Effects of wind shear on some aspects of convection

Abstract

A jet ascending through a fluid possessing vertical shear of the horizontal wind will show a difference in horizontal velocity from that of the ambient air. The magnitude of the difference is shown to be a function of the vertical shear and the rate of entrainment of mass into the jet. The effect of this relative horizontal velocity on the slopes of dry thermals and on cumulus cloud processes is discussed. The observed horizontal asymmetries in the turbulence associated with trade cumulus are offered as an example.