© Stephen Burt
Sorrento, Naples, Italy
Latitude: 40° 37' 52'' N
Longitude: 14° 22' 60'' E
26 May 2015 0926 (Local Time)
Camera direction: towards N
Image P/S code: S.9.3
Image I.D.: 3876
CL = 2, CM = 0, CH = 0
The image shows a good example of Cumulus congestus clouds with sharp outlines, dark bases and bright sunlit tops. The most developed cloud over Mt. Vesuvius, in the centre, is of great vertical extent, the upper part having strong sproutings with a cauliflower appearance. The clouds developed quickly on hillslopes in the region, in a light but unstable northerly airflow. A layer of haze can be seen on the left-hand side of the image.
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At 0000 UTC, central Italy lay in an unstable light northerly flow, with a small anticyclone of 1 013 hPa centred near Naples. The anticyclone helped to suppressed convection for several hours after dawn, after which the Cumulus clouds grew rapidly.
The sounding from Pratica di Mare, Italy (WMO 16245) at 1200 UTC shows an atmosphere that is unstable to daytime temperatures.
On the 0900 UTC Meteosat image, the speckled pattern of cloud over central Italy is Cumulus cloud building up in response to rising daytime temperatures.