Atmospheric Science
The atmosphere is the key to life on Earth. This thin layer is what protects us from the hostile environment of space. Here you can learn all about the atmospheric sciences.
How Is Barometric Pressure Measured and Why?
First Data-collecting Weather Drones Set to Launch in the U.S.
You Have a Thermostat, But Do You Need a Hygrometer, Too?
Can China control the weather?
Using the Enhanced Fujita Scale to Rate Tornado Destruction
Tornado Alley: Where the Worst Twisters Form in the U.S.
What Is a Bomb Cyclone?
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Home runs are on the rise in Major League Baseball, and scientists say that climate change is responsible for the uptick in huge hits.
Bluebirds symbolize optimism, happiness and hope for the future. For skiers, a "bluebird day" bodes well for a great day on the slopes, but hunters and anglers may as well stay home.
California has experienced unprecedented rain lately, but the state is still in a drought. So why can't the rain falling now be saved for later?
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Fresh snow muffles ambient sound immediately after it falls, but the quiet doesn't last very long.
Picture a hay bale, a paper towel roll, a roll of sod or a flaky doughnut. Now picture it made out of snow. That's a snow roller.
By Dylan Ris
Not to be confused with sleet, graupel is actually an interesting mix of snow and ice. But it's not hail. Graupel, get to know it.
A geomagnetic storm could cause a spectacular aurora borealis Aug. 18 and 19 over parts of the continental United States, as far south as Illinois.
By Sarah Gleim
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Mammatus clouds, which are made from falling air instead of rising air, are one of the most spectacular cloud formations you'll ever see.
The year 2020 saw some of the biggest lightning flashes ever recorded by humankind, called "megaflashes." But how much bigger is a megaflash than a regular bolt of lightning?
By Carrie Tatro
They're an odd enough sight in the sky to make you do a double take. Ready for the "super cool" explanation behind hole-punch clouds?
The goal of a chief heat officer is a big one: to mitigate the fallout of climate change, particularly as it relates to unfair distribution of risk based on income and social status.
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Atmospheric rivers, also known as "Pineapple Express" storms, are key to the global water cycle, particularly in the western United States. But with a warming climate, their intensity could get much worse.
The balance between Earth's incoming and outgoing energy is known as its "energy budget" and the climate is determined by these energy flows. The balance is out of whack and that's not good.
Iceland? The North Pole? Antarctica? There are a lot of super cold places on this planet, but which one can claim bragging rights as the coldest place on Earth?
By Mark Mancini
In 2014, scientists observed a space hurricane for the first time; they reported their findings this year. But what's a space hurricane — and do we on Earth have to worry about with them?
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Dusk is a beautiful time of day. So is twilight. But when does one turn into the other? And did you know there were three versions of each?
It might seem that the constant rushing of water over a falls would keep it from freezing, but that isn't always the case. Check out the science behind the phenomenon of the frozen waterfall.
By Mark Mancini
These annual winds blow during Southern California's dangerous dry season, whipping up wildfires that can ravage thousands of acres.
By John Donovan
While most of the rest of the world has switched to Celsius, the U.S. continues to use the Fahrenheit temperature scale, apparently out of simple inertia.
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The simple explanation is you have to be in just the right spot and the conditions have to be perfect for you to see the entire 360 degrees.
By Mark Mancini
Auroras are one of the best parts about living on a planet with a global magnetic field. And they still puzzle space weather experts.
Whenever a winter is exceptionally cold, the term "polar vortex" gets thrown around, causing many to wonder if it is a new weather phenomenon. Actually, the polar vortex is always with us – just usually with a lower profile.
Rock salt is the go-to for melting ice on the roadways. But why?
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You may never see it happen live, but if you do, consider yourself lucky. Because this meteorological phenomenon doesn't happen very often.
By Mark Mancini
This ice-age asteroid crater isn't just the first of its kind. It may also be the smoking gun about what triggered the Younger Dryas, one of the most well-known examples of abrupt climate change.
By Mark Mancini