Weather Fronts/Systems

 Okay so the pictures on the side explain the way
Weather Fronts work.

Ahhh the good old Pressure System,
The Earth's Atmosphere is were the air pressure is a relative peak or lull in the level of pressure distribution. High and Low pressure systems evolve because of the interactios of temperature differentials in the atmosphere, the temperature differences between the atmosphere and th water within the oceans and lakes are the influence of upper-leve troughs and shortwaves, even the amount of solar heating or radiational cooling an area receives. So the pressure system is the reason the day-to-day weather experienced locally.
Low pressure systems are associated with clouds and precipitation that minimize temperature changes though out the day.
High Pressure systems normally associated with dry weather and mostly clear skies and bigger diurnal temperature changes because of the greater radiation at night and the greater sunshine during the day.

So like almost everyone has seen a picture or something similar on a weather channel either on T.V. or the internet. But it shows of High and Low pressure and how we actually do use this in weather predicating and understand why the weather is like the way it is where we are.

Depending on whether it has low or high pressure, that will determine what our weather will be in our area. It helps us understand what the rest of the day will be like, and what tomorrow may bring.

Weather Forecasts

Okay so we all know about the ever famous radio and Internet, or course the T.V. all of which help us know what the coming for cast will be.
So... In my region I took the liberty took find out the Weather for cast for tomorrow (October 5, Friday) , From 3 different sites.
The Weather Network- Cloudy Periods, a High of 4 degrees, with a low -5 degrees.
Weather City- Mix of sunshine and clouds, high of 4 degrees, low of  -5 degrees.
Accuweather- Sunny, with a high of 9 degrees, and a low of -5 degrees.

So the first 2 seemed to be the same, idea going on eh? But Accuweather calls for it being nicer out.
Which one will you believe then?? Well if two say that it's going to be the same then of course the majority wins. But why is it different? Well many people have said this before, you can't predicate the weather. Though we seem to be close!
Okay so don't believe everything you hear, cause they don't know it all.
Another thing is the way they find out. Cause there isn't just one giant facebook page for themselves discussing what they think the weather is going to be like for certain places then have similar reports on it. The use different instruments to predicate the weather, by watching weather patterns and what they weather is doing at the moment then estimate what will happen later in the day. Notice how sometimes the weather report changes through out the day?? It's because their following the weather and trying to understand what it will bring later on. Weather is always moving, so its not easy to figure out where it's moving too. Which is a reason why their are different reports and some are close to the same.

Weather predicating has been around for a very long time! The Weather changes over night so just looking up at the sky before you go to bed does not mean it will be the same when you wake up the next morning. Early on in school you might have learnt about cloud formations. That was probably one of the first ways of weather predicating. Back before computers and satellites. Just by the way the clouds are formed or forming will give you an idea as to whether it will rain or not. Many Farmers still use it as a method and one of the closet weather predication's you can get off hand. Of course if there is bad weather a ways away from you, but is headed in your direction then there is a chance you'll get that weather or at least the after math of it. There area high chances that the weather won't be as stronger as it might have been earlier on. Of course there is the computers, and satellites.They give a picture and Idea of what is happening right at that moment and all over the world. They are not always correct but they have become a clear and (if not correct) close reading as to what the weather is doing. And how can we forget Air Traffic, yes they do play a part in the whole weather predicating, being able to look down and see what's going on is huge in following the weather, seeing it makes it easy to predicate it.
So basically the best reading you can get while following the weather is by watching it, being aware of whats going on in the places around you, and yes computers and satellites do a lot of the predicting.
But to be on the safe side, keep plan B handy just in case the weather isn't going along with your plans.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_forecasting to undestand and getting a more detailed info.

Wacky Weather

So I'm suppose to explain some wacky weather but its hard to find anything when things are hard to find. so we'll see how this will go.


A major drought has hit the country and is the worst in about 50 years. A heat wave of historic proportions hit the country a couple of weeks ago causing deaths and disaster. A major storm called a Derecho hit the Ohio Valley causing destruction and major power outages. There must be a reason or pattern causing these wacky weather situations.
The latest is a request for Federal assistance as the worst drought in 50 years is now wreaking havoc on corn crops across the United States. The federal government announced yesterday that as much as 70 percent of the Nation is now in a drought situation and it is not getting better for now.

La Nina is a fairly normal cycle that happens every 6-to-14 years and is when the Pacific waters near the equator are slightly cooler than normal for an extended amount of time. This is the opposite of the El Nino which is where the waters are warmer than normal for extended amounts of time.

When La Nina patterns set up, we tend to see more high pressure and ridging over much of North America. This means the Jet Stream that guides our storms tends to migrate further to the north and we tend to see less rain and storm activity over parts of the lower 48. The opposite tends to happen in an El Nina when we tend to see more flooding and storms over the lower 48 areas.

