ON-AIR FAQ for LFSTORM Program 2
RESEARCH TO THE RESCUE

Doppler Radar   El Niño and La Niña    Hurricanes    NASA Weather    Storm Chasing    Thunderstorms    Tornadoes
Weather   Weather Satellites

QUESTION:
Could you put Doppler radar units all along "Tornado Alley" wouldn't that be a twenty-four hour a day seven days a week warning system? Kelly Doylestown, PA
ANSWER:
Kelly, There are already Doppler radar in "Tornado Alley," the NEXRAD network of radar. I assume you mean a more dense network. The cost of the radar is relatively high...several million dollars. Therefore, because of the large area that composes Tornado Alley, it is not cost effective to place large numbers of additional radar in the central part of the country. I think we can do a good job with the radar we already have. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

EL NIÑO AND LA NIÑA

QUESTION:
Does El Niño have any relation to global warming?
Rachel B.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
It's indefinite if Global Warming is modifying the El Niño or not. Some scientists might say yes and others no. The El Niño is part of a cycle that is normal to the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere. The scientific evidence strongly suggests that warming is occurring on a global level and that should feedback into the climate cycles like El Niño. But no one can say exactly if or how it is happening yet.
EXPERT:
Mel Nordquist
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Why is there a better chance of an El Niño now than twenty years ago? Anthony
ANSWER:
Dear Anthony,
There really isn't any reason that we know of for El Niño to occur more frequently then they did 20 years ago. El Niño's occur usually every 3 to 5 years, although this is not a very regular cycle. In recent years, there has been much more knowledge gained about when El Niño is occurring because of better observations. As we digest this newer information, we will be better able to predict when and how strong future El Niño's will be.
Sincerely,
Jim Lushine
EXPERT:
Jim Lushine
National Weather Service

HURRICANES

QUESTION:
By your opinion what is the best instrument to track hurricanes? Maureen and Amanda
ANSWER:
There are two main ways to track hurricanes around the world: satellite imagery and flying into the hurricanes with planes. While satellites can give continuous, global coverage of hurricanes, the aircraft reconnaissance flights performed by the Hurricane Hunters of the Air Force and NOAA are the best way to find specific information crucially needed by the forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. Our flights go right through the middle of the hurricane, not over or around it. The instrumented planes can provide measurements of winds, pressure, temperature, humidity and (in the NOAA planes) Doppler radar images, electrification data and cloud particle information. Additionally, both types of planes now come equipped with "dropsondes" - a one pound parachuted instrument that sends back to the plane information about winds, pressure, temperature and humidity from flight level until it splashes into the ocean. These dropsondes - launched from the belly of the aircraft - are crucial in providing full atmosphere measures of the steering flow around hurricanes as well as the violent winds in the eyewall.
EXPERT:
Chris Landsea
NOAA AOML/Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
How can you predict where the hurricanes are heading when they seem to have a mind of their own and can go in any direction, not just the one you predicted? Amanda Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Amanda:
Hurricanes are difficult to predict, no doubt about it. One reason they are difficult to predict is that they form in areas where the upper level winds (20 to 50 thousand feet above the ground) are very weak. Upper level winds steer the hurricane and the computer models which predict hurricane movement have difficulty accurately predicting weak winds. The stronger the wind the easier it is to forecast.
Another reason for the difficulty in predicting hurricane movement is that they spend most of their life over Oceans and over the Oceans, we have very little data to put into the computer models that predict hurricane movement. Everyday at the same time all across the world, weather balloons are launched which gather data from all levels of the atmosphere. This data is entered into the computer models and is used to predict upper level winds, which steer hurricanes. Over the Oceans, there is very little of this data available. This is the reason why hurricane movement is forecast better when the storm nears land, where there are more observations. The National Hurricane Center uses several computer models and compares them to each other to make their forecasts of hurricane movement.
Good question.
EXPERT:
Wayne Presnell
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Which spot had the most hurricanes occur through the years?
Danielle
ANSWER:
Danielle:
The area of the continental U.S. that has had the most hurricanes make landfall since 1871 is southeast Florida and the Florida Keys. These areas average a hurricane landfall about once every 4 years. However, the coastal areas of North Carolina have had 5 hurricanes make landfall there in the last 3 years.
The Florida Keys have had 2 hurricanes make landfall in the last 2 years but between 1967 and 1997, there was only 1 hurricane that made landfall in the Keys. So, hurricane landfalls in particular areas seem to occur in bunches so to speak. I hope this answers your question.
EXPERT:
Wayne Presnell
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Is it possible for fish and other animals to be picked up out of the ocean during a hurricane?
Jennifer Pollard
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Interesting question, Jennifer. Fish and other animals that live in the ocean usually can detect when bad weather is approaching. This is very similar to birds that fly south for the winter. Fishes and marine animals either migrate to other parts of the ocean or dive a few feet deep into the ocean until the storm passes. Occasionally some fishes don't make it but the majority of the sea animals steer clear form hurricanes.
EXPERT:
Shirley Murillo
NOAA/AOML, Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
How many times have you been struck by lightning flying through a hurricane?
Tim
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
While sometimes the airplane gets struck by lightning, the airplane is insulated, so that those inside only see a flash or hear the thunder.
Hurricanes are surprisingly devoid of lightning and thunder. During most flights, we do not see any lightning at all. Only on one or two flights per year do the planes get struck by lightning.
We do not yet know exactly why only a few storms have lightning. This is an interesting question we will be trying to answer with our research in the next few years.
EXPERT:
Sim Aberson
NOAA/AOML, Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
Which spot had the most hurricanes occur through the years? Danielle
ANSWER:
Danielle: The area of the continental U.S. that has had the most hurricanes make landfall since 1871 is southeast Florida and the Florida Keys. These areas average a hurricane landfall about once every 4 years. However, the coastal areas of North Carolina have had 5 hurricanes make landfall there in the last 3 years. The Florida Keys have had 2 hurricanes make landfall in the last 2 years but between 1967 and 1997, there was only 1 hurricane that made landfall in the Keys. So, hurricane landfalls in particular areas seem to occur in bunches so to speak. I hope this answers your question.
EXPERT:
Wayne Presnell
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Has there ever been a tornado and a hurricane in the same place at the same time? If not is it possible and how?
Courtney
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Courtney,
Hurricanes produce tornadoes, which add to the hurricane's destructive power. Usually the tornadoes form in the right side of the hurricane, in or near the spiral feeder bands, well away from the center of the hurricane. They can also occur near the eyewall.
Thank you for your interesting question...Bobby McDaniel
EXPERT:
Bobby McDaniel
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Given the role of latent heat in the formation of hurricanes, is there a particular Specific Humidity value used in or looked for in assessing the probability of tropical storms forming hurricanes?
Bedford-North Lawrence High School 10th-12th grade Earth Science
ANSWER:
