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Category Archives: Meteorology
What can happen to hurricanes when they move into the mid-latitudes?
Hurricanes are large-scale, organized storms that form in the tropical latitudes.
They are fueled by the enormous amount of heat released when water vapor, evaporated off the warm tropical ocean surface, changes phase to liquid and ice in the thunderstorm clouds of the hurricane.
They are smaller in areal extent than the storms that commonly affect us in the mid-latitudes here in Madison. Continue reading
Category: History, Meteorology, Severe Weather
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What is the difference between mist and fog?
Both a mist and a fog are water droplets suspended in the atmosphere in the vicinity the earth’s surface that affect visibility.
They both differ from a cloud only in that the base of a fog or a mist is at the earth’s surface, while a cloud’s is above the surface.
The difference between a mist and a fog is associated with the atmospheric visibility. A fog and a mist are both composed of microscopic water droplets or wet hygroscopic particles suspended in the air. Particles cause light to be refracted and reflected in many directions, reducing visibility. Continue reading
Does lightning add nitrogen to the soil?
Our bodies need nitrogen to make proteins. The atmosphere’s composition is 78% nitrogen, but the nitrogen in the air is not available to our bodies.
The two atoms in the airborne nitrogen molecule are held together very tightly. For our bodies to process that nitrogen, the two atoms must separate. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Severe Weather
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What is energy’s relationship with rain?
Many locations across the country (and the world) have been experiencing unusually heavy rainfalls this summer.
Though in Madison we have had a relatively benign month of August in terms of temperature and humidity, we have still managed to find ourselves 2.09 inches above normal for rainfall for the month prior to Sunday’s rain. Continue reading
When does fog mostly occur in Madison?
Fog can occur anytime of the year, depending on the type of fog. In southern Wisconsin, fog is most frequent in the morning, between about 6 and 8 a.m. Fog is a cloud in contact with the ground, and it … Continue reading
