Category Archives: Seasons

Thus far, October 2019 has been an active weather month over North America. The month began with a week-long period of moderate to heavy rain over the Great Lakes states associated with an energetic jet stream racing across the northern … Continue reading →

We define the length of the day as the time between sunrise and sunset, so that we can apply some simple mathematics.

Atmospheric conditions can make the actual sunrise and sunset vary slightly from the calculated times. As the Earth moves around the Sun, the length of the day changes. Continue reading →

Ozone occurs about 18 miles above the Earth’s surface and is both caused by and provides protection from damaging ultraviolet energy emitted by the sun.

The development of an atmospheric “ozone layer” allowed life to move out of the oceans and onto land. Continue reading →

This morning we officially entered fall as the autumnal equinox occurred at 2:50 a.m.

That means that today, in common with every location on Earth, we will enjoy exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. Continue reading →

As we head into the second half of August the days are noticeably shorter. That change is even more dramatic in the polar regions where the summer ice melt season is nearing its end.

This year’s melt has been particularly dramatic, with the Arctic sea-ice extent likely heading to its lowest level since satellite measurements began in 1979. The previous low extent record was set in 2012. Continue reading →