I do not know of a particular value of specific humidity used as a threshold for computer models to predict a tropical cyclone. The equations which model the atmosphere and are used in computer models for forecasting hurricanes, primarily use relative humidity, dewpoints and mixing ratio in their calculations. Since specific humidity is calculated by using mixing ratio, I imagine these equations use specific humidity in an indirect manner in assessing the probability of tropical storms forming into hurricanes.
EXPERT:
Wayne Presnell
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Given the role of latent heat in providing energy for hurricanes, can specific humidity be used to determine the likely intensity of a forming hurricane?
Bedford-North Lawrence High School 10th-12th grade Earth Science
ANSWER:
I am sure it is used to some degree in the equations which calculate atmospheric parameters used in forecasting hurricanes (see previous answer). Generally, hurricane forecasters use the parameters of sea surface temperature, upper and mid level winds (speed and direction) and any geography which may affect a hurricane to gauge the potential intensity of a hurricane.
EXPERT:
Wayne Presnell
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
What is it like to fly above a hurricane?
Rick
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Actually we (meaning the Air Force and NOAA Hurricane Hunters) don't fly "above" a hurricane. We fly right through the middle of them. The planes are rugged enough to take the beating that the storm can produce.
The most incredible sight that I've ever seen is in the middle of a strong hurricane. One might not believe this, but most hurricane flights are fairly boring. They last 10 hours, there are clouds above you and clouds below - so all you see is gray, and you don't feel the winds swirling around the hurricane. But what does get interesting is flying through the hurricane's rainbands and the eyewall, which can get a bit turbulent. The eyewall is a donut-like ring of thunderstorms that surround the calm eye. The winds within the eyewall can reach as much as 200 mph [325 km/hr] at the flight level, but you can't feel these aboard the plane. But what makes flying through the eyewall exhilarating and at times somewhat scary, are the turbulent updrafts and downdrafts that one hits. Those flying in the plane definitely feel these wind currents (and sometimes makes us reach for the air-sickness bags). These vertical winds may reach up to 50 mph [80 km/hr] either up or down, but are actually much weaker in general than what one would encounter flying through a continental supercell thunderstorm.
But once the plane gets into the calm eye of a hurricane like Andrew or Gilbert, it is a place of powerful beauty: sunshine streams into the windows of the plane from a perfect circle of blue sky directly above the plane, surrounding the plane on all sides is the blackness of the eyewall's thunderstorms, and directly below the plane peeking through the low clouds one can see the violent ocean with waves sometimes 60 feet high [20 m] crashing into one another. The partial vacuum of the hurricane's eye (where one tenth of the atmosphere is gone) is like nothing else on earth. I would much rather experience a hurricane this way - from the safety of a plane - than being on the ground and having the hurricane's full fury hit without protection.
Best regards,
chris
EXPERT:
Chris Landsea
NOAA AOML/Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
How does an category 5 tornado compare with an category 5 hurricane?
Kaitlin
ANSWER:
Kaitlin,
The two scales are completely different.
The tornado scale is the F-scale, named after meteorologist Ted Fujita. He devised a system in which winds can be estimated based upon the damage seen after a tornado. This is because we cannot directly measure winds in a tornado because our devices will not survive that kind of force.
The hurricane scale, or the Saffir-Simpson scale, was named devised by wind engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson. They separated hurricane wind speeds, which can be directly measured, into five categories, and then figured out how much damage would occur given a specific category of hurricane.
So, in effect, the hurricane scale was derived by estimating damage from the measured winds, and the tornado scale was derived the opposite way, by estimating winds by the damage seen after the tornado passage.
EXPERT:
Sim Aberson
NOAA AOML/Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
Why do hurricanes spin the same way? Jenna V. Chiddix
Junior High School Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Jenna,
The answer is due to the balance of forces in the atmosphere. Three forces act on a hurricane, the pressure gradient, the coriolis, and the centrifugal.
The pressure gradient force says that air will flow from high to low pressure. This is just like water flowing from high to low ground, or a marble rolling on a slanted table. They always flow to the lowest area. A hurricane has low pressure in its center, so the air flows inward.
The coriolis force is due to the earth's rotation on its axis. Imagine that you and a friend are on a carousel on opposite sides, and you decide to play catch. If the carousel didn't move, you would just throw the ball to your friend and your friend could catch it. If the carousel were moving, you could throw the ball to your friend, but since your friend is moving, the ball will appear to curve away to one side or the other, depending on which way the carousel is spinning. This apparent turning due to rotation is called the Coriolis force, and turns the winds to the right in the northern hemisphere.
So, as the air moves in toward the center, it also starts moving toward the right in the northern hemisphere. Therefore, it spins around the hurricane in a counterclockwise direction. (In the southern hemisphere, it flows in the clockwise direction.)
The centrifugal force is what pushes you to the outside of a car during a sharp turn. Similarly, it pushes air outward in the spinning hurricane. So, while the pressure gradient pushes the winds into the low pressure, the centrifugal force pushes it outward, so the air looks like it spins around and around.
I hope that answers your question.
Sim Aberson
NOAA/Hurricane Research division
EXPERT:
Sim Aberson
NOAA AOML/Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
Why does La Niña produce such strong hurricanes?
Pete O.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Pete:
The phenomenon known as "La Niña" refers to colder than normal water in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This colder water alters the atmospheric upper level wind patterns in a chain reaction type effect. Downstream from the tropical Pacific Ocean, over the tropical Atlantic Ocean, La Niña helps to create light easterly winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere (40 to 60 thousand feet above the water). Hurricanes need light easterly winds at this height above them in order to develop. Once a hurricane develops, and there is light easterly winds above it, it has a greater potential to become stronger.
The opposite of La Niña, El Niño, creates strong westerly winds over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Strong westerly winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere are not favorable for hurricanes to develop.
This is a good observation that you noticed hurricanes in the Atlantic are often stronger during La Niña years.
EXPERT:
Wayne Presnell
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
How are hurricanes and monsoons related? Brandon F.
Chiddix Junior High School Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Actually, hurricanes and monsoons are not related. Hurricanes are intense complexes of organized tropical thunderstorms, while monsoons are simply prevailing, seasonal winds that sometimes bring the start of a "dry season" or "rainy season". For example, the southwestern U.S. has a late summer monsoon when winds blow from the SW almost everyday, bringing Pacific Ocean moisture to the deserts and leading to welcome thunderstorms that provide much of the year's rainfall.
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
How do they determine how fast hurricanes move? Leah K.
Chiddix Junior High School Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
There are several tools that hurricane specialists use to determine how fast a hurricane moves. One of the main tools they use are satellites. With satellites they can track the movement of the a hurricane. They follow the eye of the hurricane as it treks across the ocean. A storm center position and time can be determined by these satellite images. With a little bit of math, we can calculate how fast a hurricane moves. When we or the hurricane hunters are flying in the storm we can also report center positions of the storm back to the National Hurricane Center and they use those positions to do their calculations.
EXPERT:
Shirley Murillo
NOAA AOML/Hurricane Research Division

