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Answers to Your Weather Questions

Alt Earth
Climate
Clouds
Fire
Fog
Folklore
Forecasting
Hurricanes
Lightning
Modification
Polar
Precipitation
Pressure
Rainbows
Temperature
Tornado
Water Cycle
Wind

Alt Earth Questions

Thank you for your fun question! This is the sort of question professors LOVE to add to their exams.

Overall, a faster-rotating Earth would likely have more intense and complex weather patterns, with stronger winds, more pronounced atmospheric circulation, and altered temperature distributions. For more details (and the full answer), please see the post about weather patterns if Earth rotated twice as fast.

 
An astronomer or exoplanetary meteorologist would best answer this question. Based on my brief understanding of binary lunar systems (and the mythology of ancient cultures - a hobby of mine), this is what I would expect.
 

These elements could serve as storytelling tools in your D&D world, adding depth to the lore, religion, and daily life of its inhabitants. And the best part? It's YOUR world - it doesn't have to follow our universe's physics!

For your fictional Northern Atlantic island spanning from 37°N to 44°N, a mix of Cfa (humid subtropical) and Cfb (oceanic) climates can be plausible with careful consideration of regional climate influences.

Read more to learn how this might work and what factors to consider.

Climate Questions

Many of us want a snowy holiday without enduring months of harsh, below-zero (°F) temperatures. Unfortunately, finding a place that consistently has snow on the ground for Christmas but rarely dips into the teens or single digits can be tricky. Here are some factors to consider and several potential locations in the U.S. and abroad that might fit the bill:
 

Key Factors to Consider

 

  1. Latitude vs. Altitude:

    • The farther north you go (higher latitude), the more likely you are to see snow over the holidays. But these areas also tend to have colder temperatures.
    • At higher altitudes (mountains), you’ll often get dependable snowfall in winter, but night temperatures can dip quite low. Daytime temps in the 20s or 30s (°F) might be common, but single digits can still happen.

  2. Maritime (Coastal) Influence:

    • Places near oceans or large lakes often have milder winters than inland areas because water retains heat.
    • However, coastal regions that aren’t very far north may not see much snow at all.
    • Coastal areas farther north can get snow but can also be famously damp, slushy, or unpredictable (e.g., rain/snow mix).

  3. Climates DO Vary:

    • Even in famously snowy places, there’s no 100% guarantee. A “white Christmas” might be 80–90% likely in some top spots.
    • Warmer conditions often mean variability: you could get a gorgeous white Christmas one year, but just cold rain the next.

Read More >

Cloud Questions

Noctilucent clouds are generally only seen just before sunrise or just after sunset, as the sun needs to be below the horizon to light up the mesosphere, up to 50 miles above the earth's surface (way above the troposphere - where we experience most weather phenomena). They can be present during the day, but we won't see them, as they're very thin - we need the contrast of the dark sky and the reflected sunlight to perceive them.
 
The clouds form when water vapor gathers on specks of dust in the mesosphere and freezes, forming ice crystals that scatter the reflected sunlight in a silvery-blue. Generally, noctilucent clouds appear between June and August in the Northern Hemisphere, over the poles and maybe down to a latitude of 45 degrees.
 
Submitted photos:
fallstreak clouds wide shot - submitted fallstreak clouds zoom 1 - submitted fallstreak clouds zoom 2 - submitted
 
You asked about some cloud anomalies you saw near Mt. Adams in Washington state (photos reattached here). They look like good examples of what are called "hole-punch" clouds or "fallstreak holes", and are caused by planes. As a plane ascends or descends through the cloud layer, the exhaust seeds the clouds and causes the fallstreak to form.
 
Here's a Weather Service link and a Wikipedia link about this phenomenon, you'll see similar pictures on those pages:
 
 

Submitted photos:

Mystery Blue Light Cloud Mystery Blue Light Cloud During Storm

Most likely: lights near the ground / pointed upward (probably not a searchlight, as you mentioned...lots of LEDs are used for measurements and night illumination these days)
Least likely: ball lightning or individual blue jets/starters
 

As far as I know, there isn't a specific term dedicated exclusively to the eerie orange sky that sometimes appears after a thunderstorm at sunset, but weather enthusiasts use descriptive phrases such as:

  1. "Post-storm glow": This term captures the unique atmospheric lighting that occurs after a storm, often enhanced by the sun's low angle at sunset.
  2. "Afterglow": While this term is commonly used for the lingering light after sunset, it can also apply to the striking colors that appear in the sky after a storm when the light scatters through lingering moisture and storm clouds.
  3. "Storm light": This describes the distinctive quality of light that occurs when sunlight breaks through clouds or storm remnants, often creating an unusual color palette.

Eerie red sky with mammatus clouds at sunset smWhy It Happens

The intense orange, pink, or even greenish hue is due to Rayleigh scattering. After a thunderstorm, the atmosphere is often filled with moisture and dust particles. When the sun is low on the horizon, its light passes through a larger cross-section of the atmosphere, scattering shorter blue wavelengths and allowing the longer red, orange, and yellow wavelengths to dominate. Additionally, the remaining storm clouds can reflect and amplify this colored light, creating an otherworldly effect like my attached photo - taken near severe storms we had been chasing in March 2008.

