You will definitely get cold and wet when you parachute through a cloud, no matter what kind of cloud it is .
The experience of falling through the cloud will depend on the type of cloud, protective gear and weather conditions. But the overall result is that you’ll be drenched, freezing, and even unconscious, according to people who have experienced it.
The experience of skydiving through the clouds depends on the type of cloud. (Photo: Skydive Langar)
Clouds form when water molecules condense around particles in the air, called aerosols, the nature of which affects the type and size of clouds. However, according to Marilé Colón Robles, an atmospheric scientist in NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, who studies clouds, “not all aerosols are created equal”.
Some natural aerosols, such as dust, often promote the formation of ice particles, while sea water vapor contributes to water molecules. Scientists have also experimented with putting artificial aerosols into the atmosphere, including silver or lead iodide, to produce a bright, dense cloud that reflects solar radiation or produces rain and snow.
Since skydivers fell from a height of 4,000m, the highest probability is that they will encounter thick stratus clouds and flat bottom floating cumulus clouds . Both types of clouds are composed mainly of water molecules. When appearing at an altitude of more than 1,980 m, they are called mesosphere and mesocumulus clouds to mark their position in the atmosphere.
Ryan Katchmar, a skydiving instructor in Wyoming who has performed 10,000 jumps, stressed that people should not try to fall through the clouds because there is no way to track potential hazards, including other players. or airplane. But sometimes they can’t be avoided. “It feels like nothing else. You fall through a white room, then come out at the bottom. If it’s a thick dark cloud, you’ll be drenched,” Katchmar said. He likes to feel the air in the area is humid but fresh.
Katchmar also experienced unexpected cold conditions . For this reason, skydivers often wear tight clothing to avoid injury from exposed skin. During a recent jump in Utah, while filming another skydiver, Katchmar noticed the woman’s nose and cheekbones turning white due to the ice that formed around her as she fell through the clouds.
The most extreme case of skydiving in bad weather involves thunderstorms . Inside a thunderstorm cloud, hot air can rise up to 160km/h, but at high altitudes, the particles fall as rain or hail. In addition, most thunder occurs during thunderstorms that descend within or between clouds.
Only two people survived the parachute jump through a thundercloud filled with thunder. In 1959, American lieutenant colonel Henry Rankin ejected from a fighter jet in severe weather and spent 40 minutes inside a thunderstorm cloud, suffering frostbite and nearly drowning before ejecting at more than a hundred feet above the ground. meters and fell to the treetops. Decades later, in 2007, paraglider Ewa Wiśnierska was accidentally caught in a thunderstorm while training for the world championships. Wiśnierska fell unconscious from lack of oxygen and landed a few hours later 60km away.