QUESTION:
Can you please tell me what was the fastest hurricane that you know about? Thanks so much from Ryan at Hydesville School, Hydesville, CA
ANSWER:
Typhoon Nancy (which is the same as a hurricane) in the Northwest Pacific had winds speeds estimated at 213 MPH. Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Allen had winds speeds estimated at 190 mph (The estimations were done by aircraft). The 1935 Labor Day Storm (Hurricanes were not named back then) which hit our area in the Florida Keys had the lowest pressure of any hurricane to make land fall in the United States. Judging by structure damage over the stormed path, some estimated wind speeds up to 240 mph.
Thank you for your interest...Bobby McDaniel
EXPERT:
Bobby McDaniel
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
How come hurricanes are only really common on the east coast?
Marissa
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Dear Marissa,
The reason that hurricanes come along the east coast of the U.S. has to do with the temperature of the ocean. In order for a hurricane to develop and survive the ocean temperature must be at least 80 degrees F. This is never the case along the west coast of the U.S. although at times, hurricanes approach the southwest U.S. Temperatures reach 80 degrees along the east coast by mid to late summer and this is when most of the hurricanes occur.
Jim Lushine
EXPERT:
Jim Lushine
National Weather Service

NASA WEATHER

QUESTION:
When the fog burns off in the morning where does it come from in the evening? Thank-you for your information, Randy at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
It didn't necessarily come from anywhere!
Let me explain--fog is made up of water droplets that are suspended in the air: literally a cloud on the ground. So to focus on where the fog came from we need to focus on where the water droplets came from. When fog (or clouds) form, we catch the water in a snap shot in the middle of the water cycle. Water evaporates from oceans, lakes, plants and ground and goes into the atmosphere as a gas (water vapor). In the atmosphere clouds form when the water vapor turns back into a liquid and forms water droplets. If enough tiny drops bump into each other, the drops begin to fall as rain back down on the oceans, lakes, plants and ground. The cycle is completed. (Of course, water also moves on the land via rivers and underground in groundwater. Huge amounts of water are transported in the atmosphere)
So when we see fog, it is in the middle of this cycle in the cloud-forming stage. Water droplets have formed but aren't big enough to fall. The water droplets were formed from water vapor.
Warm air can hold more water vapor as a gas than cold air can. That is not something we generally notice or care about. But if a lot of water has evaporated into the air during the warm afternoon, there may so much water vapor in the air that as soon as the air begins to cool in the evening, it can't hold all the water evaporated in the afternoon. Air that has as much water vapor as it can hold is called saturated air. When saturated air is cooled, water droplets form in the air.
There is the critical clue as to why the fog may not need to come from anywhere: if you have saturated air in the afternoon, the cool of the evening may create fog from water vapor that was always there. And when the morning sun comes up and "burns off" the fog, the air is being warmed up and the droplets are evaporating back into the air.
There is nothing special about fog--it is just a cloud and all the processes that form fog are the same processes that form clouds all the time.
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
Hello, and thank-you for considering my question. I've been measuring wind all week both speed and direction and was wondering what would it be like without wind? Thanks, from Jake Lewis at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
Everything would be different!
There is the simple stuff--without wind you couldn't fly kites, smells wouldn't travel very far, couldn't sail a boat.
But without wind, there wouldn't be a means of transporting water vapor, clouds and energy in the atmosphere. Our tropics would be warmer and mid-latitudes would be cooler because right now winds carry a lot of energy away from the tropics.
But don't worry about--the winds will always blow!
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
Do other countries get as many different types of weather as the US?
Lindsie
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
If we include Alaska and Hawaii (and why wouldn't we), the US probably has more variable weather than any other SINGLE country. There are individual countries that have more rain, more snow, higher temperature, lower temperatures, tornadoes, hurricanes, winds. But the US has close to the extremes in all of those categories. The Sahara desert is drier and hotter than anywhere in the US. But Death Valley is close to those Saharan extremes but the Saharan countries don't have snow like Alaska or sub-tropic/tropical conditions that the US has in Florida and Hawaii.
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
Hello, and thank-you for considering my question. I've been measuring wind all week both speed and direction and was wondering what would it be like without wind? Thanks, from Jake Lewis at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
Everything would be different! There is the simple stuff--without wind you couldn't fly kites, smells wouldn't travel very far, couldn't sail a boat. But without wind, there wouldn't be a means of transporting water vapor, clouds and energy in the atmosphere. Our tropics would be warmer and mid-latitudes would be cooler because right now winds carry a lot of energy away from the tropics. But don't worry about--the winds will always blow!
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
Do you think that in the future there will be more severe storms because of a change on earth or materials in the atmosphere? Eddie Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
If we KNEW the answer to that question we could quit studying our weather systems!
There is a lot of debate about "global warming". A better term and bigger concern is "climate change". There isn't any debate about whether more CO2 is being released into the atmosphere and that that increase in CO2 will lead to more solar energy being trapped by our atmosphere. The real questions is how this might change our climate. More storms might be one way to release some of this energy. Maybe warmer air will lead to more clouds that will reflect incoming solar energy and help to cool us back down again. or...or...or
The current generation of scientists is learning what questions to ask about climate change (yours is a good in this context). Right now we are trying to collect some long-term global measurements so that somebody like you will have some data to work with to ANSWER those questions you are a scientist.
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
According to scientists, there are fossils of trees on Baffin Island in Canada's Arctic. What could have caused the climatic changes that would have allowed trees to grow so far north tens of millions of years ago?
Grade 5 students, Morrisburg Public School, Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada.
ANSWER:
Anything and everything that might have an effect on weather could have had an effect on Baffin Island. Over 10 million years, tiny changes that we usually don't notice can be come important. Several of these may have caused the huge climate changes of Baffin Island. For instance, the continents are moving very, very slowly. But Baffin Island used to be closer to the equator than it is now.
The axis of our Earth is tilted, and that tilt is what causes our seasons. When the Earth is in the part of its orbit where the North Pole is pointed towards the Sun, sunlight has a more direct path to land in the northern hemisphere and we have summer. When the Earth is in the part of its orbit where the North Pole is pointed away from the Sun, sunlight has to go through more air before it hits the surface and it doesn't bring as much energy to the surface in the northern hemisphere and we have winter. The axis is currently tilted 23.5 degrees. But over a period of 10 million years, that axis wobbles and so at some periods in the past it has been tilted more or less than it is now. That could also contribute to warmer temperatures at Baffin Island.
The Sun has cycles of stronger and weaker output of energy. Stronger output means a warmer Earth. The Earth has also gone through periods of warm and cold temperatures when everyplace on the planet was warmer than it is now. Over geological time, these changes between cool and warm periods have taken thousands to tens of thousands of years. We are currently in a warm period. What is scary is that the warming in the last 50 years is about as much as usually takes 5,000 years. What we are trying to figure out as Earth Scientists is whether this very rapid change has been caused by humans or if it is just part of a longer cycle. Also, even if these changes were completely caused by humans, will the Earth be able to cool itself off again. Baffin Island has certainly cooled off!
Earth Scientists today are trying to collect a long series of global measurements so that when you are scientists, you will be able to use our measurements to answer questions like this better than I can now.
Good luck!
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
How does the weather change dramatically from one day to another? (For example on Saturday it was 70 degrees and on Sunday it was in the twenties and we had snow.) Marcella
ANSWER:
Marcella,
Because weather isn't just local. It would be virtually impossible cool off all the air around you from 70 degrees to 20 degrees overnight. What happened was that on Saturday you were in a mass of air that had been warmed in the tropics and then huge circulation patterns moved that air on top of you. But on Sunday, those same circulation patterns moved some air that had been chilled down to the '20s up near the North Pole over the top of your home. Figuring out that masses of air move from one place to another was a contribution to meteorology that was made by Benjamin Franklin!
Almost every weather report on a local station and often on the Weather Channel we can now see "loops" of satellite images put into motion so that it looks like a movie and we can watch where air masses are moving. The next time you watch one, try to figure out where the air that will be on top of you tomorrow is being warmed or cooled today...
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
Why is the Jet Stream called the "jet stream" and how was it found? Thank-you for your information, Justin at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
A narrow, focused, flow of fluid is called a jet. The "Jet Stream" is just another example.
It was first discovered with information from balloons that were released from the ground and then tracked. It wasn't until World War II when our B-29 bombers were flying pretty consistently in the jet stream that we had strong motivation to learn more about the jet stream and a consistent source of data (the B-29's) that we really started to study it consistently.
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

QUESTION:
I have two questions. Thank-you! How and why does the 'cloud' fog come to the ground? Why doesn't the jet stream come further down in the troposphere, in other words, what holds it up? Thanks again from Dillon at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
You may notice that the bottoms of clouds are usually quite flat. That is because the temperature profile of the lower atmosphere is pretty stable. Warmer air is less dense than cooler air. So a packet of air that isn't surrounded by air of the same temperature will either rise or fall until it finds itself surrounded by air of a similar temperature. That means that over moderately large areas, the temperature of the air at a given altitude will be about the same. Winds of course can mix things up, but generally temperature and altitude go hand in hand.
[Excuse me...these kids asked about fog and clouds. What's all this stuff about temperature?]
Air temperature and humidity and clouds are all tightly linked. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air. If a packet of air has received as much water vapor as it can hold, it is called "saturated" air. When saturated air is cooled, some of the water vapor condenses to form water droplets. We see the water droplets as clouds. A lower cloud simply means that the air is saturated at a lower altitude. This can be caused be either very moist air or cooling temperatures. Oftentimes, fog is formed at the ground under conditions that are cool and humid. In fact, the cloud did not COME down: it just FORMED down low. If the temperatures in the atmosphere are such that temperatures at the ground are low enough for the air to be saturated, then fog can form. But remember that saturated air can be either warm or cold. It is true that saturated warm air can hold more water vapor than does saturated cool air but that just means it takes more water vapor for fog to form in warm air and less water vapor for fog to form in cool air.
EXPERT:
Dr. Alan Nelson
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

