Pileus Clouds We’re constantly amazed around here when it comes to the seemingly unending fodder that clouds provide to the project. Way back in Issue #49, we took an intro-level class on clouds. Before we even consider some of the rarer types of water vapor, the amount of variation in the everyday sky is incredible. Earlier […]
+ & – Storm Surge Hurricane Ian recently ravaged the Caribbean, Florida, and South Carolina. At publication, over 100 people lost their lives to this massive storm. The number could rise significantly, as approximately 10,000 people are still missing. The tempest topped out as a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 155 miles per
Petrichor Today’s topic sits at the center of the Venn diagram comprised of “fascinating science,” “fun vocabulary,” and “fantastic aromas.” This trio might rest near the top of the rankings for possible The Mountains Are Calling Venn diagrams. Some scents occupy unique positions in our experiences and memories. We all have things we enjoy smelling, but most
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
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,
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Light Pillars, 22° Halos, Tangent Arcs, Bottlinger’s rings, Parry Arcs, and Circumzenithal Arcs, and More! In our two previous articles, we discovered diamond dust and sun dogs. While these phenomena are righteous on their own, they are singular manifestations of a larger class of optical splendors. They both arise thanks to ice crystals in the
Sun Dogs “two mock suns rose with the sun and followed it all through the day until sunset.” – Aristotle, Meteorology In our previous examination, we learned how it’s possible for snowfall to occur on cloudless days in the form of diamond dust. This precipitation transpires when water vapor turns into ice crystals near the
Diamond Dust Have you ever found yourself outside on a cold, clear, still day and noticed a snowfall? No clouds above to produce the precipitation; no gusts to blow up fallen snow. If so, you might have experienced a phenomenon known as diamond dust. If you’ve never seen this strange happening, you’re not alone. Diamond
Xiaohaituo Mountain and the Beauty of Snow The 2022 Olympic Winter Games are underway in Beijing, China. The cold iteration of the Olympics evokes the natural world a bit more to my imagination than the summer version. Mountains, snow, ice, skiing. If you’re familiar with the skyline of Beijing, you know the horizon is not
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Atmospheric Rivers It’s an understatement to say November 2021 did not treat British Columbia and parts of Washington well. Catastrophic rain and subsequent flooding ravaged the landscapes, crippled infrastructure, and killed at least five people. Parts of the Canadian province received 11 inches of rain in two days. Dikes and levees were inundated and overcome.
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