As a meteorologist who stormchases (these days only when storms are nearby), I've experienced this phenomena several times in my life - including when a ton of hail fell, turning the ground white, and quickly cooling the ground after a storm. I grew up in the Kansas City metro area, so I've seen this around both Kansas and Missouri - the local topography and plant life can also affect how cold some microclimates (tiny areas that differ from the overall main climate type of an area) can be after a storm.

What you encountered was likely the result of a rapid temperature drop combined with high humidity. Read more to learn why it happened so suddenly and dramatically.

thin clouds halo around the moon
Submitted photo

Your photo shows the moon surrounded by a luminous halo in the night sky. This type of halo is typically caused by the refraction of light through ice crystals in thin, high-altitude cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. The optical phenomenon results in a circle or arc around the moon that can appear faintly like an iridescence or bright ring.

The halo forms because the ice crystals act as prisms and mirrors, bending the light at a consistent angle (usually 22 degrees), creating a circular appearance. Halos like this can be striking visually and memorable in folklore as a sign of upcoming precipitation, as cirrostratus clouds can sometimes precede a storm system by 24-48 hours. 

As for your comment on whether the clouds are dissipating due to the heat from the moon, keep in mind that even high clouds like cirrus are still in the troposphere - the lowest part of our atmosphere - far away from the direct influence of the moon. Contrary to what some may think, the moon doesn’t emit heat itself; it only reflects sunlight. Therefore, the warmth of moonlight isn’t enough to dissipate clouds or influence cloud formation directly.

Submitted photos:
Photo 2 of clouds before sunrise Photo 1 of clouds before sunrise
 
What your photos show are noctilucent clouds generated by the recent SpaceX launch of 23 satellites on November 25.
 
When rockets launch, their exhaust releases water vapor and tiny ice particles high into the upper atmosphere—around 50 miles above Earth’s surface in the Mesosphere. In these extremely cold conditions, with temperatures near -180°F, that water freezes to form icy, wispy clouds. Because these clouds are so high, they catch and reflect sunlight even when the ground below is in darkness, making them appear bright white or sometimes iridescent against the late twilight or pre-dawn sky.

Noctilucent clouds can be seen from as far as 500 miles away if skies are clear, and they often last for an hour or more. While rare, these clouds are generally found in higher latitudes near the poles, unless there’s a recent rocket launch!

Great job capturing this phenomena!

Submitted photos:

At Sunset looking East Summer Sun in the East at sunset 1 Sun in the East at sunset 2

Beautiful photos!
 
I've seen and photographed several sunsets with this added opposite bonus, but the only name I could come up with for the phenomenon was "anti-sunset". Essentially, you’re seeing the setting sun’s rays reflected onto cumulus/higher-reaching clouds on the opposite horizon, creating a brief, bright glow that can mimic a second sunset. The darker clouds near you are likely lower in the atmosphere, no longer in direct sunlight. The combination is a photographer's dream.
 

Fire Weather Questions

The strong winds you’re experiencing across a wide area of Southern California are due to a larger-scale weather event—often known as Santa Ana winds or simply a “windstorm”—and not because of the fire. Major fires can create localized wind effects in their immediate vicinity, but they generally do not generate strong regional winds 20, 30, or 40 miles away.  
 

Fog Questions

The short answer: maybe.

As the original question and answer are fairly long, we've moved this answer to its own post.

I saw the social media furor about fog that you mentioned, but the places I was staying at during that time period saw little to no fog. 
 
It’s quite normal for many locations to experience fog in late autumn and winter, and social media chatter can create the impression of a “worldwide” event. However, official meteorological sources have not reported any singular, planet-wide fog phenomenon in December 2024. Most likely, multiple local or regional fog episodes were happening (as they often do in winter) and social media posts made it feel more widespread than usual.  
 

Folklore Weather Questions

Your grandmother is right that the moon affects Earth's temperature: at Full Moon, the poles can experience temperatures up to a degree Fahrenheit HIGHER than at New Moon (an average of 0.036 F across the globe). We do know that the Moon helps to keep our climate (long-term weather patterns) more stable than if it didn't exist where it is - keeping Earth's seasons fairly stable and predictable (less wobbling of the Earth's tilt that gives us our seasons).

Read More >

Forecasting Questions

I'm guessing this is the website you're referring to for seasonal forecast outlooks:
 
 
These outlooks blend information from forecast models, weather and ocean patterns such as El Nino, and long-term trends. Shorter outlooks (next few months) rely more on forecast models and weather / ocean patterns, whereas longer-term outlooks rely more on long-term climate trends.
 
This is because the weather models we use for this data are helpful in the following ways:
  • < 1 week: Weather models are good at showing temperature / precipitation patterns on roughly a state-by-state basis
  • 1 - 2 weeks: Weather models are good at showing temperature / precipitation patterns over large, multi-state regions
  • 2 - 4 weeks: Weather models can often pick up on major shifts in the weather, such as cold in the the Eastern US vs. warm in the Western US. 
  • 1 - 3 months: Weather models become less useful, but can sometimes pick up on continental-scale temperature patterns, such as below-average or above-average temperature.
When using weather models, meteorologists frequently use "ensemble" model forecasts. That means they run the same forecast model many times (typically 20 times or so) using slightly different inputs to account for uncertainty in the inputs. The ensemble average of the many outputs this generates are good at picking up on general patterns weeks in advance (such as warm / wet or cool / dry), but not the details (such as exactly how warm / cool or exactly how much rain / snow). The closer in time you are, the better the models are at forecasting the details, and the further out in time the less so.
 