STORM CHASING

QUESTION:
Dear Scientist: Do all weather scientists chase storms? Floie Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Hi, Floie, No, not all weather scientists chase storms. In fact, of the 140 employees of the National Severe Storms Laboratory I estimate only about 30% have ever storm chased.
Only two scientists official collect data in the field (scientific storm chase, if you will) for their job! They do sometimes ask for help from others at the NSSL.
Some may have tried it once or twice and then given up. It is a lot of time with very little to see. A typical storm chase lasts up to 8 hours with maybe only 1 hour of actual storm intercept. Then only about 1 in 10 storm chases actually result in seeing a tornado! So, you have to have a lot of interest in storms and clouds and the beauty of the Great Plains to like storm chasing.
Those who continue to do it regularly (like myself) also like taking photos of wildflowers and outdoor scenes. And I like seeing all kinds of clouds and weather so I enjoy most chases, whether or not I see a tornado!
Thanks for the question!
We hope to see you working with us one day. Sincerely, Daphne Meteorologist National Severe Storms Laboratory
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
Have you encountered any life threatening situations while chasing a tornado?
Kelly
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Kelly
I take a "safety first" approach to chasing, so I've never had a bad situation with a tornado itself. I avoid being in dangerous places.
The most dangerous aspects of storm chasing (assuming you understand storm structure and behavior) are driving long distances and lightning. I've had lightning strike relatively close to me once and had one "bad" driving experience when a dog ran out on the road in front of me.
Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
I know that storm chasers track down storms to study them and do experiments to learn more about them. Approximately how many attempts does it take for a storm chaser to get the information they are seeking? How much do storm chasers get paid and what training do they go through before they can do their job professionally?
Devon Gustin and Michelle Owlsley, 7th grade Honors Science, Northley Middle School, Aston, PA
ANSWER:
Hi Devon and Michelle,
The answer to your first question is that it often is INCREDIBLY frustrating trying to intercept storms. Anyone that believes spending 15 hours in a car, 4 days a week, eating 3 week old hot dogs at truck stops should think again...storm chasing is hard work and boring 99.9% of the time (literally...in 1998, I drove 17,100 miles without seeing a tornado...I'd say on average, you can expect to see one tornado every 5 chases, or about 1 tornado every 2500 miles...given that the average tornado probably travels about 2 miles, roughly 1/1000 of the time spent chasing is spent watching tornadoes...ouch!).
Storm chasers are usually NOT paid for chasing. Most "chasers" do other jobs professionally (not just meteorology either...some are lawyers, doctors, etc) and only chase storms on their free time. A small number of people do get paid for chasing storms, indirectly. These people are like me...we are researchers that study tornadoes and part of our time includes collecting data to analyze...and to collect the data, we must go out in the field with instrument-equipped cars to intercept storms (i.e., "chase" storms). However, to do this kind of work requires a Ph.D. in meteorology (which requires strong math, physics, and computer skills plus a lot of creativity, energy, and curiosity).
Good luck,
Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Have you encountered any life threatening situations while chasing a tornado? Kelly Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Kelly I take a "safety first" approach to chasing, so I've never had a bad situation with a tornado itself. I avoid being in dangerous places. The most dangerous aspects of storm chasing (assuming you understand storm structure and behavior) are driving long distances and lightning. I've had lightning strike relatively close to me once and had one "bad" driving experience when a dog ran out on the road in front of me. Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

THUNDERSTORMS

QUESTION:
What creates the loud sound of thunder? Brandi Butler Charleston Middle School Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Hello Brandi: Thanks for your question. All thunderstorms produce lightning. Lightning heats the air around it very fast. When the air heats up, it expands. Then it cools off very fast. When it cools, it contracts (shrinks). The sound created by the rapid expansion and contraction of the air is thunder.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
I have heard that lightning can travel sideways out of a storm. How far away from a storm can lightning strike?
Kevin Morrison
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Kevin-
Lightning can strike the ground several miles outside of the storm, perhaps as far as 10 miles.
Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Are there any warning signs that you are about to be struck by lightning?
Kevin Sherry
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Kevin-
People who have been struck or almost struck report feeling a "tingle" and having their hair stand on end seconds before lightning strikes. If that happens, you are in a lot of trouble.
In reality, you need to pay attention to how close lightning is striking. To do this, count how many seconds it is between when the lightning strikes and you hear the thunder. Divide this by 5 and that tells you how many miles you are away from the lightning. The average distance between consecutive lightning strikes is up to about 6 miles, so you need to get to safety (inside a building or a car with a metal roof) if you can count to 30 between the lightning and thunder. You shouldn't resume outdoor activity until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike.
Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Why doesn't lightning come down in a straight line?
Michael McGrady
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Hello Michael:
That's a great question. There is a great deal about lightning that we still do not understand, but we do know that lightning travels in segments, or steps, along a path of least resistance where the electrical potential is best. This path can be disturbed by wind and the constantly moving air particles.
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
Why can some people survive lightning strikes while others are killed?
Erin Kelly
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Erin-
Approximately 5-10% of the people struck by lightning are killed. It depends on many factors, including how direct the strike is, what physical condition the person is in, and what kind of first aid they receive. Lightning injures and kills very differently from high voltage electricity (house wiring, etc.). High voltage causes damage in large part because the fast-twitch fibers in muscles have a natural frequency of about 60 Hertz, similar to that of the high voltage electricity. Thus, when a person is shocked, their muscles contract. If they've grabbed a wire, the hands will clench onto the wire, leading to deep burns. The burning is the primary problem with high voltage and victims need to have fluids pushed into them by emergency room medical care.
Lightning, on the other hand, rarely produces deep burns. It mostly damages the nervous system and flashes across the outside of the skin, damaging all the nerves. You can get killed because the ways that the nervous system runs the heart and lungs fail. (You can think of a lightning strike as something like resetting everything in your computer. The software-your brain-may not work right.) As a result, lightning injures much like a stroke. Proper emergency room treatment for a stroke involves _restricting_ fluid.
Basic first aid for lightning victims is cardiopulmonary resuscitation and giving anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen is not an anti-inflammatory).
Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
What type of injuries can come from a lightning strike?
ANSWER:
Melissa-
Lightning damages the nervous system, much like a stroke. Victims may be partially paralyzed, lose the sense of hearing, smell, and/or sight. They also lose memory, both short-term and/or long-term. Another problem for many victims, long-term, is depression.
Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
I have heard that lightning can travel sideways out of a storm. How far away from a storm can lightning strike? Kevin Morrison Charleston Middle School Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Kevin- Lightning can strike the ground several miles outside of the storm, perhaps as far as 10 miles. Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Are there any warning signs that you are about to be struck by lightning? Kevin Sherry Charleston Middle School Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Kevin- People who have been struck or almost struck report feeling a "tingle" and having their hair stand on end seconds before lightning strikes. If that happens, you are in a lot of trouble. In reality, you need to pay attention to how close lightning is striking. To do this, count how many seconds it is between when the lightning strikes and you hear the thunder. Divide this by 5 and that tells you how many miles you are away from the lightning. The average distance between consecutive lightning strikes is up to about 6 miles, so you need to get to safety (inside a building or a car with a metal roof) if you can count to 30 between the lightning and thunder. You shouldn't resume outdoor activity until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike. Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Is it true that you count the seconds between lightning and thunder to tell how many miles away the storm is?
Nathan Cox
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Yes, but you should not put too much faith in this technique. The rule is that you can estimate the distance between you and a lightning strike by counting the number of seconds between the flash and the thunder, then dividing by five. This gives you an estimate of the distance, in miles, you are from the lightning.
One of the problems is that you can't always distinguish which storm the lightning is coming from, unless you can see it clearly. Also, different storms have different intervals between flashes, and some storms move faster than others.
In general, if the interval between lightning flash and thunder is less than 30 seconds, you are close enough to a storm to be in danger from its lightning.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
Why does lightning always occur before thunder in a storm?
Ashley Warner
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Thunder is, to some extent, the sound of lightning. It's the lightning that heats the air so rapidly that it expands very rapidly. A rapid cooling and contraction (shrinking) follows the rapid heating and expansion. Hot air expands; cool air contracts. The rapid expansion and contraction of the air makes the thunder sound.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
Does all lightning hit the ground and are there different types of lightning?
Tynia Price
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Not all lightning hits the ground. When weather observers take official observations, they often note the type of lightning they observe. There is cloud-to-ground (CG), cloud-to-cloud (CC), and cloud-to-air (CA) lightning. Sometimes, all occur at once in a storm or cluster of storms, and we see CGCCCA added to a weather observation.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
How much voltage is carried by a bolt of lightning?
Kyle Wilson
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Hello Kyle:
There is a great deal about lightning that we do not know and is very hard to measure, but there are estimates that lightning produces many tens of thousands of volts. Of course this can be very deadly. Since all thunderstorms produce lightning, it is important not to be the highest object around or near the highest object around during a thunderstorm. It's safer indoors or in a vehicle.
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
Does lightning start from the cloud and come down or from the ground and move up?
Brandon Furry
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
The best answer I have is...yes. Lightning can travel up or down depending how the charges are distributed. What is known as a leader first forms where positive charges in the cloud become closer to negative charges on the ground. It's where this leader sets up that the light you see travels up and down the leader until all the charges are gone or equalized.
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
Why does lightning always occur before thunder in a storm?
Ashley Warner
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Because light travels faster than sound.
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
Is it true that you count the seconds between lightning and thunder to tell how many miles away the storm is?
Nathan Cox
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Yes! Count the seconds (one Mississippi, two Mississippi...) between the time you see the lightning and when you hear the thunder. Divide this number by 5 (light travels 5 times faster than sound) and that will give you the distance. Thus, if you get to 10 Mississippi and hear the thunder, it was 10/5 or 2 miles away. Thunder is the sound the air makes when lightning occurs, rapidly expanding the air around it. Lightning is like 40 times hotter than the sun, expanding the air rapidly!
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
Does all lightning hit the ground and are there different types of lightning?
Tynia Price
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Not all lightning hits the ground. This is known as cloud-to-ground lightning. There is also cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-air lightning. Lightning has also been known to strike airplanes in flight!
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
Has the temperature of lightning ever been determined and if so, how hot is it?
Brittney Sager
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
I believe that lightning can be 40 times hotter than the sun!
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
How big can a thunderstorm cell be?
Chris S.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Severe Thunderstorms can reach up to 70,000 feet in the air, which is nearly 12 miles! On the average, thunderstorms range 30,000 to 40,000 feet high which is about 7-8 miles.
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

