U.S. Cities With the Most Extreme Weather Conditions

If you are searching for diverse weather or extreme temperatures and precipitation, the U.S. is certainly one of the places to be. Have you ever wondered what U.S. city is the coldest or the warmest? What city experiences the most rainfall or the most thunderstorms? I thought that it would be interesting to come up with … Read more

The Tools and Concepts for Forecasting Winter Precipitation

Introduction This informative forecast writing will focus on the weather forecasting tools and concepts that are used to predict winter weather events. There are various types of winter weather events that are analyzed and forecasted including mid-latitude cyclones, ice storms, lake-effect snows and sleet storms. Each of these will be discussed separately. In addition, bust … Read more

Current Drought Map

Current Drought Conditions & Data (Regions Experiencing Drought) Short-Term Drought Indicator Long-Term Drought Indicator Drought forces farmers to make critical choices on both short and long-term scales. In the face of short-term drought, a farmer might need to switch to drought-tolerant crops or varieties with shorter growing seasons. They’ll need to meticulously manage irrigation, balancing … Read more

What is virga? There’s rain on radar, but it’s not raining!

The fluid dynamics associated with atmospheric disturbances cause the downstream air (ahead of the disturbance, before it arrives at a location) to rise, and the upstream air (behind the disturbance, i.e., after the disturbance has passed) to sink.  If there is sufficient moisture in the area of rising air, clouds and precipitation may form.  Necessary … Read more

What is the water cycle and can the cycle be disrupted?

A follower asked, “if the water cycle is real, how can there be water shortages?” In light of the recent drought in Texas, which ultimately ended with the historic rainfall during the month of May 2015, and the ongoing devastating drought in California, I thought I would make this brief post. What is the Water … Read more