[pct-l] adiabatic/katabatic air

[CMountainDave at aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

In a message dated 1/5/04 7:02:03 PM, kevin@antelecom.net writes:

<< I imagine that at sunset the higher 
cooler air traps the lower hot desert air in an inversion, but as the 
night progresses the warm ground air, compressed from above, gets 
displaced and updrafts against the mountain slopes. Does anyone know 
if my assumption on this is correct? >>

Are there two types of inversion? I am aware of the one where warm air traps 
cold but not vise versa. Maybe the cold air on Baden Powell due to altitude 
sinks until it warms due to compression and then rises without cooling again for 
some reason? Cloud cover? 
Just a guess, but most likely cold air sinking has something to do with it
  The strongest inversion I ever experienced was while skiing at Jackson 
Hole. It was -10 at the ski lodge and so warm after getting off the upper lift 
that I could not see my breath - probably in the 50's. A weird ski down. I heard 
that when they did their annual New Year's Day climb of the Grand Teton one 
year, it was -40 in Jackson and above freezing at the summit -- a +70 degree 
difference in about 7000'. On Rainier it is usually about 60 cooler on the summit 
than in Seattle
 Speaking of Gunnison, we camped there once on the 4th of July when I was a 
kid an, and there was an inch of ice in a water pail in the morning