG-20231222-WA0019_1703327190.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Branca-Cristina-IMG-20231222-WA0019_1703327190.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":312035,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=312035","url_meta":{"origin":292018,"position":2},"title":"THE POLAR VORTEX IS SPINNING BACKWARDS","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/22\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month, atmospheric scientists noticed something unusual in the Arctic stratosphere. 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