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Were those the Northern Lights last Tuesday?
Yes! If you were out late on Tuesday night, you might have seen the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights, also called aurora borealis, appear as a diffuse glow or as overlapping curtains of greenish-white and sometimes red light in the night sky. Continue reading
Was Superstorm Sandy a direct result of climate change?
As the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy approaches, we have news to report regarding current understanding of that tremendous storm.
One of the major questions confronting atmospheric scientists in the face of that unusual event was whether Sandy was a direct result of a warmer climate. This is a difficult question because there are so many elements that conspire to produce major storms. Continue reading
What’s a 100-year flood?
It is wrong to think that a “100-year flood” happens only once every 100 years. The phrase “100-year flood” describes the estimated probability of a flood event happening in any given year.
A 100-year event has a 1 percent chance (or 1-in-100) of occurring in any given year. Continue reading
How do weather radars work?
Radar, an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging, was invented during World War II to detect aircraft, but precipitation frequently got in the way. The military’s noise is meteorology’s signal. Continue reading
How fast do raindrops fall?
The typical speed of a falling raindrop depends on the size of the drop. Gravity pulls everything downward. As an object falls, it experiences a frictional drag that counters the downward force of gravity. When the gravity and frictional drag are balanced, we have an equilibrium fall speed that is known as the terminal velocity of the object. The terminal velocity depends on the size, shape and mass of the raindrop and the density of the air. Thus, it is worth talking a bit about the shape and size of raindrops. Continue reading
