Apr
4
2012

Rain that never makes it to the ground

virga

Have you ever seen lines going down from a cloud like the ones in the picture to the left?  It is a weather condition called virga.  Basically, it is rain that evaporates before hitting the ground.

Virga is common in desert regions such as the Western United States.

Mar
30
2012

Fog

San Francisco fog

“Fog is really just a cloud that touches the ground”. Correct, but the particular type of fog  affects many different people in many different ways, especially when it gets so thick that it affects our vision.

Heavy fog affects golfers, surfers, automobile driving, buses, aircraft taking off and landing,, painters, construction, and road work.  There’s just hardly anything you can do outside in the fog.

Fog is a certainty where the surface is colder than the air above, like over the ocean above cold currents. The Grand Banks of New Found land” the “World’s Fog Capital”. is a classic case ,with the cold waters of the Labrador Current cooling the Gulf Stream to the dew point temperature.

Mar
29
2012

Tornadoes

Tornado

Everyone knows what a Tornado is: a rapidly rotating column of air usually accompanied by a cumulonimbus cloud formation and usually touches the ground, but here are some facts you may not know: 

Although most tornadoes are not as strong as those you see in the news, they have been clocked at over 275 miles per hour.

Most tornadoes rotate in an anti-clockwise direction, but a few rotate in a clockwise direction.

Waterspouts (tornadoes over water) are weaker and more frequent than those over land.

Reports of tornadoes have come from all over the world, including all 50 US states.

When a Hurricane makes landfall, expect tornadoes to form in the forward right quadrant, also max winds and max rainfall.

If you come upon a tornado in your path:

  • Look carefully. Is it coming toward you? If so, turn right or left!
  • Is it going to the right? Turn left!
  • Is it going to the left? Turn right!

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