Publication: IFR
Publication Date: 01-AUG-07
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Dennstaedt, Scott C.

Article Excerpt
Ever read about or talked to a pilot who has "stumbled" into a thunderstorm and survived? It was probably an embedded thunderstorm they found. Embedded thunderstorms are not visible to the naked eye. They don't look impressive from a distance and you cannot discern any classic storm structures.

Embedded thunderstorms don't visibly start out in that FAA-predicated cumulus stage and build into an FAA-predicated mature thunderstorm. Instead, they are part of a large scale precipitation event normally associated with a messy frontal zone or area of low pressure.

They may also be associated with lake-effect instability or orographic instability (lifting due to rising terrain). They are often found around the remnants of a tropical storm or hurricane. Embedded cells can be found on either side of the frontal zone and rarely become severe. They might not have a gust front or low-level wind shear of any kind.

They are incognito and stealthy, however, and can rear their ugly countenance for anywhere from a few moments to several hours.

Flying Blind

With embedded thunderstorms you lose your best defense: Your eyes.

Staying visual is nearly impossible unless you are flying over these cells at FL300. Visibilities and ceilings near the embedded thunderstorms may be low, with light to moderate rain including drizzle one hundred or more miles around the embedded cell.

Embedded thunderstorms are normally part of a region of heavier precipitation that hangs around warm and stationary fronts. Gentle lifting typically occurs in such fronts; however, the right upper-level support opens the door for convective onset and thunderstorms.

Here's the scenario: You are about to depart IFR and you notice an...



NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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