Seat 22A

Dave Thurlow, Host

Puffy cumulus illuminated by late afternoon sun far below a NOAA P-3 returning to base at after a mission.

Mostly I like the window because clouds are amazing and you can see them from above-- from a plane they're so right there. It's just a great view. It's a treat to look DOWN at clouds instead of looking up at 'em from the ground. There's more of a feel of the shape and the size. With cumulus clouds that seem to be skimming across the landscape, you can see all the cloud growth taking place at the top. Cumulus clouds grow only from the bottom up -- check it out sometime from the ground. You can see the flat bottoms of the clouds from below but from up in a plane you can see the mountainous details in every rising spire or heap of condensation.

It's condensation that defines the cloud and this begins at a level which you can see at the bottom of the cloud and it's cleverly enough called the condensation level. From that level on up it's condensation gone crazy, sometimes up to 8 miles above sea level where even planes don't go. The clouds look so solid but you can fly right through them in most cases, and then with just a bump or two, attesting to the rising air inside.

So ask for a window seat and take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy weather visually, far above the wind, rain and snow. If you have a question or story about the weather, we'd love to hear from you. You can call us at 1-888-724-6001.

The Weather Notebook is funded by The National Science Foundation and underwritten by Subaru -- the beauty of All-Wheel Drive.

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Soul of the Sky - "Exploring the human side of weather"  NOW AVAILABLE Compiled and edited by: Dave Thurlow & Ralph Adler. North Conway: Mount Washington Observatory, 1999. Paperback, 150 pages.   Soul of the Sky is a different kind of weather book. It's not preoccupied with charting fronts, defining what an isobar is, or trying to get you to memorize the conversion formula from degrees Centigrade to degrees Fahrenheit. Instead, it's a collection that illustrates how the weather can inspire and terrify, connect us and urge us on to new adventures, and invite us to gain a deeper appreciation of how weather and climate affect our everyday lives.