TORNADOES

QUESTION:
What is the biggest damage cost of an area hit by a tornado? Justin Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Hi Justin, The tornado that struck the Oklahoma City area on May 3, 1999 was the costliest ever (even considering inflation), with the total bill just over $1 billion. Second place is probably the Wichita Falls tornado of April 10, 1979 (approx. $850 million). Regards, Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
What is the range of destruction a tornado can cause? How long does the average tornado last? Alicia
ANSWER:
Hello Alicia:
Thanks for your question.
There is a very wide range of destruction from tornadoes. Most are weak and brief. Very few are large and violent. The damage they cause depends on their size, how long they last, and where they occur. A small, weak tornado in some parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, or Texas might not cause much damage at all. If the same tornado hits a major city, the damage could be more extensive.
In April, 1991, an F4 tornado in northern Oklahoma was on the ground for 66 miles, but fortunately, it hit only one unoccupied farm house. It was the same type of tornado that hit parts of Oklahoma City last May 3rd causing incredible destruction.
Again, most tornadoes only last a few minutes or so. They travel about a mile or so, and their width is about 100 yards. The biggest and most violent can be on the ground more than an hour, with a track more than 50 miles long and at least one half mile wide.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
Has there ever been a tornado that would have been stronger than an F5? Will S. Charleston Middle School Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Dear Will,
Good question! Dr. Fujita formed the Fujita Scale to rate tornado around 1970 in order to classify tornadoes. It was clear that not all tornadoes were the same: some were weak and some were very, very strong.
He rated tornadoes after the fact by the amount of damage they did to man-made structures. Note that if a tornado never hits a man-made structure it cannot be rated! Also, tornadoes are rated by the worst damage they do, even if only to one home/business. The Fujita scale goes from F0 to F5. Being a scientist, he said there *could* be something worse than F5... BUT, you would never know. Even an engineering study could not distinguish anything worse than F5 with F5. Therefore, in practicality, there is nothing worse than F5.
And we cannot know if there ever has been! Sincerely, Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
Do warm or cold fronts usually cause tornadoes?
Meagan
ANSWER:
Dear Meagan,
Not exactly... although tornadoes are most likely when there are strong weather systems (which have warm and cold fronts), the tornado itself probably doesn't have much to do with the fronts.
Most tornadoes come from supercell thunderstorms, a special kind of thunderstorm which is rotating. These are most likely when the winds change direction clockwise with height. The turning of winds help make the supercell thunderstorms form. The rotation inside the storm can be up to 15 miles wide and 50,000 ft tall!
Most tornadoes are just an extension of this rotation in the storm down to the ground. But what makes that possible is something scientists still don't understand! We are trying to figure this out with our storm chasing in the project called VORTEX. You can read all about VORTEX here: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/noaastory/
Sincerely,
Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
Did any scientist ever try to do what they did in the Universal movie Twister? Kyle
ANSWER:
Hi Kyle,
Nope, no scientist I know ever tried to kiss Helen Hunt. Just kidding!
Twister was probably an exciting action movie, but it contained little if any reality. The device "Dorothy" does not exist in real life, nor would any scientist strap themselves to a fence to ride out a tornado. It would not be survivable in general. Instead, real scientists use cars with instruments attached to the roof to collect data near storms. In the future we may use unmanned small aircraft equipped with sensors as well as small rockets. Regards, Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
What was the longest a tornado has ever lasted?
Tasha, Chiddix Jr. High, Normal, IL
ANSWER:
Hi Tasha,
The "Tri-State tornado" in 1925 struck parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana and was supposedly on the ground for over 4 hours. However, details are sketchy and it is now quite conceivable that the tornado was really a series of several tornadoes. It is probably unlikely that one tornado could persist for such a long time. The longest lived tornadoes probably last about an hour (and these would be rare...maybe only 1 such tornado in the U.S. occurs every few years).
Regards,
Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Why don't tornadoes happen that often in New Jersey or New York?
Jonathan
ANSWER:
Jonathan,
That's a good question. The conditions that spawn tornadoes (air mass instability, wind shear, and a lifting mechanism) don't occur as often in the eastern part of the country as they do in the central and southern part of the country. However, the right conditions do sometimes spawn tornadoes in New Jersey and New York. Therefore, everyone needs to be prepared for the possibility of tornadoes. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Where is the safest place to be during a tornado?
Chris
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Chris-
The basic rules for tornado safety are:
1) Get as low as you can
2) Put as many walls as you can between you and the tornado
3) Get into a small space.
Following those rules, getting into a small room underground, such as in a basement, is ideal. Otherwise, getting into a small room such as a windowless bathroom or in a closet or small hallway.
Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
If you had to pick would you rather be caught in an tornado or a hurricane?
Brian
St. Louis
ANSWER:
Dear Brian,
Good question. This is tough to figure out...
Tornadoes are usually weak and short-lived. They are also small--usually well under 1 mile wide. However, the chance of being injured by flying debris is pretty high if you're directly hit by a tornado. That's why safety includes taking pillows and blankets, etc. to your safe place and wrapping them around you.
Hurricanes generally have weaker winds, but can end up doing as much damage as a weak to moderate tornado because the winds last so long! I think it would be very unnerving to be in a hurricane because it lasts so long - hours! Also, the impact afterward is much greater over a large distance. There may not be drinkable water or electricity within your entire city, whereas with a tornado just getting out of the path affected you would have water, electricity, etc.
I guess if I had a choice it would be neither!
Sincerely,
Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
Can large objects or buildings that a tornado passes over weaken the storm?
ANSWER:
Jeremy,
That's an excellent question. We don't know everything about tornadoes, so we can't completely answer. We believe weaker tornadoes (generally F0-F1 on the Fujita Scale) can be disturbed, even dissipated, by changes in surface roughness...things like tall building. Stronger tornadoes, F2-F5, may be strong enough to have their circulation not disturbed. A recent example is the tornado that struck the downtown area of Ft. Worth, Texas, late last month. That tornado was not dissipated by the tall buildings and did severe damage to the tall buildings.
Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Could a tornado cross a lake or river?
Bob Corder
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Dear Bob,
Absolutely! There are many cases of tornadoes crossing lakes and rivers and even spending their entire lifetime over water (and I don't mean waterspouts, but a tornado from a supercell thunderstorm just as if it had been over land). Tornadoes have even crossed the Mississippi River!
Many seem to hold onto myths like this one and may even say things like "we've never been hit, so this proves it." Well, even in the heart of tornado alley a tornado will hit any one particular location only once every 1000 years. It's wise to look at what happens everywhere to see what's possible.
Sincerely,
Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
What should we do when a tornado warning happens while we are in school? Should we be closing windows, or just get in the hall? Our science class is debating this?
Ms. Appelget's 7th Grade class
Summit School
Winston-Salem, NC
ANSWER:
Hi Summit School!
Your school should already have a tornado safety plan that will address exactly what students in Ms. Appelget's classroom should do. I also hope you have at least yearly tornado drills to practice your safety actions. Your safety location may be the hall or it may be in some other protected location. The key is to stay away from windows, outside walls, areas that might be wind tunnels, and large expanses of free-standing roof (cafeterias, gyms, etc). It is also important to get low and cover your head in protection from flying debris. You should ignore the windows. Old advice used to be to open windows to equalize pressure between the building and the interior of the tornado. We now know that all standard building have enough openings to equalize that pressure difference. It is the wind that causes buildings to appear to explode. Don't take precious safety-seeking time to mess with the windows...just get to the safest place as soon as you can. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
What was the longest a tornado has ever lasted? Tasha, Chiddix Jr. High, Normal, IL
ANSWER:
Hi Tasha, The "Tri-State tornado" in 1925 struck parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana and was supposedly on the ground for over 4 hours. However, details are sketchy and it is now quite conceivable that the tornado was really a series of several tornadoes. It is probably unlikely that one tornado could persist for such a long time. The longest lived tornadoes probably last about an hour (and these would be rare...maybe only 1 such tornado in the U.S. occurs every few years). Regards, Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Why don't tornadoes happen that often in New Jersey or New York? Jonathan
ANSWER:
Jonathan, That's a good question. The conditions that spawn tornadoes (air mass instability, wind shear, and a lifting mechanism) don't occur as often in the eastern part of the country as they do in the central and southern part of the country. However, the right conditions do sometimes spawn tornadoes in New Jersey and New York. Therefore, everyone needs to be prepared for the possibility of tornadoes. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Where is the safest place to be during a tornado? Chris Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
