#2650 "Singleton Contrail Cirrus Sunset"

#2650 "Singleton Contrail Cirrus Sunset"
18x22 inches oil

The western horizon clearly told the tale of the approaching winter storm. As I was painting, I realized that the pattern in the painting was looking directly into the col of the deformation zone. I had started with the intention of focussing on the colours but the science could not be denied. 

The signatures in the sky can be subtle. The faint Langmuir streaks of thicker cirrostratus indicate the wind direction of the guiding flow and the warm conveyor belt. Lateral, gravity wave banding within the cirrostratus confirm that diagnosis. Swells of moisture stretching along the deformation zone added to the diagnosis. 

The jets headed to Europe add condensation nuclei and moisture into the warm conveyor belt flow. The resultant contrails persist much longer on the warm and moist side of the deformation zone but dissipate on the dry side of the air mass divider. 

Looking along the central axis of the warm conveyor belt
toward Singleton.. as I painted looking toward the 
approaching storm

The more pieces of the atmospheric puzzle that you can assemble into a consistent picture, the more confident you can be of your understanding of the situation and your prediction. Red sky at night is not a sailor's delight if that colour is the result of clouds. 

The calm water in the eastern bay of Singleton reflected the bright sunset. The meltwater on the ice seemed to be much more efficient at reflecting the bright hues from beyond the sunset. 

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