Spectacular Von Kármán vortices spotted southwest of the Canary Islands, Spain

Incredible photos of Von Kármán vortices in the Canary Islands, Spain were shared by the European Union Earth Observation Programme on Saturday, August 27.

The Von Kármán vortices spotted southwest of the Canary Islands, Spain were posted on Twitter:

“Spectacular Von Kármán vortices southwest of the Canary Islands. The islands themselves interfere with the wind flow, generating these beautiful swirls that are visible from space,” wrote Spain’s State Meteorological Agency.

“We can’t stop looking at them! 😍”

“Von Kármán vortices’ southwest of the Canary Islands 🇪 as seen by #Copernicus #Sentinel3 🇪🇺🛰️ on 26 August,” tweeted the European Union Earth Observation Programme.

Espectaculares vórtices de Von Kármán al suroeste de Canarias. Las propias islas interfieren con el flujo de viento, generando esos bonitos remolinos visibles desde el espacio.https://t.co/tQt4J1GKZG https://t.co/vK7i4kQ0TL

— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) August 27, 2022

According to Spain’s State Meteorological Agency,  Von Kármán vortices are parallel or nearly parallel rows of vortices, which appear in alternate positions and directions of rotation along the wake of an obstacle in a fluid (such as the atmosphere) under certain favourable conditions.

These vortices can manifest themselves in the form of cloudy swirls in the lower atmospheric layers when conditions for condensation are present.

They are named after the Hungarian-American engineer and physicist Théodore von Kármán (1881-1963), who was the first to describe this phenomenon in the atmosphere.

These vortex streets are typically observable from satellite images in the lee of some mountainous islands, such as the Canaries.

The news comes after the weather forecast for the Canary Islands stated there would be low cloud intervals in the north of the islands.

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