Atmospherical Friday

Oct. 24, 2003
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* Partly Cloudy? *

It has always been my perception that "Partly Cloudy" should also mean, "Partly Sunny". However, in this case it didn't work out that way.

As you can see from this image, it was quite a beautiful day, with scattered, broken clouds. After hiking to the summit of Old Rag Mountain, I awaited the rest of my group to continue their climb and meet up with me for our lunch gathering at the summit. It had became obvious to me that the temperature at the top was much lower and, with the wind blowing from the west, threw a very cold chill right through me. There were remnants of some sleet and snow in isolated spots as I even saw a few light snow flakes fall here and there. I had suddenly wished that I brought some warmer clothing. When I got to the top the sun was not shining directly. But watching the clouds I assumed that this would have to change eventually and I would at least get some moments of sun shine to break the chill. I waited and waited but still nothing. I looked and saw so many patches of blue that I was sure to get some clear sky pass overhead eventually. But as I watched and observed, the clouds drifted from the west and swirled and merged together directly over the top of the peak. Then I noticed them separating again as they passed over and headed to the east. The geography of this area must have had a strong effect on the winds and how they controlled the direction and formation of the clouds. There were only a few brief moments where the sun peeked through, but they never lasted more than fifteen to thirty seconds at a time.