Historical temperature and precipitation averages use 30 years of recent observational data, and are recalculated every 10 years. So, right now, meteorologists use historical averages from 1990 - 2020. These averages will be recalculated from 2000 - 2030 once data through 2030 is available.
To better answer your question about the difference between hourly and daily Probability of Precipitation (PoP), one needs to understand climatology and what the probabilities really mean:
 
At AskAMeteorologist.com, we don't offer personal forecasts, as we focus on answering conceptual questions. 
 
Your best bet for local forecast information is the National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/ Missouri has a few weather service offices, so I can't direct you to the right one unless I know which area you are in.  If you click on the region where you live on the map, it'll take you to your local forecasts and analyses, including:
 
  • Visual forecast / weather story
  • Forecast Discussion (under FORECASTS near the bottom of the page) - this will give the forecaster's thoughts and notes on the event
  • All kinds of maps - Current road conditions, Snowfall Analysis, etc. under CURRENT CONDITIONS at bottom
 
For example, on Springfield's NWS page https://www.weather.gov/sgf/:
 
  • Scroll down to the image on the left center called "Weather Story" for graphical forecast information
 
Where to find local forecasts and discussions
 

Hurricane Questions

There have been about 90 total known tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes that have gone through the Big Bend Florida area, centered near Perry, Florida -- around 24 hurricanes from the mid 1800s until today. In the past 20 years, there have been 5 hurricanes over the area, including Helene and August's Debby: Idalia (2023), Irma (2017), and Hermine (2016).  See the interactive Historical Hurricane Tracks here, where you can list a specific town and see which storms tracked over it.
 
If you check the National Hurricane Center's archives, you'll see the named tropical storms and hurricanes so far: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2024/
 
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Isaac
Tropical Storm Joyce
Hurricane Kirk
Hurricane Leslie
Hurricane Milton
 

The archived paths can be found at the National Hurricane Center, but I’ve found this website helpful as well for ongoing hurricane season - it’s produced by a fellow University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology grad.

 
There are multiple things that combined to make a worst-case scenario for Asheville.
 
First, a cold front stalled out over the area prior to the hurricane coming onshore. This front combined with tropical moisture moving north ahead of Helene led to a large rain event before the hurricane even made landfall. This rain saturated the ground and filled streams and rivers.
 
Then, Helene moved in, and the strong winds associated with Helene forced huge amounts of air and moisture up over the mountains. This led to extreme, torrential rainfall due to a phenomenon called "orographic lift".
 
Here's a good article from North Carolina State University about the rainfall and flooding Asheville experienced.
 
Atlantic and Gulf Hurricanes can form anywhere in the tropics from the western African coast to within the Gulf of Mexico, as shown on the Scijinks site (scroll down below the video to see the relevant graphic).
 
A hurricane requires specific conditions to form and strengthen. Broadly: warm sea surface temperatures, high amounts of water vapor in the air, and weak upper air winds that allow these “spinning tops” to continue unimpeded by outside winds. There’s not a lot of surface roughness (which can slow down storm winds near the lowest levels of the troposphere) over open ocean compared with land, which is part of the reason tropical storms can get so intense (read: stronger winds within and lower pressure centers) over water. More about the atmospheric layers.
 
As for frequency of hurricane formation in the Atlantic Basin and Gulf of Mexico, the number is increasing slightly as climate change (a mixture of natural cycles and human-induced warming) occurs. 
 

Atlantic basin storms appear to be less directly impacted by El Niño as ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation, which includes La Niña) greatly affects Pacific waters, but there are wind and moisture patterns that affect the Gulf/Atlantic, depending on the mode of strong vs weak El Niño or La Niña - this gets complex. There are also other natural oscillations that can have an impact, but these are still being studied too. For fascinating details on this science and some of the expected impacts, check out the 2021 NOAA Atlantic Season Report: 

Atlantic and Gulf hurricanes can form anywhere in the tropics from the western African coast to within the Gulf of Mexico, as shown on the Scijinks site (scroll down below the top video to see the relevant graphic).
 
A hurricane requires specific conditions to form and strengthen. Broadly: warm sea surface temperatures, high amounts of water vapor in the air, and weak upper air winds that allow these “spinning tops” to continue unimpeded by outside winds (aka low shear). There’s not a lot of surface roughness (which can slow down storm winds near the lowest levels of the troposphere) over open ocean compared with land, which is part of the reason tropical storms can get so intense (read: stronger winds within and lower pressure centers) over water.
 
Anytime you want to know more about a current (or recent) tropical storm, I recommend checking out this link: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2024/ (or when it's 2025, change the year in the link) and navigating to the Discussion links for the storm of interest. I personally like to start at the beginning of the storm to see what the forecasters are thinking from day one - they will describe the storm environment, what's causing the system to grow or die, etc. It's pretty technical, but definitely thorough.
 
