Climate & Weather
Atmospheric sciences help us understand and predict the weather. Learn about topics such as the seasons, why it snows, and how rainbows are formed.
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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
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
It's sometimes easy to confuse the two, but weather and climate are very different things.
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Ball lightning can float through the air, pass through walls and even kill you. What could it be, and why are scientists finally accepting this strange meteorological phenomenon?
Many cultures have a flood myth -- an ancient story of a deluge that swallowed the Earth. So could a great flood really have happened, and how would we be able to tell?
It may seem like a perfectly reckless display of aeronautical wiles, but guiding an airplane into a swirling beast of a hurricane gleans data that can save lives. The only question is, who were the crazy mavericks who attempted it first?
By Josh Clark
Being struck by lightning is a little more complicated than a sudden collision with a flash of light from the sky, and not all strikes are equally lethal.
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A heavy rain in which frogs come plummeting down isn't a pretty sight, but it happens more often than you'd think. Why do animals sometimes fall from the sky?
By Julia Layton
Sometimes a lightning storm heralds sightings of St. Elmo's Fire. What causes the mysterious glow sailors interpreted as a sign of salvation?
By Julia Layton
Very specific atmospheric conditions and just the right perspective are necessary to see the phenomenon.
Smartphone cameras enable us to take striking pictures of strange atmospheric phenomena-though we don't always know what we're seeing.
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Polar temperatures are changing more rapidly than equatorial ones, making the jet stream slower and wider, and extreme events longer-lasting.
We've all seen shots of meteorologists fighting gale-force winds to report on storms. So just how high can the winds get before the reporters are knocked off their feet?
The danger to the iconic statues is now greater than ever due to erosion and higher-energy wave action caused by climate change.
By Amanda Onion
Red snow? Yes. It totally exists. And while it might look cool, it's not exactly what you want to see from Mother Nature.
By Mark Mancini
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A rainbow's ability to bring joy to just about anyone is probably why they're painted on kids' cheeks at fairs. But, what do rainbows mean? In this article, we'll look at rainbow symbolism from around the world.