La Nina patterns can last 2 years and are not as common as the more infamous La Nina. We are now in our second year of a La Nina and many scientists believe we were in a La Nina phase in the 1930s when the "Dust Bowl" set up over the U.S. as it became so dry farms turned to dusty lands. The problem is that this La Nina has lasted not one, but two years.

La Nina tends to cause sinking air which leads to strong high pressure over the U.S. This can lead to long-term heat waves and lack of rain as we have seen over the last several weeks. There is some good news in that the current La Nina pattern seems to be weakening and that hopefully will allow the jet stream to return to a more normal pattern as well. This should allow more rain to begin to form and more fronts to drop down further south into drought stricken areas.

The bad news is that right now is the prime growing season for corn crops and this weakening of the La Nina will not come fast enough to save the corn. The damage is already here and Federal aid will likely be needed for those farmers. The price of corn products will also likely be higher at the store as well. At a time when the economy is in a bad state and candidate re-elections are in the running, this can tend to lead to less consumer confidence and people being less likely to spend money in uncertain times.

http://www.wtrf.com/story/19044384/brian-explains-the-his-reasoning-for-the-current-wacky-weather

 

This story doesn't say a lot other then the effect. No real reason was given about the weather.

 

I think I'll give an account from my view on Canada's Wacky Weather in Sask,

So as I said in my last blog, about waiting for snow and having a longer fall, yeah that's not normal for Canada, in fact it's down right strange. But all you get is people's opions no hard facts about what's creating this long fall and shorter spring. It seems as though there was a switch. Just this past year the snow only started falling somewhere in the middle of November and stuck around till April. Which is highly strange. We normally see snow going away in March, Not that there was a lot of snow to begin with but it was odd how it had lasted. On March 22 or 23 I had my own encounter with Wacky Weather, It was chilly out but most of the snow was gone and it look like a nice spring was on its way. Anyways I had gone out to a small concert out in the sticks (about 20 minutes from my place) it finished up and I started to leave about 10 or 11 pm at night. It was snowing as I started making my way I was headed straight in for this storm. Just a few hours earlier it was clear and nice and now I couldn't see out of my window. I was going about 40 down the highway, Crazy! All I could see was the dead grass by the side of the road on my right. It was a long painful drive but I made it home. Of course the next morning it was as if it never happened... I might have thought I dream ed it all up but it was to late of a night for me to dream that up. Wacky Weather with no explanation. Some say Global Warming, others say Canada, guess we'll never really know.

Some things just can't be explained. Like Northern Lights or why only 1 sock comes out of the dryer. It might be because it's beyond our understanding, or we just can't know why. Wacky Weather has been explained before from all over the world, but sometimes it takes years to find out the reasons for it all. A lot of the Weather is un-able to be predicated or understood.

I'll say this as a warning, Wacky Weather can be faked. Don't believe everything you read or even see, because it can be faked and a lot of times it is. But A lot of times its not. Learn what you need to know and you can be fooled if you understand and get the weather. So do your own re-search and figure out what you believe is True. Or False.

Weather Related Events

Weather events-
Okay sooo say your going to a football game and it starts to snow... know what that means?? It's a weather event... Because your at an event and theres a type of weather...Okay seriously, what I mean by weather event is, whats happening with the weather around us, at different times. So the example I just use is actually true.
Back a couple of years ago we would get snow rather early (probably Oct) but it seems in the past few years snow has been coming later and later (nov/dec). Now I could be wrong on this but seriously thats some weather change over the course of a few years.
Also just this past spring we had some crazy weather, Hail in the spring. I can prove it too by the dents still on my car. About the size of golfballs, came down for a good 5 mintues or so. Kinda odd in our area.
Later during the summer we had tornatos touching down all over the place! A small camp ground had taken a heavy hit from a tornato. Many people lost their summer cabins and campers. I was also at a Bible camp when one tried to touch down in the field. It never made contact but it was far to close for anyones liking.
Let's look at the fact weather events happen so much and at different times from anything! Like earlier today we had rain, but it was only a little bit and it was freezing rain. Weather event.
Yesterday it was cloudy/ sunny on and off all through the day. Weather event.
A couple nights ago we have a clear and bright night, we also had some beautiful northern lights. Weather event.



Okay so what are Weather Advisories???  In simple words warnings.
So you know when your a kid in school and a snow warning goes out in your area saying you don't have to go to school, your like "Yeah!". Well thats an example of how their used. But they are not to be taken lightly, paying attention to the reports and warnings are huge! The warnings aren't out as often as they are out in the Winter. This is Canada so that makes sense, but it doesn't mean that it's only just "snow" when the warnings come out pay attention to them!
Environment Canada's website http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/warnings/warnings_e.html
Show about weather warnings all over canada.
 
