Recent advances in the understanding of near-cloud turbulence

Some of the recent findings about the dynamics underlying the generation of turbulence by thunderstorms are described. Schultz et al. 2006 found that convectively induced turbulence (CIT) is prevalent within convective clouds; convective updrafts, downdrafts, specific cloud features like mammatus. Recent research has shown that turbulence that is primarily of convective origin can occur outside of those regions defined by the FAA guidelines, suggesting that the guidelines are inadequate. Wolff and Sharman (2008) developed climatologies of the spatial occurrence of reported turbulence encounters over the contiguous United States. Trier et al. 2010 found that the area of the moist static instability and the prominence of the radial cloud bands are increased by cloud radiative interactions. Trier et al. 2010 have documented the occurrence and characteristics of high-frequency gravity waves above convective clouds.