Moving on Up

We always hear talk of what the temperature is like outside.  When people talk about the temperature, they usually refer to temperatures at the surface of the earth.  Occasionally, you also see me reference temperatures 3,000 – 5,000 – 15,000 feet up.  But what about 90,000 feet up?  You might be surprised at how warm it is.

Click the image to see larger version.

Over northern parts of Russia the temperature the temperature at 90,000 feet or 30,000 meters is between 40° and 47° F.  (Note, the image has temperatures listed in Celsius.)

On the flipside of the hemisphere, over the northern Atlantic the temperature is as cold as 123° below zero.  And here I thought it was cold Tuesday morning when the temperature hit 15° in St. Louis.

What are surface temperatures currently like over northern Russia where the upper air temps are “warm”?

Click the image to see larger version.

The above image is a plot of surface temperatures in Fahrenheit.  As you can see, in some places, the surface temperature is colder than temperatures at 90,000 feet.  That means there is an inversion.

The warmer air is forecast to move to northeast Russia over the next 5 days per the next map.

Click the image to see larger version.

Have to give credit to Ryan Maue for tweeting the image of what temperatures look like 90,000 feet in the atmosphere.


COLDEST MORNING SINCE...

I mentioned above that the temperature dropped to 15° Tuesday morning.  That temperature was for Lambert airport in St. Louis.  That is the coldest temperature in St. Louis since January 18, 2012 -- 351 days.