The 9am discussion on November 2 mentions that Patty had non-tropical origins, starting as a low pressure system over cooler water. 
 
Storm surge primarily depends on the direction of the wind relative to the coastline and the characteristics of the coastline itself. It's usually not symmetrical with the eye or necessarily on one side or the other of the storm east vs. west, though in the US it's usually on the right side of the storm relative to its motion as the storm makes landfall.
 
Additionally, a weaker storm that makes landfall in an area with shallow water off the coastline  and a coastline shape that funnels water into an enclosed area (such as a river or bay) can create a worse surge than a stronger storm that makes landfall in an area with deeper water offshore and a coastline that doesn't funnel the water into an enclosed area.
 
There are other factors as well -- here is a link to a PDF that has some good information on storm surge.

Storm surge is mostly caused by strong winds that push ocean water up onto land where it normally doesn't go. The depth of a surge and how far it goes inland are determined by a variety of factors. 

Lightning Questions

What you observed and filmed is indeed fascinating and may be explained through meteorology, but it also raises questions that require more detailed analysis of your video.

Possibilities include: heat lightning, intracloud lightning, a single electrically-charged cloud, or ball lightning. 

For the long answer, please check out this post.

Modification Questions

I'm so glad you reached out to meteorologists instead of relying on social and other media sources on this topic! 
 
Meteorologists are continually battling the misinformation not only about weather modification (including alleged chemtrails - what a meteorologist knows as contrails - the condensation of moisture on the small particulates emitted by planes), but also climate change. As you noted, the number of conspiracy theories around everything - especially weather and climate - have exploded, especially as these more extreme events happen, likely due to human-generated activities boosting or overwhelming natural cycles.
 
Sorry, no weather modification machines and none in the works from what I can tell - it’s purely in the science fiction world at this time. Meteorologists would LOVE to control the weather and be right all the time!
 
For the long answer, please check out the post dedicated to whether the government can control the weather.

It’s important to note that despite advances in atmospheric science, making it rain or ending a drought is mostly out of human control, especially on a regional scale like Delaware. While cloud seeding can be used in specific situations, the best approach involves water conservation, responsible management, and preparedness for when natural rain patterns resume.

For the full, long answer, please read the post.

The short answer: maybe.

As the original question and answer are fairly long, we've moved this answer to its own post.

Submitted Photo:

Contrails as seen through a car windshield
 
Meteorologists often get asked this, as there is misinformation and conspiracy theories that tend to drown out the evidence online.
 
As a meteorologist, I can attest that the clouds in your photo are contrails (short for condensation trails) that have spread out under the right atmospheric conditions, plus some other general cirrus in the distance. Although your family member might find contrails suspicious, contrails turning into broader cirrus-like clouds is a well-documented natural phenomenon.
 

Polar Questions

Noctilucent clouds are generally only seen just before sunrise or just after sunset, as the sun needs to be below the horizon to light up the mesosphere, up to 50 miles above the earth's surface (way above the troposphere - where we experience most weather phenomena). They can be present during the day, but we won't see them, as they're very thin - we need the contrast of the dark sky and the reflected sunlight to perceive them. The clouds form when water vapor gathers on specks of dust in the mesosphere and freezes, forming ice crystals that scatter the reflected sunlight in a silvery-blue. Generally, noctilucent clouds appear between June and August in the Northern Hemisphere, over the poles and maybe down to a latitude of 45 degrees.
 
However, with the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) NASA satellite, they've seen noctilucent clouds further from the poles, though I'm not sure exactly how far (likely not below 40N). The AIM project observed these clouds for ~16 years (ending March 2023 when the battery failed), taking observations to understand whether the noctilucent clouds' appearance and frequency are related to climate change and what affects their formation. Scientists will be analyzing this data for decades to come!
 
I've seen thin streaky cirrus clouds during the early morning hours that appear similar to photos of noctilucent clouds, but I'm at 35 degrees North, so I have never seen noctilucent clouds in person.
 
My next guess would be gas from a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, but it appears that the only launch around that time was late on July 11 from Vandenberg (Starlink) - launching at about 10:35 pm your time. The other launch I found was a Chinese rocket that failed on July 10, but couldn't find further details and I'm not sure you would be able to see any remnants of that from your location.
 
Did you happen to take a photo of the clouds?

Polar cyclone or polar low - submitted image

These spinning storms in the Northern Hemisphere are called polar cyclones or polar lows. They spin counterclockwise because of the Coriolis force, which causes moving air to curve due to Earth’s rotation. What is the Coriolis Force? (Read the long answer to this question)

Precipitation Questions

Hail

Ah, yes, the infamous Black Monday severe storms - what a fascinating historical weather event!
 

Here's a brief analysis of what could have led to this storm and other similar events in Western Europe: Read More >

Rain

Patterns of no rain and no rain can occur for a variety of reasons, including persistence,  random variability, and topographical effects (like being in the rain shadow of a mountain).
 
For more details, check out the full post explaining each of these reasons for no-rain corridors.

