One fine early afternoon near a dryline-outflow intersection, two “Little Orphan Anvils” appeared. These ice-crystal formations were spit into the sky from a pair of small towering cumuli, each of which glaciated, briefly becoming a tiny single-cell cumulonimbus before dissipating. Though individual members are usually doomed to die from dry air entrainment, concentrations of such “orphans” and “turkey towers” indicate an area of enhanced lifting that should be watched for later development of larger, long-lived CBs. In this case, a supercell formed in that area about two hours later. This image from Ektachrome film has been used as an ideal example in several sites and texts, including Mesoscale Meteorology in Midlatitudes.
7 W Guthrie TX (6 May 95) Looking SSWLittle Orphan Anvils
One fine early afternoon near a dryline-outflow intersection, two “Little Orphan Anvils” appeared. These ice-crystal formations were spit into the sky from a pair of small towering cumuli, each of which glaciated, briefly becoming a tiny single-cell cumulonimbus before dissipating. Though individual members are usually doomed to die from dry air entrainment, concentrations of such “orphans” and “turkey towers” indicate an area of enhanced lifting that should be watched for later development of larger, long-lived CBs. In this case, a supercell formed in that area about two hours later. This image from Ektachrome film has been used as an ideal example in several sites and texts, including Mesoscale Meteorology in Midlatitudes.
7 W Guthrie TX (6 May 95) Looking SSW