[Part 2 of 3] Though the fog formation over the lake was continual, obvious vortices with condensation tubes showed up at quite irregular intervals. How do “steam fog” vortices form? Here was a flurry of them that appeared to be taking advantage of a narrow corridor of strong cyclonic horizontal shear, then the rotating air parcels formed a chimney-like column stretched aloft by the shallow but strong convective process. The lifting and pressure drop in the vortices helped to maintain condensation at higher levels than the non-rotating fog. The tube in the middle is obvious, with a broader one to its left. Two other areas of scuddy, ragged rotation were on the far left and right, where appear relative peaks in condensation. [Go to Part 3]
2 WSW Little Axe OK (15 Jan 24) Looking SE
25.2286, -97.2472