Chris-The basic rules for tornado safety are: 1) Get as low as you can 2) Put as many walls as you can between you and the tornado 3) Get into a small space. Following those rules, getting into a small room underground, such as in a basement, is ideal. Otherwise, getting into a small room such as a windowless bathroom or in a closet or small hallway. Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
If you had to pick would you rather be caught in an tornado or a hurricane? Brian St. Louis
ANSWER:
Dear Brian, Good question. This is tough to figure out... Tornadoes are usually weak and short-lived. They are also small--usually well under 1 mile wide. However, the chance of being injured by flying debris is pretty high if you're directly hit by a tornado. That's why safety includes taking pillows and blankets, etc. to your safe place and wrapping them around you. Hurricanes generally have weaker winds, but can end up doing as much damage as a weak to moderate tornado because the winds last so long! I think it would be very unnerving to be in a hurricane because it lasts so long - hours! Also, the impact afterward is much greater over a large distance. There may not be drinkable water or electricity within your entire city, whereas with a tornado just getting out of the path affected you would have water, electricity, etc. I guess if I had a choice it would be neither! Sincerely, Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
Can large objects or buildings that a tornado passes over weaken the storm? Jeremy Henson Charleston Middle School Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Jeremy, That's an excellent question. We don't know everything about tornadoes, so we can't completely answer. We believe weaker tornadoes (generally F0-F1 on the Fujita Scale) can be disturbed, even dissipated, by changes in surface roughness...things like tall building. Stronger tornadoes, F2-F5, may be strong enough to have their circulations not disturbed. A recent example is the tornado that struck the downtown area of Ft. Worth, Texas, late last month. That tornado was not dissipated by the tall buildings and did severe damage to the tall buildings. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
How are tornadoes created, how fast can they go and how big can they become? Julian Silver Spring, MD
ANSWER:
Dear Julian,
We still don't know how tornadoes are created. We have been actively researching this with VORTEX. You can learn more about VORTEX here: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/noaastory/
We do a pretty good job forecasting them because most tornadoes come from a special kind of thunderstorms called supercell thunderstorms. We know a lot about what it takes to get supercells, and that's why forecasts for tornadoes are pretty good these days. Also, Doppler radars can help a lot with helping the National Weather Service know which storms are most likely to produce tornadoes. They still use storm spotters to help supplement the Doppler radar data.
Tornadoes can move from 0 to 70 mph and spin up to 300mph or so. They can be over a mile wide, but are usually under a mile wide. Most tornadoes are weak, only F3 or less! 98%, in fact, are that weak. You can learn lots more about tornadoes here: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/researchitems/tornadoes.shtml
sincerely,
daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
In the northern hemisphere, does a tornado always spin in a counter-clockwise directions?
Danielle Campbell
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Hi, Danielle,
Most tornadoes do and here's why: most tornadoes are from a special kind of thunderstorm called a supercell thunderstorm. It gets a special name because it's different than most thunderstorms: the whole thing rotates! This rotation is as big as the updraft, up to about 15 mi wide, and as tall as the storm itself, which can reach up to 50,000 ft or more. The tornado is just an extension of the circulation to the ground.
As air spins around the back side of the storm, it spins around to the front and meets the updraft. But meanwhile, there are two sides to that push of air coming around from behind the storm. The left side has counterclockwise spin, which is in the same direction as the storm, and that side is most likely to make tornadoes. However, the right hand side of the push, that is spinning the other way (clockwise), can sometimes make a brief tornado spin up. They don't last very long. We call them "anticyclonic" tornadoes. Sometimes they are also called "gustnadoes" as a slang term because they are formed by a gust of wind rather than being an extension from the storm above.
sincerely,
daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
Do tornadoes spin clockwise or counter clockwise. And what determines which way they spin.
From stacy, Claremore Jr. High
ANSWER:
Stacy,
Tornadoes in the northern (southern) hemisphere typically spin counterclockwise (clockwise). But contrary to intuition and popular belief, it is NOT directly related to the spin of the earth ("Coriolis force"). Instead, tornado spin depends on the spin of the entire updraft of the storm, and supercell updrafts in the northern (southern) hemisphere almost always spin counterclockwise (clockwise), basically due to a long chain of causes and effects that originate from the fact that temperatures on Earth are warmest at the equator and coldest at the poles.
Regards,
Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
What determines the speed of the winds in the vortex of a tornado?
Justin Propp
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Justin,
The maximum wind speed in the vortex depends on the pressure drop in the vortex, and the relationship is roughly max wind speed = square root of pressure drop,
where the pressure drop should be in millibars (1013.25 millibars = 1 atm = 101.325 kPa) and the max wind speed obtained is in meters per second (where 1 m/s roughly = 2.3 mph).
A lot of complex things influence the pressure, some of which we haven't been able to fully understand as scientists. We know that friction with the ground, heat release in the cloud due to condensation, and spinning air all cause the pressure to drop (note that I've just said that spinning air causes pressure to drop...but pressure falls cause air to spin more intensely, as shown at the top of the email...it's a chicken and egg problem!).
Good luck,
Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Are dustdevils and waterspouts related to tornadoes? Also, do tornadoes spin one way above the Equator and the other way south of the Equator? What way would a tornado spin on the Equator?
ANSWER:
Good question. Dust devils and most waterspouts do not form in the same manner that we believe that intense, headline-making tornadoes do, although all three phenomena contain a lot of *vorticity*, which is a fancy name for a lot of spin. Most tornadoes in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise, while most in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise...however, the reason is not directly related to the spin of the earth, contrary to intuition and popular belief (the reason is that thunderstorms that spawn clockwise-spinning tornadoes are more likely in the northern hemisphere because winds typically increase in speed with height and blow from west to east in the northern hemisphere, and temperatures typically increase from south to north in the northern hemisphere---why these conditions favor counterclockwise-spinning storms in the northern hemisphere is not obvious, but complex physics and meteorology principles lead to that result).
Occasionally, tornadoes spin clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and vice versa for the southern hemisphere, but the odds of this are about 1% vs. 99%. At a location right on the equator, the odds of a clockwise-spinning tornado are 50% and the odds of a counter-clockwise-spinning tornado are equally 50%!
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
How did they come up with the name tornado? Chelsea, Solana Highlands School, San Diego
ANSWER:
Hi, Chelsea,
The word comes from the Spanish for "turning" though the person who took the word changed it a little when they translated it. :-)
Sincerely,
Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
How fast can a tornado go? How big can a hurricane get? How big is an F5 tornado? How big was the biggest hail stone?
ANSWER:
Tornado windspeeds are thought to be as fast as about 300 mph. Tornadoes can travel across the ground at speeds up to 70 mph. Hurricanes have windspeeds up to about 200 mph. Hurricanes usually don't travel as fast as tornadoes. Hurricane forward motion is often about 20 mph. An F-5 tornado may be one-mile in diameter, but a hurricane eyewall/high-wind-area might be 20 to 40 miles in diameter. Hailstones can occasionally grow very large...one stone that fell at Coffeyville, KS (September, 1971) was measured at 6 inches in diameter. This stone was preserved for study and I have a plaster cast of it in my office. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Do tornadoes happen in other countries other than the US? Are there any places on Earth that could not possibly have a tornado? Christy
ANSWER:
Hi Christy,
Yes, tornadoes do occur elsewhere....in fact, they've occurred on every continent except Antarctica. India, France, and Bangladesh have had severe tornadoes before. However, the U.S. is hit by more tornadoes than any other country (>1000 per year).
Regards,
Paul
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Do tornadoes occur over the ocean?
Evan K.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Dear Evan,
Yes, tornadoes can occur over the ocean. They magically get the name "waterspout" but this oversimplifies the situation.
A true waterspout comes from a towering cumulus cloud or weak thunderstorm. In this case, the thunderstorm is ordinary with just a simple updraft and downdraft.
A tornado (most tornadoes, I should clarify) come from a special kind of thunderstorm called a supercelll thunderstorm where the entire storm is rotating. The updraft can be 15 miles wide and 50,000 feet tall.
Supercell thunderstorms can form over water and move inland, live their entire lives over water, or start their lives over land and move out. You may remember seeing video from a tornado in Miami, Florida a year ago or so. That tornado was a "true" tornado from a supercell thunderstorm.
Sincerely,
Daphne
EXPERT:
Daphne Zaras
Meteorologist, NSSL/NOAA