This video is from the flooding of Yorkton Sk, It's very odd and rare for this area I live an hour or so away from there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7SOX2NcryU&playnext=1&list=PL9B206A8C0394CE11&feature=results_video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE1U_dPwndI&feature=autoplay&list=PL9B206A8C0394CE11&playnext=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_249755&feature=iv&src_vid=RCUCBhx3_hM&v=ZL1XtPDi5uU

The Atmosphere

On to the next order of business...
The Atmosphere!


The Atmosphere- is a layer of gases surrounding the planet of Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Now as boring as that may seem to be... it really is something we depend on the atmosphere protects life on the earth (US!) its absorbing the ultrviolet solar radiation, and warming the surface though the heat (which many know as the greenhouse effect), its reducing the temperature extremes between day and night.

This is a picture of the Atmosphere, Colours roughly denote the layers of the atmosphere.
Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth


Okay so now I will try my best to tell you about the OZONE LAYER...
There was a lot of talk about it a few years ago, but it has died down since then.

Ozone is a gas naturally present in the atmosphere, but in very low quantities. It is colorless and has a very strong odor that gave it its name (from Greek ozein, odor). About 90% of the atmospheric ozone is located in the stratosphere (region between an altitude of about 10 and 50 km) and comprises what one calls the ozone layer. It absorbs a large part of ultraviolent rays which are very dangerous in heavy doses, and thus protects life on Earth.
(This info was found on http://www.goodplanet.info/eng/Pollution/Ozone/The-Ozone/(theme)/309 to read more check it out)
The rate at which ozone is being destroyed in the upper stratosphere is slowing, and the levels of ozone-destroying chlorine in that layer of the atmosphere have peaked and are going down.
Ozone is a damaging pollutant in the lower atmosphere near the ground, but in the stratosphere, it shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet solar radiation. Almost 30 years ago, scientists Mario Molina, F. Sherwood Rowland, and Paul Crutzen showed that chlorine released into the stratosphere from chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), chemicals used as refrigerants and aerosol propellants, was destroying the protective ozone layer. This discovery led to an international ban on CFC-based products and to the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the three scientists.
(This info came from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030730080139.htm get the whole story there.)

Here's a picture that explains the ozone layer a bit.

 

The ozone layer is hugely important and we should be careful and aware of it.

But... if it was such a huge and important issue wouldn't it still be on the news and we would still be hearing about it??? Good question with no clear answer. Keep aware of the ozone layer, try to take care of our earth, but don't freak out. Just figure out how you want to help.

 

Weather and Climate

Just to clear things up, I'm doing a blog for my Science project.
It's dealing with the weather and effects of it.

I'm here to clear up the terms of Weather and  Climate, for which will go to the wikipedia to  get a good understand of the subject.

 Weather- The state of the atmosphere, to the degree that its going to be either hot or cold, stormy, or calm, wet or dry, cloudy or clear. Most of the weather occurs in the troposphere just below the stratosphere. Weather is generally day-to-day temperature and precipitation, wheres climate (we'll go over climate soon) is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When it's used without "qualification" then weather is understood to be the weather of our Earth.
Go to this link to learn more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather

 Climate- The Statistics of Temperature, Atmospheric pressure, Precipitation, Wind,and Humidity,the atmospheric particle count and of course other meteorological elemental measurements in any given region over long periods. Climate is contrasted to weather in which is the present condition of the elements (the ones we just went over) and variations over short periods.
Go to this link to learn more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate

 
Well I was searching the web and decided to see exactly why everyone cares about the weather?? A lot of people I know personally don't even bother checking the weather report the look at their window and plan around that. Which isn't always their greatest plan... Anyways I found that many people are concerned or pay more attention for it, due to work. Yeah whether they work in a building or out and about. They care about the weather, it can effect their way of getting to and from work (seeing that this is Canada.) it effects on others to show up for work as well, and did you happen
to notice the depending on the weather you will either get things done more or hardly anything. Like right now the weather is cloudy outside and very cold, where I am. And I have less of a desire to go outside and do anything, now if it was sunning and beautiful outside I would be staring at the window wanting to go out and enjoy it. (It's not always exactly this way, but weather has an effect on people in situations like the one I just wrote). Another reason why people actually care about the weather is plans to spend their time outside in the weather, Like camping, skiing, swimming, snowman building, among many other outdoor activities. So far we've gone over mostly the moods and what it would effect depending on the weather, but we haven't actually talked on people who have to study weather for either their hobbies or their job, they take the most interest in it. Such as farmers do such the same as well, the are looking for patterns, for something out of the normal.They are seeing our world change by studying it. Have you notice the change in our earth?? Well they have either seen it for a while, or see more to it then we do.
We should really pay attention to our weather, and the changes that come with it, its our earth don't you want to know how to take care of it?