Meteorology

The Longest Lightning Flash


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123

The Longest Lightning Flash Of the naturally occurring phenomena, one of the most visceral is lightning. Few things can fill us with wonder and a sense of immense, dangerous power like a bolt from the sky. So, it’s no surprise that we’ve studied lightning during this project over the years. We’ve seen it show up […]

The Longest Lightning Flash Read More »

Yellow Dust


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123
This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series RAINBOW

Yellow Dust In the fifth year of Di Xin, it rained dust at Bo.  –The Bamboo Annals In the past decade, Americans living east of the Mississippi have become accustomed to occasional skyscapes that were previously confined to the West. At times, the Sun’s disk can almost be viewed safely with the naked eye during the day,

Yellow Dust Read More »

Mostly Clear vs. Partly Cloudy


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123

Mostly Clear vs. Partly Cloudy We love to hate on weatherpeople and their nebulous percentages. How can they get it so wrong? As it turns out, meteorologists are increasingly accurate. Graphic by Hannah Ritchie Even if we concede that the weather prognosticators have improved, perhaps some of their success comes from vague wording. For example,

Mostly Clear vs. Partly Cloudy Read More »

Gustnadoes, Dust Devils, Fire whirls, Steam Devils, & Waterspouts


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Tornadoes

Gustnadoes, Dust Devils, Fire whirls, Steam Devils, & Waterspouts  Most people are familiar with traditional tornadoes, the funnels spawned from supercell thunderstorms that pack the world’s highest wind speeds and can devastate homes or towns. But one type of swirl wasn’t enough for a planet as magnificent and varied as Earth. Vertical vortices come in

Gustnadoes, Dust Devils, Fire whirls, Steam Devils, & Waterspouts Read More »

The Fujita Scale


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123
This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Tornadoes

The Fujita Scale The highest wind speeds on Earth come from tornadoes. Needless to say, things that cause the highest wind speeds can produce massive amounts of damage to human-created infrastructure and natural surroundings. Though we have made progress in tornado science over the past century, much about the mechanisms and materializations of the storms remains

The Fujita Scale Read More »

Tornadoes


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123
This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Tornadoes

Tornadoes One of Earth’s most recognizable natural forms is the funnel of a tornado. The tornado’s form is the mountain silhouette of meteorology, inspiring simultaneous awe and terror. Their sinewy, gorgeous stovepipes demand our attention while filling us with fearful dashes of the unknown. A tornado in Manitoba in 2007 – photo by Justin1569 Also called

Tornadoes Read More »

Ring of Fire (weather)


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123

Ring of Fire During the summer of 2023, we learned about the Omega block, a weather pattern shaped like a Greek letter that locks in conditions for extended periods. Though this phenomenon is hardly rare, we often barely notice its existence. Sometimes it produces heat domes that trap high temperatures in regions for weeks or months

Ring of Fire (weather) Read More »

The Omega Block


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123

The Omega Block Earth produced some unusual weather and atmospheric phenomena for the Midwest and Eastern United States during the middle and late spring of 2023. As the temperatures rose with lengthening daylight, many people near The Mountains Are Calling headquarters in Central Ohio noticed something odd in the air. Though many Ohioans partake in the universal

The Omega Block Read More »

Arcus Clouds


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123

Arcus Clouds   The second full week of June produced some extreme weather across the United States. Yellowstone National Park endured a 200-500 year flooding event that swept away homes in the overfull rivers and might keep the area closed to visitors for months. A heat dome covered much of the country, producing triple-digit Fahrenheit temperatures. And that heat

Arcus Clouds Read More »

The Kentucky Meat Shower


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/u447616170/domains/themountainsarecalling.earth/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-word-count/public/class-wpwc-public.php on line 123

The Kentucky Meat Shower   3 March 1876. Olympia Springs, Bath County, northeast Kentucky. The farm of Allen Crouch. Just before noon. The farmer’s wife sat on the front porch, making soap. The late-Reconstruction-era day veered from normal into the macabre horror of Edgar Allan Poe as it began to rain. Instead of crop-nourishing water,

The Kentucky Meat Shower Read More »