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Why is fog more common in the early morning?
Fog can occur any time of day throughout the year. In southern Wisconsin, fog is most frequent in the morning, between about 6 and 8 a.m.
Fog formation is the result of two primary processes. First, the air is cooled to the dew point, and the relative humidity reaches 100%. When the air temperature is the same as the dew point temperature, condensation of the atmospheric water vapor occurs forming fog droplets. Another method of fog formation requires water to evaporate from the surface into the air, increasing the relative humidity until condensation occurs. Continue reading
When will we stop seeing 80F this year?
At the time of this writing, Madison is in its 6th straight day of temperatures at or above 80F and it is likely we will have one more to reach seven in a row. As recently as 2022, we have … Continue reading
What does the CDC have to do with the National Weather Service?
As the flu season ramps up and brings along with it an increased threat of COVID-19 infections, it has been distressing for many to witness the assault on the leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, known as the CDC.
Under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an infamous vaccine skeptic, the leadership of the organization has been decimated and confidence in its ability to meet the challenges we regularly face from infectious disease has dramatically decreased. These troubling developments come just weeks after the Department of Energy released a report on the impact of greenhouse gases on the climate of the United States written by five well-known skeptics of the broad scientific consensus on this urgent issue. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Weather Dangers
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What is a haboob?
A haboob is dust storm that can be several miles long, several thousand feet high, and can travel hundreds of miles. Haboobs are caused when an intense column of sinking air in a thunderstorm hits the ground and lofts soil particles into the air. These downdrafts, referred to as a microburst, can hit the ground at 50-80 mph and then spread in all directions. The resulting winds stir up dust and dirt from large arid areas which then get blown along in front of the approaching thunderstorm. The lofted particles can reach heights of 5000 ft and can extend up to 100 miles wide.
The name “haboob” is derived from the Arabian word ‘hab’, meaning ‘to blow,’ and was originally the name for a dust storm or sandstorm in the northern part of Sudan. Continue reading
What is the longest lightning bolt?
Lightning is a huge electrical discharge, or spark, that results from vigorous motions in thunderstorms.
Storms are composed of ice crystals and liquid water droplets. Winds inside the storm cause particles to rub against one another, causing electrons to be stripped off, making the particles either negatively or positively charged. The charges get grouped in the cloud, often negatively charged near the bottom of the cloud and positively charged up high. This is an electric field, and because air is a good insulator, the electric fields become incredibly strong. Eventually a lightning bolt happens, and the flow of electrons neutralizes the electric field. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Severe Weather
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