Undular Bores (Atmospheric Gravity Waves)

Atmospheric gravity waves, known as undular bores, are waves in Earth’s atmosphere that often show up quite well on satellite and radar imagery. They are notorious for creating wave-like clouds, which clearly propagate as waves when viewed in rapid time-lapse photography.  Low-level atmospheric stability is implicated in the formation of undular bores.  Large static stability … Read more

Visiting the Chapman, Kansas, EF-4 Tornado Damage

On May 25th, 2016, a large and violent, long-track tornado tore through the landscape across north-central Kansas causing extensive damage along Interstate 70 between Abilene and Chapman, Kansas. What was a marginal day for severe weather ended up producing one of the most violent tornadoes of the 2016 season. We visited Chapman on Saturday, July 23rd, … Read more

Heat Index Calculator & Charts

Definition of Heat Index: The heat index is an estimate of how hot the air “feels” to the human body and provides a relative indication of potential health risks. Among others, the two primary factors in the heat index equations are temperature and water vapor (i.e., moisture/humidity). Humidity affects the efficacy of perspiration to evaporatively … Read more

July 4th 2016 heavy rainfall in DFW Metroplex shattered records

Interesting rainfall tidbits from the deluge in the Metroplex on Monday 7/4/16 The total rainfall at DFW Airport on the 4th of July 2016 was 3.20″ This shattered the daily record for 7/4 by 141% (previous record: 1.31″ in 2006) Compared with the entire month of July, as well as June + July… It ranked … Read more