Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) is defined as sudden severe turbulence occurring in cloudless regions that causes violent buffeting of aircraft. This term is commonly applied to higher altitude turbulence associated with wind shear. The most comprehensive definition is high-altitude turbulence encountered outside of convective clouds. This includes turbulence in cirrus clouds, within and in the vicinity of standing lenticular clouds and, in some cases, in clear air in the vicinity of thunderstorms. Generally, though, CAT definitions exclude turbulence caused by thunderstorms, low-altitude temperature inversions, thermals, strong surface winds, or local terrain features
