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Category Archives: Meteorology
What forces are in play when high winds knock down objects?
Wind is air moving from areas of high atmospheric pressure to low pressure. Violent destructive winds, as well as gentle summer breezes, result from a complex interplay of different forces.
One of these forces results from a pressure gradient, or how fast pressure changes over distance. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Severe Weather, Weather Dangers
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Why do thunderstorms scare dogs?
Some dogs seem to have a great fear of thunderstorms, as do some humans.
Their fear can drive them through closed doors or windows, or send them cowering to an isolated spot in the house. Continue reading
What is the heat index?
The heat index indicates how hot it feels. It is expressed as a function of air temperature and the relative humidity.
The heat index temperature is for standing in the shade; when exposed to direct sunlight, the heat index value can be increased by up to 15 degrees. Continue reading
When was the year without a summer?
The summer of 1816 is known as the year without a summer in eastern North America.
While extensive weather observations were not available, people’s journals documented the cold weather. Snow fell on June 5 in Vermont with temperatures in the low 30s, following a day with high temperatures in the upper 80s. Continue reading
How do you measure how hot the summer is?
After experiencing our first 90-degree day of the season on Friday, many people are wondering what we might expect this summer.
It turns out that the number or 90-degree days each summer is extremely variable here in Madison. From 1971 to 2015, the average number of days at or above 90 in Madison was 10.96. This average, however, struggles to convey a sense of the variability. Continue reading
