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Category Archives: Phenomena
How does the wind make waves on water?
Waves form as the wind’s energy is transferred to the surface of water.
A weak gusty wind can make ripples appear on smooth water. These ripples will dissipate quickly once the wind stops. Continue reading
What is a funnel cloud?
A funnel cloud gets its name from its shape — it is a funnel-shaped protuberance from the base of a thunderstorm.
It is composed of water droplets and is often associated with a supercell storm. The funnel cloud often has rotation, and when it does, it’s a harbinger of possible severe weather. Continue reading
Why don’t we see rainbows at noon?
The classic rainbow is a single, brightly colored arc. Red is the outermost color of this arc, and violet is always innermost.
On occasion, you may see two rainbows at once. The lower rainbow is the primary rainbow, and the higher, more faintly colored arc is the secondary rainbow. The color sequence of the secondary rainbow is opposite to the primary; red is on the inside of the arc and violet is on the outside. Continue reading
What causes urban flooding?
Urban flooding occurs when water flows into an urban region faster than it can be absorbed into the soil or moved to and stored in a lake or reservoir. It can be caused by flash flooding, coastal flooding, river floods or rapid snow melt.
On Tuesday, the Madison area experienced urban flooding caused by an intense rainfall. On that day, a daily record rainfall of 1.46 inches fell at Dane County Regional Airport, breaking the city’s previous May 27 record of 1.27 inches. The city sewage system and draining canals did not have the necessary capacity to drain away the large amounts of rain that fell in a short period of time. Continue reading
What was that column of light extending above the setting sun?
A vertical shaft of light extending above a setting or rising sun is called a sun pillar. You could have seen this optical phenomenon if you were looking at the sunset on Jan. 18.
While sun pillars look like vertical beams of light projected above the sun, they are actually a collection of reflections of millions of ice crystals floating in the atmosphere. Continue reading
