What do these photos and video have in common?
- Unusual spiral clouds on the lee side of Guadalupe Island, Mexico (above),
- Spiral structures on smokestacks (below) and
- The sound of wind in the wires (video sound).
humming sound of wind in the wires (turn up speakers)
Answer: All three indicate the presence of — or potential for — a von Kármán vortex street.
When you’re in the neighborhood, this street is a fluid dynamic place. Learn more in this vintage article as we go Walking Down Vortex Street. (click the link)
(photos NASA and Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals. video by Megan Lewis on YouTube)