WEATHER REPORT
What is the Coriolis Effect and how does it affect you?
Published on April 28, 2024
Image: Nikolas Noonan
While talking about the weather might have bad press, no one can resist the awe-inspiring allure of a powerful storm or a display of lightning against a pitch-black sky. And even if this raw demonstration of the power of nature frightens you - or you just find it boring, the myriad of subtle intricacies of atmospheric phenomena are bound to catch your eye.
Here are 10 curious facts about storms and weather phenomena to quench your sense of wonder, and - hopefully - leave you a bit more appreciative of nature's grandeur.
Lightning Strikes
Image: Johannes Plenio
Each year, Earth experiences about 1.4 billion lightning strikes. These bolts of electricity can reach temperatures of up to 30,000 Kelvin (53,540 degrees Fahrenheit), hotter than the surface of the sun. This violent phenomenon occurs when electrical imbalances build up within clouds or between clouds and the ground. The thunder that follows a lightning bolt is caused by the rapid expansion of air around it, and it can travel from 15 to 30 miles from the point where the strike occurred. In fact, if you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and its sound, and divide it by 5, you can approximate the distance in miles to the source of the lightning. Just make sure you are in a safe place while counting!
Tornado Alley
Image: NOAA
Tornado Alley, a loosely defined region in the central United States, sees more tornadoes than any other place on Earth. This area, stretching from Texas to South Dakota, experiences frequent tornado activity due to the collision of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold, dry air from Canada. The combination of these air masses, along with the presence of the Rocky Mountains to the west, creates an environment ripe for the formation of these formidable wind vortexes. If you happen to live in an area prone to tornadoes, just don’t try to emulate Dorothy, or you might end up much farther away than the Land of Oz.
Hurricane Names
Image: NASA
Did you know that hurricanes are given names to help with communication and awareness? The use of names for hurricanes dates back to the 1950s and helps to avoid confusion when multiple storms are active simultaneously, as names are much easier to remember than numbers or technical terms. The World Meteorological Organization generates lists of names that are rotated every six years, except for particularly destructive storms, whose names are retired forever.
Haboobs
Image: Matthieu Joannon
Haboobs are massive dust storms that occur in arid regions, such as the Sahara Desert and the southwestern United States. These towering walls of dust can reach heights of 4,921 feet and travel at speeds of up to 60 mph, engulfing everything in their path. Haboobs typically form when cold downdrafts from thunderstorms hit the ground and kick up loose, dry soil and sand. These intense dust storms can reduce visibility to near-zero levels, posing serious dangers to motorists and even disrupting air travel.
The Fujita Scale
Image: John Middelkoop
The Fujita Scale, developed by Dr. Ted Fujita in 1971, measures the intensity of tornadoes based on the damage they cause to human-built structures and vegetation. The scale ranges from F0 (light damage) to F5 (incredible damage), with wind speeds exceeding 300 mph for the most severe tornadoes. In recent years, the original scale has been replaced by the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale), which incorporates modern engineering and construction standards to assess tornado damage more accurately.
Weather Folklore
Image: Noah Silliman
Throughout history, people have relied on old sayings and common knowledge to predict the weather. From "red sky at night, sailor's delight" to "ring around the moon means rain real soon," these sayings often contain kernels of truth based on observable atmospheric patterns. Even when most are - more likely than not - not scientifically accurate, they prove that humanity has always been intrinsically connected to weather patterns.
Atmospheric Rivers
Image: Ryan Arnst
Atmospheric rivers are narrow corridors of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere that can transport vast amounts of water vapor across long distances. This phenomenon plays a crucial role in global weather patterns and can lead to heavy rainfall and flooding whenever they make landfall. Scientists believe that changes in global temperatures and atmospheric humidity will increase the intensity and frequency of weather phenomena caused by atmospheric rivers in the next few years.
The Coriolis Effect
Image: JOSHUA COLEMAN
The Coriolis Effect is a phenomenon caused by Earth's rotation, which deflects moving objects, including air and water, to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This effect influences the direction of winds and ocean currents, shaping global weather patterns. For this reason, large currents of air and powerful weather events like cyclones display either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction of motion depending on their position in the globe.
El Niño and La Niña
Image: Chris Gallagher
El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, which refers to fluctuations in sea surface temperatures and atmospheric pressure in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. These large weather patterns can directly influence the climate around the globe, affecting precipitation, temperatures, and storm activity. While El Niño events are marked by an anomalous warming of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, in contrast, La Niña events are characterized by cooler-than-average temperatures.
Hailstorms
Image: Wolfgang Hasselmann
Hailstorms occur when strong updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops into colder regions of the atmosphere, where they freeze and accumulate layers of ice before falling to the ground. The size of hailstones can vary widely, ranging from pea-sized pellets to golf ball-sized or larger projectiles capable of causing significant damage to property, crops, and vehicles. The largest hailstone ever recorded fell on the town of Vivian, South Dakota, during an extraordinary hailstorm, and it was larger than a bowling ball, measuring 7.87 inches in diameter and weighing almost 2 pounds!
