That contradicts the BEA report. What is the source for this statement?
An analysis of the Wx conditions done by UK met office and the owner/operator of the satellite used in Vasquez's webpage. It's not yet published but should be in a month or two. If you're interested (and I remember!) then I can PM you a copy when it's out.
Also, it doesn't contradict the BEA: They state that with the - very limited - data they had available they couldn't conclude if the conditions were exceptional.
These images are totally useless. They only display what can be seen from above.
Not strictly true, by using different wavelengths of radiation you can gain some insight into vertical structure. As I said before the area was also overflown by a radar satellite (TRMM) that has a decent vertical capability.
Even for instruments that can only see the cloud tops it is possible to use computer models to determine the internal structure of the cloud with a reasonable degree of success (better than a forecast could manage, for instance).
However this is irrelevant to the AF447 discussion, so if there's anything else to talk about then maybe it'd be appropriate to continue in a thread in jetblast.