Archives
Categories
WeatherGuys Links
Category Archives: Severe Weather
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
Comments Off on What forces are in play when high winds knock down objects?
Comments Off on What forces are in play when high winds knock down objects?
What is the prediction for this year’s hurricane season?
Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean basin runs from June through November.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting 10 to 16 named storms this season. Continue reading
Category: Severe Weather, Tropical
Comments Off on What is the prediction for this year’s hurricane season?
Comments Off on What is the prediction for this year’s hurricane season?
What can be learned from the recurrence of extreme weather events?
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years and their loyal fans were ecstatic. In the very next year, the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series title in 88 years.
Never in the long history of baseball had two teams that had been denied championships for so long won those long-coveted titles in successive years. This circumstance was at least partially a function of the changes in baseball brought about by free agency — a fundamental change to the rules. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Meteorology, Severe Weather
Comments Off on What can be learned from the recurrence of extreme weather events?
Comments Off on What can be learned from the recurrence of extreme weather events?
How will a warmer planet affect the severity of mid-latitude storms?
In previous columns we have discussed how the phase change of the water substance from invisible, gaseous water vapor into liquid water (through condensation) or into solid ice (through freezing) releases latent heat into the surrounding environment.
This heat can change many aspects of the nature of the mid-latitude storms in which the phase change is occurring. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Meteorology, Severe Weather
Comments Off on How will a warmer planet affect the severity of mid-latitude storms?
Comments Off on How will a warmer planet affect the severity of mid-latitude storms?
What forced last week’s strong winds?
Our windy Wednesday last week was a notable departure from a winter without many high-wind events.
The strong winds from Tuesday and Wednesday were a result of the passage of an intensifying low-pressure center (mid-latitude cyclone) nearly directly over Madison overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Continue reading