It’s important to note that despite advances in atmospheric science, making it rain or ending a drought is mostly out of human control, especially on a regional scale like Delaware. While cloud seeding can be used in specific situations, the best approach involves water conservation, responsible management, and preparedness for when natural rain patterns resume.

For the full, long answer, please read the post.

Ah, yes, the infamous Black Monday severe storms - what a fascinating historical weather event!
 

Here's a brief analysis of what could have led to this storm and other similar events in Western Europe: Read More >

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer here

To better answer your question about the difference between hourly and daily Probability of Precipitation (PoP), one needs to understand climatology and what the probabilities really mean:
 

Snow

Submitted Images:

Vertical shot of ice crust Is this tabular snow Ice Crust close up with tracks

Based on your images and description—“tiny sheets of ice” atop the snow surface—this phenomenon is most likely a melt–freeze crust (also called a sun crust or ice crust). 

According to the U.S. Forest Service National Avalanche Center, a melt–freeze crust forms when the top layer of snow melts or becomes moist in warmer conditions (sunlight, above-freezing temperatures, rain, or light drizzle) and then refreezes as temperatures drop again. The result is a thin, glossy layer of refrozen ice grains, which can appear as small, plate-like shards when inspected up close.

I'm not familiar with "tabular snow," then again I'm in Oklahoma, where we don't see much snow or phenomena like melt-freeze crusts.

Submitted graphic:

Milwaukee Snow Depth 1950-2025 Records (1)

It certainly feels like winters used to be snowier based on many personal recollections. For example, my dad remembers some great snowstorms in Kansas City growing up in the 50s - storms that we haven't seen the like of in generations, at least where my parents live (though the recent snowstorm in Kansas City was over a foot, which is pretty good for there).  

In Milwaukee’s case, there are a few reasons why those giant snowstorms of the 1950s may seem less frequent now:

  • Changing winter temperatures
  • Shifts in storm tracks
  • Urbanization & heat island effect
  • Memory and historic storms

Read more >

Indeed, over roughly the past decade, the region’s snowfall totals have often come in below what many previous generations remember from previous years, especially in December through May. My parents (and historical weather records) recall several snow events from the late 50s to 80s in the KC area. There are a few factors that may help explain why we’ve seen this trend:

  • Natural Variability: A 10-year stretch can be part of a longer cycle that we won’t be able to recognize until later in the cycle 
  • Storm Tracks: The jet stream has placed Kansas City on the less-snowy side of storms too often recently
  • Warming Trends: Slightly milder (warmer than average) conditions vertically can turn borderline snow events into rain.

Read More >

It’s frustrating for snow enthusiasts, but the weather can always surprise us—so don’t lose hope for those magical, snowy winters to make a return, as climate models show occasional snowstorms even with warmer global temperatures!

 

Pressure Questions

You're absolutely right about the extreme temperature fluctuations causing the great changes in barometric pressure - pressure changes with differing air density, which is related to temperature (warm air is less dense than cool air). Even on a day with no fronts passing through, barometric pressure generally changes four times daily due to the sun's heating (for a more technical explanation of the four main daily pressure changes, check out this historical article by W. Humphreys 1912: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24520688).

The intensity of the pressure changes are further affected by latitude, season, and altitude: the higher your altitude, the greater the daily pressure change. I would certainly expect that with 30-40F difference in diurnal temperatures there will be greater changes in barometric pressure over your area, possibly leading to more pain.

Ah yes, being a human barometer is SO much fun, isn’t it? I’ve always been affected by extreme weather (often low pressure systems) too - from unstoppable hiccups to migraines and joint pain.

It sounds like both you and your mom may have barometric pressure headaches, a type of migraine that can strike during severe weather and when hurricanes (large low pressure systems) pass by.

According to the Cleveland Clinic's page on barometric pressure headaches: 

"Symptoms include:

- Facial discomfort or pain around your sinuses.
- Mucus draining down your throat (postnasal drip).
- Teary eyes.

Barometric pressure is also known as the atmospheric pressure being applied against a given area — and in this case, that “area” is you.

Because your nasal and sinus cavities are air channels, any change in that pressure, especially a fall in barometric pressure, affects those areas. This forces fluid into tissues and can cause a disruption in fluid balance - and possibly causing inflammation of these sensitive tissues, leading to cold-like symptoms that disappear after the storm passes."

I’m a meteorologist, not a doctor, but the description seems to fit. Maybe you could check with a local doctor or headache specialist for a real diagnosis?

I empathize with you, my fellow human barometer (though I love weather witch too). Headaches, dizziness, and pain have been my companions during turbulent seasons like fall and spring for the past 42 years, as the jet stream (and the low pressure systems) overall shifts seasonally. From what I understand, jaw joint connection (especially if the major blood vessels and nerves are involved) can indeed cause some issues due to rapid changes in barometric pressure - I had a craniotomy to remove a large skull tumor near the trigeminal nerve that nearly broke through my ear canal, further sensitizing the area and leading to dizziness when pressure changes. 
 
While I'd normally say that a university weather station is ideal (especially versus the usual consumer-grade weather stations that many weather enthusiasts use), TAO says that it's located at the top of a building at 61m - the pressure will always be lower compared to the standard max height of 10m for a pressure sensor due to stronger winds as you go up through the troposphere. I'm guessing that the TAO pressure sensor can be useful for solar and atmospheric studies, but it won't give you the most accurate picture of the weather conditions near the ground where you are. 
 
