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All About Weather

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Yellow siren on roof of brick building

What does it mean when warning sirens go off?

Ominous clouds and an approaching storm may be accompanied by the wail of a community siren. Other times they can be heard in the morning on what may be a nice day. What do the different blasts of the siren mean? Sirens are part of the Public Alert System to let those outdoors be aware of a local...
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gray volcano erupting plume of smoke and ash

How do volcanic eruptions affect climate?

A large underwater volcano recently erupted in the South Pacific. Volcanoes can send huge amounts of gases and ash into the atmosphere. Very large eruptions can affect the climate. In 1815, one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in the last several thousand years occurred in the South Pacific...
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man and woman walk dog as sun sets over frosty field

Perihelion is a day to celebrate

If someone is sad that holiday season is over, here is something to celebrate.  The earth is the closest it will ever be to the sun for the year!  We all know the earth revolves around the sun. It takes about 365.25 days to do this, or one year. However, that revolution (or orbit) is not a...
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house with torn shingles from a storm

Can you make your home withstand a tornado?

Seeing the tragic consequences of the December tornado outbreak in the Midwest, I’m sure many folks are wondering if there are ways to make homes more resistant to wind damage, whether it’s straight-line winds or tornadoes. The answer is yes. How winds interact with buildings Homes affected by...
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La Nina weather model from NOAA

What really is La Nina?

You’ve probably heard these weather terms many times - El Nino and La Nina. They seem to affect our weather and they come and go. Are they normal to occur? Where do they occur? Why does it affect our weather? What is La Nina? In this post, I’ll focus on La Nina since that is what will likely...
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a microburst storm in the sky

What is a Microburst?

As I write this, folks just a few miles away are sawing up downed trees and clearing debris from severe wind damage that occurred during a round of thunderstorms passing through the area the night before. No tornado was observed either by eye or on radar, so it appears to have been caused by...
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Rain and Acid: That's not a rock band

Looking at the title sounds almost like a 60s rock band, doesn’t it? Actually, I want to talk about precipitation. You’ve probably heard about acid rain and the environmental concerns associated with it. What it really should be called is “precipitation that is more acidic than normal” because...
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Fall and winter forecast looks mild, but keep mittens close

We're moving into fall and looking ahead, the outlook for winter temperatures continues the trend toward warmer temperatures.                     La Nina  One of the drivers could be a return of La Nina, which you hear about every few years. A La Nina event occurs when there is a...
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Blog Authors
Duane Friend

Duane Friend

State Master Naturalist and Climate Change Specialist
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