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326 Questions

Last Answer on December 24, 2019

Hello! So I read an article about the Amazon being in fire. I was wondering if there was a way to take the numbers from how much Co2 is increasing & oxygen being take away & measure the effects elsewhere from wind patterns, temperature changes, etc.

Asked by Desmond over 6 years ago

Interesting question. A little out of my area as a local meteorologist. You might have some luck looking around the website for National Center for Atmospheric Research. https://ncar.ucar.edu/

789 Votes

It seems to me that cold outbreaks can be predicted well in advance and are almost always accurate (sadly). This is in contrast to rain and snow. What is it that makes their prediction so reliable?

Asked by docjmcg2 almost 7 years ago

Great question. A cold air event, like the current one, is a good bit less complicated than rain or snow. With a precipitation forecast there are more factors at play. In general a forecast gets fuzzier the further out it time you go. Broadly speaking the forecast starts with data gathered from weather balloons launched twice a day from about 900 sites around the world. That sounds like a big number but when you consider the size of the earth, and how much of it is covered by water, which is hard to launch a balloon from, that data is pretty sparse. The goal of the balloons is to take a snapshot of the atmosphere at a given moment. It is a fuzzy picture. Think of putting that fuzzy picture on a copy machine. The copy is fuzzier, then make a copy of a copy and so on. So the further out in time the more errors or changes that enter the forecast. Stay warm!

787 Votes

We were having trouble deciding if todays clouds were stratus or cirrus in Ore City, Texas. We have pictures if you can help.

Asked by 4thgrade almost 9 years ago

Tough to say without seeing the pictures. If you would like to post them somewhere with a link I'd be happy to look. You could also do a Google search for "cloud classification" and see if something looks familiar.

787 Votes

On the East Coast, specifically the Allegheny mountains, are the prevailing winds necessarily from the west? Which is to ask: Is the leeward size of those mountains generally on the east, or rather on the west, as the Atlantic ocean is so close?

Asked by Mrs. Mills almost 7 years ago

Hello, Mrs. Mills. Broadly speaking the leeward side of the Allegheny Mountains would be the eastern side, closer to the coast. At any given moment the windward side of anything is that facing the wind. In general terms the broad atmospheric flow is west to east across the United States. Here is a good definition on Wikipedia. Thanks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windward_and_leeward

786 Votes

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Hello. My boss has asked me to find out the amount of snowfall in a 5 day span in January 2016. Any idea on how can I get this info?

Asked by Erin over 7 years ago

Hi, Erin. I’d go to weather.gov (not .com). Click on your area of the map and it will take you to the local National Weather Service office and you’ll see phone and email on the bottom. Good luck.

786 Votes

Is Hurricane Irma only considered a hurricane at the eye, or center, of the storm and beyond that only a tropical storm? So, for example, hurricane Harvey didn't hit Houston, a tropical storm did?

Asked by Kim Harris about 8 years ago

Hi, Kim. Nope. The maximum sustained winds of any part of the storm (mostly likely near the eye) determine the designation of the entire storm. Harvey hit peak strength at Category 4 as it came ashore near Rockport, TX and the center never did cross Houston.

786 Votes

Why does a low pressure system take only a day or so to cross the Atlantic only to stall north west of Scotland. Why does the coralis affect not keep it going?

Asked by Jim over 8 years ago

Hi, Jim Storm systems at that latitude are driven by what is usually called the jet stream, which is a river of faster moving air and a series of large scale waves in the atmosphere. It does not flow at a constant speed or wavelength and is changing all the time. Storms will approach Scotland at different intervals and can move faster/slower or stall based on many influences. The Coriolis Effect accounts for the influence the spinning earth has on motion, and while part of the system, less directly affects the speed of the systems. I think the more direct answers to your question is that the speed of the storms is affected by a number of factors, not just Coriolis. Thanks!

786 Votes

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Hello! So I read an article about the Amazon being in fire. I was wondering if there was a way to take the numbers from how much Co2 is increasing & oxygen being take away & measure the effects elsewhere from wind patterns, temperature changes, etc.

It seems to me that cold outbreaks can be predicted well in advance and are almost always accurate (sadly). This is in contrast to rain and snow. What is it that makes their prediction so reliable?

We were having trouble deciding if todays clouds were stratus or cirrus in Ore City, Texas. We have pictures if you can help.

On the East Coast, specifically the Allegheny mountains, are the prevailing winds necessarily from the west? Which is to ask: Is the leeward size of those mountains generally on the east, or rather on the west, as the Atlantic ocean is so close?

Also on Jobstr...

Hello. My boss has asked me to find out the amount of snowfall in a 5 day span in January 2016. Any idea on how can I get this info?

Is Hurricane Irma only considered a hurricane at the eye, or center, of the storm and beyond that only a tropical storm? So, for example, hurricane Harvey didn't hit Houston, a tropical storm did?

Why does a low pressure system take only a day or so to cross the Atlantic only to stall north west of Scotland. Why does the coralis affect not keep it going?

TV Meteorologist

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Hello! So I read an article about the Amazon being in fire. I was wondering if there was a way to take the numbers from how much Co2 is increasing & oxygen being take away & measure the effects elsewhere from wind patterns, temperature changes, etc.

It seems to me that cold outbreaks can be predicted well in advance and are almost always accurate (sadly). This is in contrast to rain and snow. What is it that makes their prediction so reliable?

We were having trouble deciding if todays clouds were stratus or cirrus in Ore City, Texas. We have pictures if you can help.

On the East Coast, specifically the Allegheny mountains, are the prevailing winds necessarily from the west? Which is to ask: Is the leeward size of those mountains generally on the east, or rather on the west, as the Atlantic ocean is so close?

Also on Jobstr...

Hello. My boss has asked me to find out the amount of snowfall in a 5 day span in January 2016. Any idea on how can I get this info?

Is Hurricane Irma only considered a hurricane at the eye, or center, of the storm and beyond that only a tropical storm? So, for example, hurricane Harvey didn't hit Houston, a tropical storm did?

Why does a low pressure system take only a day or so to cross the Atlantic only to stall north west of Scotland. Why does the coralis affect not keep it going?

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