The reason hot summer nights are often calm is because hot temperatures in the summertime typically mean you're under a high pressure system. The center of a high pressure system is associated with light winds.
 
Other factors include trees, which can block light winds, as well as nighttime inversions (air warming with height) that can prevent winds above the surface from reaching the ground.
 
That said, there are certain parts of the U.S. where it is frequently windy during the night after a hot day, such as the Great Plains (think Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, etc.). This is because the jet stream commonly causes a "lee trough" (low pressure) to form just east of the Rocky Mountains, pulling air into the low from surrounding areas. This can happen any time of the year, including during the summer.

The Horse Latitudes are subtropical regions located approximately between 30° and 35° latitude, both north and south of the equator (see the graphic under 3. Global Circulations for the location on the Earth). These zones are characterized by calm winds and high atmospheric pressure, resulting in dry, stable weather. 

Here’s why they're so interesting:

1. Calm Winds and High Pressure

  • In the Horse Latitudes, air that has risen at the equator (in the Intertropical Convergence Zone) cools and sinks around these latitudes. This descending air creates high-pressure zones, leading to calm or very light winds. This area can be frustrating for sailors who depend on wind, as sailing ships could get “stuck” here for days or even weeks due to the lack of breeze.

2. Clear Skies and Dry Conditions

  • The sinking air suppresses cloud formation, resulting in clear skies and dry conditions. This is one reason why many of the world’s deserts, such as the Sahara in the Northern Hemisphere and the Australian Outback in the Southern Hemisphere, are located along these latitudes.

3. Origin of the Term "Horse Latitudes"

  • One popular theory of the name's origin is that it dates back to the Age of Sail (16th-19th centuries). When ships became stranded in these calm waters, food and water supplies sometimes ran low. According to legend, sailors would throw horses overboard to save on resources, hence the name "Horse Latitudes." Another theory is that the term derives from an old maritime term for a certain amount of freight or allowance, called a "dead horse," which sailors would ceremoniously throw overboard when they passed these latitudes to mark the end of a period of advance pay.

4. Role in Global Circulations

  • The Horse Latitudes are a critical component of Earth’s global circulation patterns. They act as a boundary between the trade winds (blowing towards the equator) and the westerlies (moving towards the poles). This interaction affects climate and weather patterns worldwide, shaping subtropical regions and desert zones.

Rainbows & Optics Questions

A rainbow on a dry, windy day may seem unlikely, but there are still a few ways it could happen, even in drought conditions:

  1. Virga: Even on dry days, there can be pockets of localized moisture in the atmosphere. It’s possible that some very light precipitation, such as virga (rain that evaporates before reaching the ground - seen sometimes as vertical streaks), was present. If sunlight hits the moisture at the right angle, a rainbow can form. The partly cloudy conditions suggest there might have been just enough moisture in the air for a rainbow to form.

  2. Irrigation or Other Water Sources: In urban areas, sprinklers, fountains, or other water sources like the 10,000 lakes can create mist or droplets that, if lofted by wind, can form rainbows when the sun hits them. 

  3. High Humidity or Fog Drizzle: Sometimes, high relative humidity (with a high temperature in the 50s, a little bit of moisture in the atmosphere from evapotranspiration off crops or over water might be enough) can lead to fog or drizzle formation even when conditions feel dry at the surface. If this occurs with the sun at a low angle (like late afternoon), a rainbow can appear.

The combination of the sun's position, scattered clouds, and just enough moisture could have provided the perfect alignment for a rainbow to appear, despite the overall dry conditions.

thin clouds halo around the moon
Submitted photo

Your photo shows the moon surrounded by a luminous halo in the night sky. This type of halo is typically caused by the refraction of light through ice crystals in thin, high-altitude cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. The optical phenomenon results in a circle or arc around the moon that can appear faintly like an iridescence or bright ring.

The halo forms because the ice crystals act as prisms and mirrors, bending the light at a consistent angle (usually 22 degrees), creating a circular appearance. Halos like this can be striking visually and memorable in folklore as a sign of upcoming precipitation, as cirrostratus clouds can sometimes precede a storm system by 24-48 hours. 

As for your comment on whether the clouds are dissipating due to the heat from the moon, keep in mind that even high clouds like cirrus are still in the troposphere - the lowest part of our atmosphere - far away from the direct influence of the moon. Contrary to what some may think, the moon doesn’t emit heat itself; it only reflects sunlight. Therefore, the warmth of moonlight isn’t enough to dissipate clouds or influence cloud formation directly.

Webcam Dolomites View Clouds or Lens Flare
Submitted photo
As a photographer and videographer, these “clouds” look like optical artifacts of the webcam to me.
 
The photos you submitted seem to show light reflections or lens flares caused by the sunlight interacting with the camera lens. These flares often appear as translucent or semi-opaque geometric shapes and can vary in color and size. They are not actual clouds but optical artifacts created by bright light sources in the camera's field of view - see how the bottom “clouds” go over the background?
 