QUESTION:
What is the most violent tornado ever recorded?
Mitul G.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Mitul,
Yours is an interesting question and an interesting name...I don't think I've heard it before. There are several ways to define the most violent tornado: #1 - Most deaths...that occurred with the famous Tri-State tornado of March 18, 1925 (684 in your state and MO and IL); #2 -most damage...that occurred with the Oklahoma City tornado of May 3, 1999 (~one billion dollars); and #3 - highest measured windspeed...that also occurred with the May 3rd tornado (~315 mph). We have to be careful with the highest measured windspeed category. Most violent tornadoes of the past (Tri-State and all the others) have not had portable Doppler radars chasing them and measuring their windspeeds. Therefore, some past tornadoes may have had as high or higher windspeeds as the Oklahoma City tornado, but were not observed. As far as damage goes, the severe, devastating damage from F5 tornadoes looks about the same from event to event...everything is leveled.
Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Can you please tell me what was the fastest tornado that you know about? Thanks so much from Ryan at Hydesville School, Hydesville, CA
ANSWER:
Direct measurements of tornado wind speeds can only be obtained from experimental, mobile Doppler radar (mobile because we need to be able to take the radar to the storm...otherwise we'd be waiting for decades for a tornado to pass by close enough for measurements). We've only been making measurements for less than 10 years...the peak wind speed was near 300 mph in the May 3, 1999 Okla. City tornado...but who knows how strong the worst tornadoes were in all of the years before we had direct radar measurements. 99% of the time we must make guesses of the peak wind speeds by looking at the damage left behind (an "indirect" method of obtaining the wind speed), but large uncertainty is always present (our best guesses may be off by as much as 75-100 mph in some cases) because some totnadoes do not hit objects, or they hit objects of varying construction quality (poorly constructed bldgs are more easily destroyed by a weak tornado than a well-built structure).
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Has anyone ever been caught in the eye of a tornado and survived? How realistic is the final scene in the movie Twister? Ashley
Grigg
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
I believe there is an old (over 40 years ago) anecdote of someone who became airborne in a tornado and miraculously survived to tell a story of actually seeing into the eye of the tornado. As for Twister, the final scene is *not* realistic, and would be unsurvivable to probably anyone attempting to do what the 2 actors did, barring a medical miracle (like reconstructing the "Million Dollar Man").
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
Why do some tornadoes touch the ground while some just fade away before touching the ground? Scott D.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Tornadoes are just columns of rotating air. Air is normally invisible, but if the air (or tornado) becomes filled with things that can be seen, then the outline of the tornado becomes visible. When tornadoes kick up dirt, the spinning dirt allows us to see the tornado. Even more commonly, condensation occurs in the tornado due to intense low pressure there, and the condensed water droplets within the funnel make the funnel visible. It is not unusual, especially in dry places, to have a tornado that does damage on the ground, but for one reason or another, little condensation occurs and little in the way of dust or other objects are available on the ground to be lofted, therefore the tornado is difficult to see visually.
EXPERT:
Paul Markowski
OU School of Meteorology/CIMMS/NSSL

QUESTION:
What magnitude of wind pressure, say in pounds per square foot, would a structure typically need to withstand during a tornado?
Robert
Tulsa, Oklahoma
ANSWER:
As you might guess, this is very complicated and a subject of much research. One of the best sources of information on this topic is the Wind Engineering Institute at Texas Tech University. Their web site address is: http://www.wind.ttu.edu
What is most important is the design of the building. Each has its own "net pressure coefficient" in the equation used for these calculations. The pressure (in pounds per square foot) is determined by multiplying 0.00256 by the wind velocity squared by the net pressure coefficient.
The net pressure coefficient depends on the design of the building and the fact that most failures occur at junctions, through windows, doors, etc., depending on how walls are anchored, and so on.
Another variable is the debris created by a tornado hitting other structures. You might have a pretty sound building yourself, but if your neighbor has a poorly constructed building, it could become debris which could impact your building.
Some very simple things can be done to lessen the impact of high winds on most buildings. Texas Tech and FEMA (www.fema.gov) both have excellent suggestions for new buildings and for fortifying existing buildings.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

QUESTION:
How and when can you tell a tornado is forming? Amy and Kayla Chiddix Jr. High, Normal, IL
ANSWER:
Amy and Kayla, The two principle sensors used to look for tornadoes are radar and the human eye. Doppler radar gets return from the precipitation particles within the storm. When rotation starts within the cloud/rain area, the Doppler will detect the rotation. Many more thunderstorms begin to have rotation than those that actually go ahead and produce tornadoes.
Meteorologists watch the radar-indicated rotation for signs of strengthening and lowering, and they watch other radar signatures (hook echoes, etc). When radar indications are strong, a tornado warning is issued. Since radar beams curve at a different rate than the earth's surface bends, and since radar beams get broader with increasing distance from the radar, radars at some distance from storms can only see larger-scale rotation at storm mid levels. This means a second source of information is needed...that source is storm spotters using their eyes. Spotters and storm chasers look for the rain-free base of the thunderstorm...the updraft area. Under the rain-free base, they look for lowerings called "wall clouds"...signatures of the strongest updraft. When wall cloud rotation can be seen by the eye, it is an indication that a tornado may be forming. Some tornado warnings are issued on the basis of a rotating wall cloud. The surest method of all, however, is to see the beginning of the funnel cloud and its growth into a full tornado. Warnings based on seeing funnels/tornadoes are the most accurate, but they don't have any lead time to allow people to seek shelter. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
How do they measure the intensity of a tornado? Ashley C. Chiddix Junior High School Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Dear Ashley,
The intensity of tornadoes is measured on a scale that was developed by Dr. Ted Fujita of the University of Chicago. In recognition of Dr. Fujita, the scale is called the "F" scale. The scale starts at F0 for weak tornadoes with less than 75 mph wind speeds and goes as high as F5 where wind speeds are near 300 mph!
Sincerely,
Jim Lushine
EXPERT:
Jim Lushine
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Do tornadoes occur over the ocean? Evan K. Chiddix Junior High School Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Tornadoes can occur over the ocean, however it's pretty hard to document them, as you might expect. One of the elements which contributes to the development of tornado producing thunderstorms is atmospheric instability. This is enhanced by the sun heating the ground. This is why severe storms and tornadoes often happen late in the day and continue into the evening. It's hard for the sun to have such an effect on the ocean, however it can happen. Meteorologists have seen many thunderstorms with supercell characteristics over the ocean, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Gulf Stream area off the coast of the southeast U.S. While it's hard to be certain if they are producing tornadoes, it's likely that some have.
Of course, there are also water spouts over the warm ocean and Gulf of Mexico waters. While similar to tornadoes, they are not usually associated with large, supercell thunderstorms, and they do not usually do much damage along the coasts, most often just minor damage.
EXPERT:
Dennis McCarthy
National Weather Service Meteorologist

