That is some pretty amazing stuff!
I was always intrigued by meteorology and storms on earth, let alone on another planet! The gas giant planets are by far the most involved and "mysterious" meteorological environments around.
One thing for sure is that all "WEATHER" is driven on a gas-giant planet from heat energy radiated from WITHIN the planet, and NOT from "solar input" as with storms on earth. Sunlight is only 4% the strength of what it is on Earth at Jupiter's distance, so it wont do much. This energy (from within) is caused by GRAVITATIONAL compression (like when a bicycle pump gets warm from compressing the air).
However, this pressure is so high, millions of times sea-level on earth (like 5,000,000,000 millibars?) that the hydrogen is squeezed and heated so much it becomes a "liquid plasma" state of degenerative matter called "metallic hydrogen". Like a metal, this conducts electricity, and accounts for Jupiter's intense magnetic field. Saturn also has such a metallic hydrogen "envelope" but it is a lot smaller. Neptune and Uranus have small amounts of this material, but are smaller and contain more methane. Still, compression by gravity heats the interiors, and this heat radiates, then convects upwards causing "weather".
Just like water, any "phase change" (melting, evaporating, subliming, etc) of any other material other than water also releases LATENT HEAT energy. Hydrogen does this, as well as ammonia and methane as well, which can happen on the gas giant planets. There are even brown-dwarf stars that have IRON VAPOR convection in their "cool" (like 2,000 - 5,000 degrees) atmospheres.
Another very important thing is that planets like Jupiter have very fast rotation rates. Jupiter rotates every 10-11 hours (opposed to 24 hours on Earth) and is 1000 times the volume of earth. The CORIOLIS force on Jupiter is INCREDIBLE compared to earth, and super-hurricanes and storms are not of any suprise (even though its -200 below zero in the clouds).
The gallileo probe actually released a second "atmospheric probe" into Jupiters atmosphere. Although no cameras were mounted on it (there would not be much to see, kind of like looking out an aircraft window in clouds and seeing only the wing and grey nothing), it did take detailed pressure and wind measurements during its parachute descent once in Jupiters atmosphere.
The probe reached the 1000 MB level, below the tops of the clouds, the same pressure as what we would have at Earth sea-level. Winds were 200 MPH. Unexpected to scientists, thinking the winds would slow deeper down, the winds increased to 400 MPH at 20 times Earth's sea level pressure (20,000 MB or so)! The probe detected faint lightning flashes by radio but none off a visual photo device (not a camera, but a light transient sensor). Little water vaopr was detected, but it happened to enter a very "dry" area of the atmosphere. The gases were maily hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia. Clouds were frozen / condensed methand and ammonia (toxic!). At about 22 atmospheres (22,000 MB, or about 100 KM below the 1,000 MB level) the probe stopped transmitting and most likely burned up at over 300 degrees F.
If anyone wants to storm chase on a "gas giant" bring your pressure suit, rocket-powered plane (or oxygen-based fuel since the atmosphere will burn with that), and most importantly a gas mask and camera protection from the corrosive ammonia ;-)
Chris C - KG4PJN
