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, […]
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The Blue Hole of Abisko We learned that blue holes are nexuses of past and present, a mixing of geological processes related to land and sea. These sinkholes produce stunning features, including the Great Blue Hole of Belize. But there’s another type of blue hole, too, one that brings skies into the party. In Sweden, the village of Abisko
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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
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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
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
Candle Ice Thanks to its molecular makeup, water forms a hexagonal, crystalline structure when it becomes ice. Since ice is less dense than water, it floats. Not only is this great for drinks, but it also keeps large bodies from freezing from the bottom up. This attribute allows for a rather obvious but perhaps unpondered
Ice Spikes If You love dessert, specifically ice cream You want to control your caloric or macro-nutrient intake You like saving money in the long-run You want to revolutionize your life do yourself a favor and consider purchasing a Ninja Creami. This device can turn nearly any ingredient into ice cream, frozen yogurt, slushies, Italian ice,
Santa Ana Winds In January 2025, wildfires devastated residential areas of southern California. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as of 27 January, four distinct fires have killed 28 people, forced 200,000 to evacuate, and damaged 16,000 structures over 57,000 acres. The scale and intensity of this disaster is difficult to fathom but
Adiabatic Heating Furnace Creek at Death Valley National Park holds the record for hottest place on Earth. In 1913, the spot hit 134 degrees Fahrenheit! The park is home to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, which is 282 feet below sea level. Death Valley is just 85 miles from Mount Whitney, the High
Katabatic Winds What is wind? The question seems simple, but I cannot recall learning about this topic in science classes in school. In simplest terms, wind is the movement of air. But why does air move? What causes wind? The simple concept bleeds into complexity rather quickly, as new questions emerge. Wind occurs because of