Why do clouds create turbulence?
Question
On a plane last week, we suffered some severe turbulence when we went through clouds. Why do clouds create more turbulence?Marcel, Kensington
Answer
** Definitive **Name: Jez, M25
Qualification: Air traffic controller
Answer: Clouds don’t cause turbulence, but are a by-product of turbulence. Warm air rises and cold air falls. Pockets of air warm up and rises, replacing areas with colder air, and where this happens, you get turbulence. One of the biggest producers of clouds are updrafts, so as the air rises, other air cools and it can’t hold as much moisture. And that moisture is what clouds are made of.