Horizons

[cdcollura]

Good day,

In my opinion, the only way to actually see a distant storm (200 miles or more away) is from high altitude (over 30,000 feet).

I remember seeing "Anvils" (just the tops of them) way in the distant horizon flying from New York to Florida just as we were near Cape Hattaras, NC. They were rather clear, and I kept my eye on them.

Finally, the "anvils" were part of the sea-breeze storms over Davie / Fort Lauderdale in South FL ... And I saw them from nearly 600 miles away.

The storm top of 55,000 feet+ can be seen for over 300 miles or so, and also, the converse, an observer at 35,000 feet can see for 250 miles to the horizon, this means a 550 mile line of sight!

You are high up, and the storm is high up, so the line of site basically enters a small portion of the lower atmosphere between you in the plane and the storms in the distance (htis is what MUST be clear). High up, there is very little dust, and ofcourse, there cannot be clouds in the way.

Just found it kinda cool seeing something that LOOKED like I could drive to it but in reality would have taken 12 hours to get to!

 

[Susan Strom]

From Phoenix I can see them in Tucson, Show Low, Safford. Tucson is 100 miles. From Tucson I can see them in Mexico.

David's right, they always look closer than they are. I find myself thinking I can get there soon, then I realize I just drove an hour and am still on the heels of it, then another hour, and another LOL

 

[Marcus Opitz]

That would be quite sight! A shame you didn't snap some pictures of that...or did you? Definitely something that I wouldn't soon forget.

Here is a pic from that night. Not sure if the anvil in the far distance is that storm or not. Sorry for the size of the pic.

 

[Danny Neal]

Here is a pic from that night. Not sure if the anvil in the far distance is that storm or not. Sorry for the size of the pic.

Wow! That is way out there. Over 300 miles I am sure. You said you could see anvil crawlers as well?

 

[Michael Thompson]

I live on the coast, therefore spotting horizon storms is pretty common, especially in late Autumn when the first cold air fronts push out over the warmth of the coean. The post frontal air is usually very dry here and crystal clear.

I have seen the tops of storms that later on radar I have verified out at near the limit of the radars 500km ( around 300 miles )

 

[Danny Neal]

Supercell from De Kalb, IL, at the time of the Stoughton Tornado on August 18, 2005......About 100 miles to the south

 

[Marcus Opitz]

Yea, more or less the flashes from far away. I doubt I would have saw the lightning had I not been at an altitude of about 6 miles.

 

[beaudodson]

About 270 miles...once from Metropolis, Illinois to Springfield, Illinois. Another time you could see lightning flashes coming off of storms in Southwest MO from Southern IL. This was on a clear night on top of one of the hills in Shawnee National Forecast. There would be flickers of light in the sky from severe thunderstorms near Springfield, Missouri.