As for the rhomboidal shape to the left, it too is an optical artifact. Looking away from the sun, following an imaginary sunbeam, you can see the same shape shifted in color to more reddish and further down the beam in location. 

Temperature Questions

Generally speaking, you are correct: The hottest temperature of the day in most locations, including Heber City, Utah, occurs in the mid to late afternoon, or between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. This is due to something known as the heat lag effect.

Heat Lag Explained

Each day, the Earth's surface absorbs energy from the sun. Although the sun reaches its peak around noon, it takes some time for the Earth's surface to absorb and radiate heat back out to space; as a result, the temperature keeps rising even after the sun has passed its highest point.

Most often, the peak in heating occurs between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. However, your wife can be right when certain conditions exist. Weather patterns and cloud cover can slightly shift the timing and push the peak heating a bit later in the day.

When it comes to "feeling cold," the relationship between temperature and water vapor content of the air is certainly a factor. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air, so, even if relative humidity (a percentage reflecting how much water the air holds relative to its temperature) is high in both the Central Valley and Twin Falls, the actual water vapor content (dewpoint) is usually much higher in the Central Valley (because, again, warmer air can hold more water vapor). Therefore, the Central Valley, on average, has more moisture in the air during the winter compared to Twin Falls. Relative humidity can be a very misleading measure, because it is temperature dependent. There could be very high humidity in a cold location, but in reality, there's actually a very low amount of moisture in the air.
 
Let's look at just one example of how relative humidity works (minus the math). In this theoretical scenario, notice how the relative humidity is approximately the same for both locations; however, the actual water vapor content of the air (dewpoint) is much different:
 
Central Valley, California
Temperature: 45°F
Dewpoint: 40°F
Relative Humidity: ~83%
 
Twin Falls, Idaho
Temperature: 20°F
Dewpoint: 16°F
Relative Humidity: ~83%
 
Here's the kicker: High humidity in cool weather can make the cold feel more penetrating, because damp air increases the rate of heat loss from your skin (think about how your wet skin feels after exiting a swimming pool, even on a hot day). The drier air of Twin Falls insulates better, meaning less heat is drawn away from your body. Therefore, even though the air temperature may be much colder in Twin Falls, that cold air may feel less intense.

Links submitted by inquirer:

https://weatherspark.com/h/y/33845/2024/Historical-Weather-during-2024-in-Dublin-Ireland#Figures-Temperature
https://weatherspark.com/h/y/33845/2023/Historical-Weather-during-2023-in-Dublin-Ireland#Figures-Temperature
https://weatherspark.com/h/y/33845/2022/Historical-Weather-during-2022-in-Dublin-Ireland#Figures-Temperatur
https://weatherspark.com/h/y/33845/2021/Historical-Weather-during-2021-in-Dublin-Ireland#Figures-Temperature

Ireland’s weather is influenced by a number of large-scale atmospheric and oceanic patterns—particularly the jet stream and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)—along with high-pressure “blocking” systems. 
 
While a four-year pattern on its own is too short to confirm a true climate trend (30 years minimum of data are considered climate), there are a few reasons why Dublin (and Ireland in general) might experience cold snaps in November followed by milder spells around late December. Read More >

Tornado Questions

It's hard to tell from the photo alone, even after pulling it into Photoshop to clarify and add contrast to the clouds, as it's hard to see the storm structures clearly. I can't tell you definitively that it IS the tornado, especially with the building and trees covering the ground (which is what I really need to be able to see to confirm a tornado from images), but there is certainly a dark area where there might be a condensation funnel or a rain-wrapped tornado.

Here's the highly edited version of your photo:

High Contrast and Dehazed Potential Tornado - Zoom

I'd say that, based on your research on the NWS tornado track and the image, this very likely could be the weak tornado.

As for the green sky, we see that often in the area where sunlight passes through hail and heavy rain, so I wouldn't expect it to be right next to the tornado, depending on the relative viewing angle.

Without debris, there are three things inside the storm that contribute to a tornado's Weight on the Earth -- air, condensation (clouds), and precipitation (rain / hail). You were definitely on the right track with your guess about the water in a tornado being related to its weight!

Your question is one I hear a lot in the southern plains and into the southeastern US: how are we getting severe weather and tornadoes in December?
 
While unusual, severe weather (and even tornadoes) DO happen in these areas in the winter. Oklahoma (where I work) has seen tornadoes in October, November, and December a few times in the past 10 years...areas further east and closer to the Gulf of Mexico have experienced severe weather in winter more often than we have during this period.
 
57 degrees Fahrenheit is warm enough for severe storms and tornadoes to form in the right conditions - I've seen it happen in Oklahoma's early spring.
 
HOW does this happen? Severe weather requires at least 3 (preferably 4) basic ingredients to line up over an area:
  1. Warm, moist air funneled in from the Gulf of Mexico via SSE winds, in this case. (Moisture)
  2. Colliding air masses (cold vs. warm) create an unstable environment ready for storm development. (Instability)
  3. Winter jet stream patterns can steer strong upper-level storm systems through Kentucky, leading to unseasonable thunderstorms with rapid uplift and sometimes shear (needed to produce tornadoes). (Lift and Shear)

Even though storms in December may be rare, they’re a reminder that the right alignment of atmospheric ingredients can produce thunderstorms (or even tornadoes) at any time of year.

