Know the Lingo:

Here are a few summer weather definitions.

Why do leaves change color?

During the spring and summer the leaves have served as factories where most of the food necessary for the tree's growth are manufactured. This food-making process takes place in the leaf in numerous cells containing chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color. Along with the green pigment are yellow to orange to red pigments as well. Most of the year these colors are masked by great amounts of green coloring. But in the fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange to red colors become visible and give the leaves part of their fall splendor. The best time to enjoy the autumn color would be on a clear, dry, and cool day.

Why do we have more sunlight in the summer than in the winter?

You might not have noticed this, but the Earth tilts over slightly. If you have a globe at home or in school, you can see that the line between north and south poles, that goes through the center of the Earth, isn't vertical. It's actually tilting over by about 23 degrees. In our summer, the north pole is pointing towards the Sun so the Sun rises and sets roughly from due east to due west. In winter, the Earth is on the other side of the Sun so the North Pole is pointing away from the Sun. This means the Sun rises and sets more towards the southeast and southwest. You might notice this as you look out of the window. Think back to how high in the sky the sun was during the summer. Compare this to where the sun is during the winter and you'll see it's much lower down towards the horizon. Because the sun is lower down on the horizon, there's less time for it to travel between horizons. There's less distance for it to travel so the sun rises later and sets earlier meaning there's less daylight.

When does the hurricane season end?

The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season is from May 15 to November 30.

What is frost?

Frost is white ice crystals that form on a surface, like the ground or leaves of a plant. Frost is created when the air temperature drops below freezing and the water vapor in the air freezes into ice crystals.

Why can you see your breath when its cold outside?

Your breath is reasonably warm and humid and it has invisible water vapor as a large component of the gas. Warm moist air meeting the cooler air outside the body causes the invisible water vapor to condense the cooler air outside are visible and form the cloud that you see. The relative humidity which depends upon water content and temperature goes to 100%. As the breath gets further from the person's face the water content dilutes and the relative humidity goes down and the droplets go back into vapor form.

Weather Jokes

What does a cloud wear under his raincoat?

Thunderwear!

What did one lightning bolt say to the other lightning bolt?

You're shocking!

Summer Review

Summer 2012 was a season of extremes.

The situation became critical with broiling hot temperatures across much of the country and the most severe drought conditions the nation has seen in more than 50 years. That being said, the 2012 drought still ranks as the 10th-largest severe drought since 1895.

The average summer temperature over global land and ocean surfaces tied with 2005 as the third-highest on record at 61.25 degrees F, or 1.15 degree F above the 20th century average of 60.1 degrees F. Only the summers of 1998 and 2010 were warmer. Records go back to 1880. Climatologists define summer in the Northern Hemisphere as the months of June, July and August. The most unusual warmth occurred across parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including most of the United States and Canada, southern and eastern Europe, Kazakhstan and eastern Siberia. Droughts in the U.S., eastern Russia and India all contributed to the high heat. The unusual warmth also caused Arctic sea ice to shrink to its lowest level on record.

Hurricane Isaac:

Hurricane Isaac made landfall on August 28th in southeastern Louisiana, with winds of 80 mph as a Category 1 hurricane. During landfall, the storm surge overtopped the levees in Plaquemines Parish and flooded entire communities with water as high as roofs.

Fall Precip Outlook

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal precipitation across parts of the South. They are also forecasting below normal precipitation across parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Fall Temp Outlook

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal temperatures across the Plains, Midwest, and for Northeast.

2012-2013 Winter Outlook

NOAA's official Winter Forecast won't come out until October, but here's what The Farmers Almanac is saying: Last winter was the fourth warmest for the contiguous 48 since record keeping began in 1895, with 24 states experiencing below-normal precipitation. For the coming season, the farmers Almanac is predicting that winter will return to some – but not all – areas. They say it will be a “winter of contraries, as if Old Man Winter were cutting the country in half. The eastern half of the country will see plenty of cold and snow. The western half will experience relatively warm and dry conditions. In other words, as in the political arena, the climate this winter will render us a nation divided. They predict that real winter weather will return to areas from the Great Lakes into the Northeast. Most eastern states, as far south as the Gulf Coast, will see snowier than normal conditions and cooler temperatures

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