Know the Lingo:

Here are a few autumn 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

The United States had its 12th hottest summer on record. This summer had its share of drought, wildfires, and hot temperatures especially across the West. On September 1st, 30% of the contiguous U.S. was suffering drought conditions.

Washington state's historic wildfires this summer have charred more than 300,000 acres, the largest burning on record for the state. Many families lost their homes and businesses.

There have been 896 tornadoes reported in the U.S. in 2015 according to the Storm Prediction Center, of which at least 488 have been confirmed. The tornado activity has been near record low mostly due to a continuous pattern of a trough in the east, which brought warmer than average temperatures in the west.

The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season started off with Tropical Storm Ana. Ana developed a month before the official start of the season. Despite the unusually early start, an ongoing El Nino event has limited hurricane activity this season.

Fall Precip Outlook

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal precipitation across parts of the Southwest, South and Plains and below normal precipitation across the Pacific Northwest and Northeast.

Fall Temp Outlook

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal temperatures across most of the United States. You can expect below normal temperatures across the Southern Plains.

2015-2016 Winter Outlook

NOAA's official Winter Forecast won't come out until October, but talk of a strong El Niño is possible. A stretch of the Pacific Ocean along the equator is already warmer than normal. Warm waters are pushing east toward the Americas as trade winds that usually push those waters toward Asia weaken. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report predicts a greater than 95 percent chance that El Niño will last through the winter and into the spring and pack above average rain and temperatures.

Now here's what The Old Farmer's Almanac is saying: For much of the U.S., a super cold winter is on tap with below-average winter temperatures. Freezing temperatures will be especially pronounced along most of the Atlantic seaboard, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, and southwestern states. The Northeast, Ohio Valley, northern Plains, and Pacific Northwest should brace for a slew of snow. They're not expecting more snow than usual, but the temperatures outside will definitely be brisk throughout the season.

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