thunderstorm system - acid smell - hen or egg?
flying through extended weather system over indian ocean.
new generation radar with 2 beams in automatic mode plus calibrated position shows green with diameter 100nm with embedded spots yellow about 10% distance 80nm.
manual mode minus 1 degree shows only 5% green clutters.
deciding to fly straight ahead.
going back to auto mode yellow range increases to 80% when approaching plus about 5% red embedded and quickly changing position while manual mode with minus one shows black only.
only light turbulance but beside st elmo's fire strong acid smell which reminds clearly of volcanic ash smell experienced during catania operations with etna activity.
calmed down worried cabin crew with "this is normal over storm system" but asked myself:
is it possible that these systems can form when volcanic ash from far away - merapi - meets certain weather conditions?
looking for practical advice regarding penetration of volcanic ash clouds such as:
1. st elmo's fire means dry dust is around which harms aircraft systems when lasting;
2. constant st elmo's fire of more than xy minutes can fail your engines...