Archives
Categories
WeatherGuys Links
Author Archives: WeatherGuys Editor
Where in the U.S. are the most weather warnings issued?
Certain meteorological conditions may pose threats to life and property. Under these conditions, the National Weather Service (NWS) issues advisories, weather watches and weather warnings.
A weather watch informs us that current atmospheric conditions are favorable for hazardous weather. When the hazardous weather will soon occur in an area, a warning is issued. Weather watches and warnings are issued for a wide variety of hazardous weather, including tornadoes, hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, winter storms, high wind speeds and flooding. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Severe Weather
Comments Off on Where in the U.S. are the most weather warnings issued?
Comments Off on Where in the U.S. are the most weather warnings issued?
Is mathematical pi used in meteorology?
The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is a constant value. The size of the circle does not matter; this ratio is always the same value and is called pi.
The existence of this constant was known by the Babylonians and the Egyptians dating back to at least 2000 B.C. The numerical value is represented by the Greek letter for p, or π. Continue reading
Is Wisconsin getting windier?
Before we delve into the question of whether Wisconsin is getting windier, let’s review some basics regarding wind.
Wind is moving air. Weather reports include observations of wind speed and direction measured at the height of approximately 1.5 meters (about 4.9 feet) above the surface. If the wind speed is strong — greater than 17 mph — and highly variable, the weather report will include the wind gust, which is the maximum observed wind speed. Continue reading
How are we doing for snowfall this season?
Despite the persistence of snow and ice on the ground this winter, since our first real covering appeared just after Christmas Day, it has been a remarkably snowless winter thus far.
After Thursday night’s 2.7-inch snowfall, the season total for Madison rose to a paltry 21.4 inches, which places us well behind the average for the season to this point, which is 41.3 inches. Continue reading
How did the Tonga eruption affect the atmosphere?
Hunga Tonga erupted on Jan. 15 and lasted 11 hours.
It devastated the region, covering the land in a layer of ash. The eruption blasted a plume of ash and water vapor 34 miles into the atmosphere — into the mesosphere.
The Hunga Tonga plume contained only a very small amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Sulfur dioxide from volcanic mega-eruptions that reach high in the atmosphere can have an impact on global temperature. The mega-eruption of Pinatubo in 1991 released enough sulfur dioxide to cool the Earth’s surface for three years. The Tonga eruption will not have that kind of impact. Continue reading
