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Category Archives: Seasons
How does the Farmer’s Almanac make its forecasts?
The Farmer’s Almanac makes seasonal forecasts and recently came out with its winter forecast.
The Farmer’s Almanac does not share how it makes its forecasts so it cannot be judged scientifically. There is no proven skill of its forecast accuracy. Continue reading
Has this summer been mild?
This summer has been relatively mild, compared to some we have recently experienced.
In 2012 we recorded 39 days with a high temperature of 90 degrees or greater. This summer we have only had one such day so far — July 22, when the temperature was 93. Continue reading
Is Lyme disease connected to the weather?
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recently explored the relationship between the reports of Lyme disease and weather observations. They found that warmer temperatures, higher humidity and less rain are correlated with an earlier start and peak of the Lyme disease season.
The start of the Lyme disease season begins in late May on average and lasts for about 14 weeks. An above average amount of precipitation from the start of the year tends to result in a later beginning of the Lyme disease season. An earlier start to the season is associated with more days with temperatures above 50 degrees, except for the most northern regions of the U.S. Continue reading
Is there any trace of winter left in the Northern Hemisphere?
We have made reference a few times in this column to the areal extent of cold air over the Northern Hemisphere as a measure of wintertime severity, that is, the geographic reach of air of a certain temperature.
Specifically, we have reported on the 23-degree air at 1 mile above the ground (where the atmospheric pressure is just 85 percent of its near-surface value). By mid-July it is impossible to find air that cold at that elevation in the Northern Hemisphere. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Seasons
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When is the summer solstice?
The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day when the sun is farthest north. In 2014, this occurs on June 21 at 5:51 a.m.
As Earth orbits the sun, its axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees from its orbital plane. Because Earth’s axis of spin always points in the same direction — toward the North Star — the orientation of Earth’s axis to the sun is always changing as Earth orbits around the sun. Continue reading
