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Why is wildfire smoke unhealthy?
The smoke from wildfires can linger in the air and often travels long distances carrying unhealthy matter.
Depending on how hot the fire is and what’s burning — trees, grasslands, or buildings — wildfire smoke can contain toxic chemical substances, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, benzene and metals. The smoke can also change over time and become more toxic. Continue reading
Has 2026 been an active tornado year?
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of Earth and the storm above. The 30-year normal (1981-2010) for Wisconsin is 23 tornadoes per year.
As of mid-July, the National Weather Service has confirmed that our state has experienced 39 documented tornadoes, which ties it with 2025 for the 6th most tornadoes in an entire year. These tornadoes were distributed over 10 different days. Twenty-seven of those tornadoes were spawned between April 13 and April 17, with 16 on April 17 alone. Continue reading
What is atmospheric ducting?
Atmospheric ducting is a phenomenon that affects how radio waves travel through our atmosphere.
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic energy that carry information as they travel by modifying certain properties of the wave, like their amplitude or frequency. In a vacuum, radio waves travel at the speed of light. In Earth’s atmosphere, radio waves travel at very nearly the speed of light. Continue reading
Is wildfire season getting longer?
Wildfires are an important part of many ecosystems and an essential part of forest and rangeland health.
Fires require fuel to burn, heat to ignite and oxygen to burn. Wildfire season is defined as the time of year when wildfires are most likely to ignite and spread. A combination of high temperatures, low humidity, lack of precipitation days and high winds make wildfires more likely to spread and lengthen fire seasons. Continue reading
What is the wet-bulb temperature?
The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature to which unsaturated air can be cooled by evaporating liquid water into it.
This may sound horribly obscure, but it serves as a very useful measure of human comfort. It combines atmospheric humidity and temperature in a way that helps determine our comfort level while in the shade, especially during hot and humid conditions. Continue reading
