A deep marine layer could shroud and obscure terrain around the crash site in Calabasas
On Sunday morning, when Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, there was a thick marine layer and patchy dense fog that obscured some of the terrain.
The conditions were the result of a deteriorating cold front passing through the area with moist northwest flow, which caused low clouds to pile up against the northern slopes of Ventura and L.A. County mountains. There were showers to the north, and clouds pushing into coastal valleys were thick enough to cause drizzle along the coast and in nearby foothills, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds blowing from west to east move these marine clouds toward the California coast. This horizontal movement is called advection. Cooling continues as the air is moved over cold water. When it reaches the coast it is forced to lift as land elevations rise, which causes additional cooling and cloud formation. The terrain channels the wind-borne stratus clouds through canyons and valleys — which are the same routes used for highways, such as the 101 Freeway.
At the time of the helicopter crash, Van Nuys Airport was reporting a ceiling of 1,300 to 1,400 feet, but some terrain around Calabasas is higher, so some of it was most likely obscured by the base of the marine clouds. In addition, dense patchy fog was reported in the area. These factors would cause low visibility and could cause spatial disorientation for someone piloting an aircraft.
The depth of marine layer clouds usually peaks around sunrise, then the clouds dissipate as the day progresses and the sun rises higher in the sky. The sun warms the the atmosphere above the clouds, and the sunlight that penetrates them begins to warm the land. Land heats up faster than water, and the warming air rising off the surface mixes into the cloud layer.
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