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Category Archives: Phenomena
Is the smoke from western forest fires affecting our weather?
This year there have been many fires on the west coast of the U.S. and Canada.
Most of these fires are in remote regions and were started by lightning strikes. This smoke has drifted over our region. It will not have much of an effect on our temperature or precipitation. However, official weather reports include observations on sky conditions and visibility. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena
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Can we predict tornadoes?
A tornado is a powerful, narrow column of winds that rotate around a center of low pressure. The winds inside a tornado spiral inward and upward, often exceeding speeds of 300 mph.
We cannot always tell if a developing storm will produce a tornado. Advances in radar technologies have helped to identify storms that are producing a tornadoes, or about to produce a tornado. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Severe Weather, Weather Dangers
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Why have the skies been so hazy?
Summer skies often look hazy because of the high humidity, which condenses in the sky and forms small liquid water particles that scatter light, creating that hazy effect.
But there’s a different reason our skies have not been a nice blue color when they’re cloud-free: smoke.
It’s coming from wildfires in the forests of the Northwest Territories in Canada, which were started naturally by lightning strikes. The winds have moved this smoke our way, defining which areas would be affected by the smoke. Continue reading
How do you stay safe from lightning?
Lightning can be fun to watch but it is also very dangerous.
Approximately 300 people are injured by lightning each year, and about 62 people are killed. On average there is about one death caused by lightning in Wisconsin annually. Continue reading
Category: Phenomena, Severe Weather, Weather Dangers
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Why does it smell good after a rain?
Many times after a rain, there is a distinctive odor in the air — a sort of musky smell. This pleasant fragrance is most common in rains that follow a dry spell.
The phenomenon is referred to as petrichor, from the Greek roots petra (stone) and ichor (the blood of gods in Greek mythology). If you are a gardener, you may find this smell similar to the smell you sense when you turn over your soil. Good organic soils contain bacteria, and a bacterium that is abundant in damp warm soils is actinomycete. Continue reading
