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Can subtle changes in sky color impact summer high temperatures?
There are spring and summer afternoons when very thin clouds appear overhead and turn the sky a bit white. These types of skies are physically interesting in at least two ways that are worthy of note.
First, the whiteness is a function of the fact that the cloud cover is a thin cirrus cloud. Cirrus clouds are composed of tiny ice crystals that scatter visible light without preference for any of the colors of the visible spectrum (the colors of the rainbow). This particular property is shared by snowflakes as well as by haze droplets. Individual snowflakes look clear but even a small collection of them is white since all of the light that hits the collection of snowflakes is scattered in all directions equally. The same is true of haze droplets which are most common in the summertime in southern Wisconsin. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena
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Do volcanic eruptions impact climate and weather?
There are some spectacular photographs and videos of the recent eruption of Calbuco in Chile. The impact of the eruption on our weather and climate depends on how explosive the eruption and how much sulfur dioxide is in the volcanic plume.
Eruptions can lead to cooler temperatures in the mountain’s vicinity. As the ash cloud enshrouds nearby regions, it will reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the surface and thereby reduce the daytime temperatures. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Phenomena, Weather Dangers
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Why does the wind adversely affect over-the-air television transmission?
Why does the wind adversely affect over-the-air television transmission? Continue reading
Category: Phenomena, Severe Weather
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What is permafrost?
Permafrost is ground that is frozen for at least two years. It remains frozen all year and contains plant material that has not yet completely decomposed.
Permafrost is mostly located in polar regions, though it also occurs in some high mountain tops where it is called alpine permafrost. There is no permafrost in Madison, though our ground does freeze in most winters. Continue reading
Is water always present in the atmosphere?
Evidence of the presence of water in our atmosphere is ubiquitous. Water occurs in the Earth’s atmosphere in all three of its phases — solid (snow and ice), liquid (rain and dew) and gas (invisible water vapor).
As we begin to emerge from winter and enter spring, we may begin to see more dew on the ground and on the windshields of cars in the morning. The air nearly always holds some amount of water vapor. Dew is liquid water that condenses overnight onto objects when the air that contains the water vapor cools to a sufficiently low temperature. Continue reading
