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 strong winds may be overturned, slide off its foundation, or completely lifted off of the foundation. Winds will be slowed or sped up when coming into contact with buildings, depending on the direction...
A few months ago, I posted a quiz with several weather questions for people to try to answer. It seemed to go over well, so here is round two. I’ll post the answers in a few weeks.
True or False, The United States experiences a monsoon.
Freezing rain starts as ______ before it freezes.
Seasons are created by changes in ____ ________.
Carbon dioxide was discovered to be a...
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 affect our 2021-22 winter weather.
First of all, both La Nina and El Nino are not new. They have been known for decades, if not hundreds of years particularly along the western coast of South America,...
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 straight-line winds. However, the worst of the damage was confined to a narrow area and is over a mile long. The relatively small area of damage may have been due to a microburst, a localized area of...
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 precipitation is naturally slightly acidic. First, let’s give some background on what acidity is.
What makes something acidic?
In simple terms, a substance is acidic when it has the ability to...
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 strong easterly flow of surface ocean currents and surface winds north of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean. This pushes warm surface water towards Australia and Indonesia, as shown below.
This in turn...
The passage of summer to fall happens this year on September 22, which is called the September or Autumnal Equinox.
What is an Equinox and why do we use it?
Equinox basically means “equal night.” It comes from a couple of Latin words. We have two equinoxes yearly, one in March (the March or Spring Equinox) and the other one in September.
On those two days, the noon sun is directly overhead at the Equator. Well, at least for a moment. Remember the earth is constantly moving around the sun, so...
At the writing of this post on September 2, we are in the average peak week of hurricane activity for the Gulf of Mexico. Remnants of hurricane Ida are drenching the East Coast, and a new hurricane is currently out in the Atlantic.
The Earth’s weather is a complex system of winds, moisture, and heat. Hurricanes are a good example of all of these. They move huge amounts of heat from the hot tropics to the milder middle latitudes.
What makes them form, and how do they move heat? I’m so glad you...
About 6:30 p.m. on August 9, I started getting pictures of ominous storms from my colleague Peggy Doty who lives in northern Illinois. While we were sitting with a nice evening sky in central Illinois, the northern part of the state was experiencing multiple supercell storms and tornadoes.
I’ve discussed supercells in other posts, but I was curious about the mechanisms that caused this particular formation of supercells. So, I...
My blog post on “corn sweats” was widely read and got reprinted in some publications. In fact, it was read by an author of one of the articles I used as a reference.
Dr. Satish Gupta, emeritus professor at University of Minnesota, sent an email with some concerns about some of the wording used in the post and with findings from a separate study.
From Dr. Gupta:
"The part I am...
Growing up, we would listen to the local radio station at breakfast. In addition to the news, they would play songs from the great crooners of the time, including Nat King Cole. One of his songs is The Lazy, Hazy Crazy Days of Summer.
As I look out my window, the sky has a milky, hazy appearance. What is haze and why does it happen?
What is Haze?
Haze is made up of very tiny particles that can be solid, liquid, or a combination. The particles are so small they can stay suspended in...
When I talk to groups about the weather, I usually first open things up for any question someone may have on the subject. A lot of times I get similar questions, so I thought I would address some of those questions in this post.
How do landscapes affect storms?
One question I get is whether or not rivers, river bluffs or tall hills, which is all we have in Illinois, can affect storms or tornadoes. The answer is no. The processes that are making the storm or tornado occur are up thousands of...
As I write this article, corn has tasseled on about 80% of fields in Central Illinois. Apologies to those with corn pollen allergies!
Corn, just like other plants, experiences evapotranspiration (ET). Evapotranspiration is when water is taken up by corn plants, water vapor - the gas form of water - is released into the atmosphere from the leaves while evaporation occurs from the soil, which also adds water vapor to the air.
During the height...
First, thanks for your interest in the How Well Do You Know Weather quiz post from a few weeks ago. Some people sent responses and several said they enjoyed the quiz even if they didn’t send in answers.
Without further ado, here are the questions and answers:
1. Small puffy clouds with flat bases are called ______________ clouds. Answer: Cumulus. There are...
Tornadoes can form in a few minutes and dissipate just as quickly. However, the conditions that may create a tornado and other severe weather can be seen hours in advance giving forecasters and the public the chance to be vigilant.
Tornado Watch vs. Warning
Watch: Conditions are right for a future severe thunderstorm or tornado. Watches are issued hours in advance.
Warning: A severe thunderstorm or tornado has been sighted in person or by radar. Seek...
I have some pet peeves about weather casts. Temperature is one of them. During the summer when it gets hot and muggy, we start seeing weathercasters talk about “feels-like” temperatures. Media folks assume we know how they got those temperatures, which are always higher in summer than what the temperature actually is. It’s confusing to a lot of people.
What is a “feels like” temperature?
Feels-like temperatures are calculated through something called a Heat Index. With high temperatures and...
Game shows are on the rebound. Shows that were around in the 1960s and '70s like "To Tell the Truth" and "Match Game" are back on air, along with "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from the ’90s and the solid, never-went-away "Jeopardy."
Since there seems to be a renewed interest in trivia, this post is a game that anyone can play!
The Rules
Below are 10 questions. Some will be pretty easy, but a few will test your true weather knowledge. Each is worth 100,000 points - go big or go home!...
We watch the news, search the web, or go to the weather app to see what the great outdoors is like at the moment and what it will be for the next few days. You may go ahead and look at the weather map. It typically has many lines, symbols and colors. Any idea what it all means?
A few years ago I provided content for a series of short weather videos on 17 weather topics. The one that by far has received the...
People always are asking how much rain or snow you got at your location. If you like keeping track of precipitation, why not make it part of a vital information resource? The following information comes from the National Weather Service.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) project is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages...
If you’ve been outside and experienced those first drops of rain, especially after a dry spell, you know that smell. You might even be able to sense the smell a little before it starts to rain, a signal that rain is coming. Even after a rain, a sweet musty odor will linger for some time.
A few years ago, I got to go to Fairbanks at the end of June. As I got off the plane, there had just been a light rain. Departing the airport, the first thing I noticed was an unforgettable sweet smell in the...