Water Cycle Questions

You raise an interesting point! While it's true that the vast majority of Earth's water has been here for billions of years, some processes can convert substances into water or decompose water molecules.

Current theories on how Earth got its water billions of years ago:

  1. Outgassing from Volcanic Activity: Early in Earth's history, volcanic activity released water vapor and other gases trapped in the planet's mantle. As the planet cooled, this water vapor condensed and fell as rain, filling oceans.

  2. Delivery by Comets and Asteroids: Some theories suggest that water was also delivered to Earth by icy comets and water-rich asteroids colliding with the planet during its formative years. These celestial bodies may have contributed significant amounts of water.

  3. Hydrogen and Oxygen from Chemical Reactions: Some researchers propose that hydrogen and oxygen from chemical reactions in the early Earth’s environment, including reactions involving minerals, could have formed water as well.

While the exact contributions of these processes are still being studied, it's widely accepted that the majority of Earth's water has existed in some form for a very long time, circulating through the hydrological cycle since then.

During photosynthesis, water is used and then released as oxygen, but the water itself isn't created or destroyed—it's just part of the cycle. Respiration and combustion can produce small amounts of water, but these processes are relatively minor compared to the overall water cycle.

Depending on the age group you teach, this is a nuanced perspective that could help deepen your students' understanding of the hydrologic cycle. So often in early science education, we're taught only the simplest concepts and not the nuances that are important for truly understanding the incredible world we live in.

Wind Questions

The reason hot summer nights are often calm is because hot temperatures in the summertime typically mean you're under a high pressure system. The center of a high pressure system is associated with light winds.
 
Other factors include trees, which can block light winds, as well as nighttime inversions (air warming with height) that can prevent winds above the surface from reaching the ground.
 
That said, there are certain parts of the U.S. where it is frequently windy during the night after a hot day, such as the Great Plains (think Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, etc.). This is because the jet stream commonly causes a "lee trough" (low pressure) to form just east of the Rocky Mountains, pulling air into the low from surrounding areas. This can happen any time of the year, including during the summer.
The only thing that NOAA uses to categorize hurricanes is maximum sustained wind speed, based on the Saffir-Simpson scale. There are a variety of ways to measure / estimate maximum sustained winds, but the gold standard is data recorded by the hurricane hunter aircraft as they fly through the storm. This is because the hurricane hunters can take "in situ" vs. "remote" measurements, where "in situ" refers to measurements taken directly from the air inside the storm (such as by a barometer or dropsonde) and "remote" refers to measurements taken from a remote location (such as by satellite or radar).
 
"In Situ" measurements are considered the most reliable, and the hurricane center will usually rely more on them vs. remote measurements. I took a screenshot of NOAA's NHC discussion about Beryl from last night, where they comment on how the hurricane hunter's measurements are higher than satellite intensity estimates (see highlighted text in the attached image). Discrepancies between measurement sources are common, as each type of instrument has advantages and disadvantages. Typically, forecasters are going to give more weight to hurricane hunter measurements vs. other sources because the hurricane hunters are actually inside the storm.
 
Regarding the ICON model, I would not suggest relying on the ICON for hurricane intensity analysis / forecasting, as it is not built for that purpose. Weather models that are widely used for hurricane intensity forecasting are high-resolution models such as the WRF, HMON, and HAFS, which can be configured and run for specific purposes, such as forecasting hurricanes. You can see these model runs at the following link under the Hurricane tab -- note that they will all have differences between them, which is normal:
 
Submitted chart of annual wind data for a unknown location
 
I did a reverse image search on Google to find a description of the chart. This is a plot of the percentage of hours in which the mean (average) wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the average wind speed is less than 0 m/s. It appears that the prevailing wind direction in Feb-Jun is from the north (northerly flow) and some NE, while Oct-Jan appears to come mainly from the South and West.
 
Personally, I'm more familiar with windroses like I've attached below - where it's clear that the prevailing winds are from the E, ESE, SE.
 

Answer to Question #1:

The terms "northeast wind" and "northeasterly wind" are interchangeable in meteorology. Both mean that the wind is coming from the northeast and blowing toward the southwest. The suffix “-erly” is traditionally used to indicate the direction from which the wind is blowing. So, a "northeasterly wind" is a wind blowing from the northeast.
 

Answer to Question #2:

Confusingly, in everyday language, the addition of “-erly” can imply that the wind is blowing toward the northeast. In meteorological terms, the direction specified with or without the “-erly” indicates where the wind is coming from. For example:

  • Northwest wind or northwesterly wind: The wind is coming from the northwest.
  • South wind or southerly wind: The wind is coming from the south.
  •  

So, when the announcer says "northeasterly," they are correctly describing a wind coming from the northeast.

Thank you for your fun question! This is the sort of question professors LOVE to add to their exams.

Overall, a faster-rotating Earth would likely have more intense and complex weather patterns, with stronger winds, more pronounced atmospheric circulation, and altered temperature distributions. For more details (and the full answer), please see the post about weather patterns if Earth rotated twice as fast.

 
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