WEATHER

QUESTION:
Has anyone every been killed or seriously injured by hail?
ANSWER:
Daniel- Yes, they have. It's not very common in the US, although it occurs in other countries, such as China every year. Recently, associated with the Fort Worth, Texas tornadic storm, a man was killed by a softball-sized hailstone that fractured his skull. Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Hello and thank-you for considering my question. I am concerned about acid rain. How many deaths have occurred due to acid rain and do meteorologist study acid rain? Josh at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
Josh-
Acid rain is studied mostly by "air quality" meteorologists. They use special rain gauges and numerical models to look at the movement of air over long distances.
Acid rain has never been associated with any human deaths. Its major effects are on lakes, particularly small lakes. A particularly important part of it is that by lowering the pH of the water, it makes it difficult for fish to breed. Harold
EXPERT:
Harold Brooks
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
Hello, and thank-you for considering my question. I've been recording and watching air pressure this week and wanted to know what is the highest air pressure recorded. Thanks, Again,
Jennifer Clements from Hydesville School, Hydesville, CA
ANSWER:
approx. 32.00 inches of mercury over North America But the exact world record can be found in an almanac. Ask your librarian if you can't find it and they will be happy to help.
EXPERT:
Mel Nordquist
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Why is the Jet Stream called the "jet stream" and how was it found? Thank-you for your information, Justin at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
Dear Justin,
The jet stream is called the jet stream because it is a narrow band of high speed (100-200 mph) winds in the upper levels of the troposphere. The jet stream basically controls the steering of storm systems, moving them generally from west to east and sometimes from north to south or south to north. Jet Planes flying at the level of the jet stream (25,000 to 35,000 feet above the ground) go faster when travelling the same direction as the jet stream and slower when flying against it. That's why it takes less time to fly from Los Angeles, CA to New York City then from New York City to Los Angeles.
Sincerely
Jim Lushine
EXPERT:
Jim Lushine
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
When the fog burns off in the morning where does it come from in the evening? Thank-you for your information, Randy at Hydesville School, CA
ANSWER:
Dear Randy,
Fog is actually a cloud that forms on the ground, rather than in the sky. It forms when the air has enough water vapor (invisible water we call humidity) in it that when the air cools, the water condenses into the fog that you can see. This usually happens in the morning when the temperatures are coolest. As the sun heats the air during the day, the fog turns back into the invisible form of water (water vapor) and the fog disappears. It's like taking a hair dryer and blowing warm air on your bathroom mirror which has fogged up. The bathroom mirror clears up. In California, the fog is often caused by moist air that is cooled by the Pacific Ocean. That is why the fog rolls in from the water.
Sincerely,
Jim Lushine
EXPERT:
Jim Lushine
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Why is snow in the shape of flakes?
Jared Tanner
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
Snow is a crystal. Many atoms and simple molecules form crystals when the they form a solid from solution. In the case of snow water is dissolved in air as water vapor and when it is cold enough for snow to form and the other conditions are right molecules of water begin to gather together into water crystals. We call these varied crystals snow scientist call them dendritic crystals. Did you know that the Eskimos of Alaska have ~25 different names for snow depending on the characteristics of the snow? The different characteristics of the snow depend on how the crystals of water form.
EXPERT:
Mel Nordquist
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
Has a storm or series of storms ever done as much damage as the nuclear bomb did on impact? Billy Bennett Solana Highlands School, San Diego
ANSWER:
Well Billy, this is a tough question to answer. I will answer this from the standpoint of the amount of energy involved in both a bomb explosion and a tornadic storm. The amount of energy in a storm is much greater than a bomb. However the tornado itself concentrates its energy in a distinct path. The destruction resulting from a bomb spreads outward from a single point and diminishes the farther from the point of impact you get. The tornado's strength can sometimes grow and the destruction resulting from the tornado will grow as it continues on its path.
Deirdre Jones
EXPERT:
Deirdre Jones
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
How did scientists come up with the names for the clouds? Kalee
ANSWER:
The names of the clouds are Latin based and describe the characteristics of the clouds. For example Nimbo as in Nimbostratus means rain producing and Stratus means to spread out. So scientists setup a system of names to classify the clouds by the characteristics.
EXPERT:
Mel Nordquist
National Weather Service

QUESTION:
How far in advance of the storm can you predict severe weather?
Elise
Beers Street Middle School
ANSWER:
The best time period to forecast severe weather accurately is within 24 hours. The atmosphere changes character constantly, so although we can identify basic weather patterns that can produce severe weather, we get a better handle with a 24 hours period.
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
What is the record for the largest hailstone ever recorded and what conditions had to exist for it to become so big?
Jack Deeken
Charleston Middle School
Charleston, IL
ANSWER:
The record hailstone was FOOTBALL size hail recorded near Coffeyville, KS in the early 1980s. A very, very strong updraft had to exist to support that size of a piece of ice high in the cloud long enough for water to gather forming the rings within the hailstone. Also, lots of moisture had to be in place within the air.
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
Why does Florida have so many storms?
Ryan W.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Florida is a warm and humid climate. Because it is surrounded by water on three sides, the moisture comes along the coast and interacts with the heated ground in the middle, this forms thunderstorms that moves inland during the day. This is quite typical between June and October.
EXPERT:
Daniel McCarthy
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, SPC/NOAA

QUESTION:
Why does Florida have so many storms?
Ryan W.
Chiddix Junior High School
Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
Ryan,
Florida has so many storms (thunderstorms, weaker tornadoes, and hurricanes) because of its location. Florida is a peninsula (surrounded on three sides by warm ocean water) at low latitudes (closer to the equator) so it is likely to have the warm unstable air for storms most all year. Other, more northerly, states have no hurricanes, and they only have thunderstorms during the warmer part of the year.
Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
: What causes air turbulence? Beth H. Normal,IL Chiddix Junior High
ANSWER:
Beth, air turbulence is caused by small scale changes in atmospheric variables...temperature, moisture, and wind. Turbulence, by definition, is the small-scale instability caused by change in those variables...large scale changes are fronts and storms. Some airflow is laminar (smooth) and some airflow (that with a large amount of energy in the small-scale changes) is not smooth, i.e. turbulent. If you have watched the smoke rise from a cigarette (hopefully, not one you are smoking), you will see that it may rise smoothly for a distance and then break down into turbulent flow. That is a visible, very small scale, example of turbulence caused by changes in the atmospheric gradients associated with the rising air parcels which contain the smoke. Another real life example of turbulence is that experienced when riding on an airplane. The ride in a small plane, flying at low levels on a sunny afternoon, is rough because air parcels from the heated ground (thermals) are rising (lots of atmospheric gradients). The ride in large passenger jet can be rough even in the upper atmosphere near the jet stream (lots of atmospheric gradients). Airflow around thunderstorms is almost always turbulent (again, lots of atmospheric gradients) and aircraft of all sizes try to avoid thunderstorms and the space near them. Don Burgess
EXPERT:
Don Burgess
National Severe Storms Laboratory

QUESTION:
What affect does the jet stream have upon Central Illinois Weather? Matt B. Chiddix Junior High School Normal, Illinois
ANSWER:
The jet stream has a great deal of effect on central Illinois weather. The jet stream "steers" the storm systems that, for instance, brings snow and cold during the winter and heat and drought during the summer. When the jet stream, which is a strong wind at between 4 and 7 miles above the earth, is comes south of central Illinois, you get cool weather and when it is in Canada, to your north, the weather is usually warm.
Sincerely,
Jim Lushine
EXPERT:
Jim Lushine
National Weather Service

WEATHER SATELLITES

QUESTION:
If there were weather satellites on other planets could weather be predicted and studied the same as on Earth? Michael
ANSWER:
That's a great question Michael. We could use weather satellites orbiting other planets to gain a partial understanding of the weather on other planets. We would also need weather balloons, radar, and surface observations to complete the picture. One day we may have a mission to forecast extraterrestrially. Deirdre Jones
EXPERT:
Deirdre Jones
National Severe Storms Laboratory