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.
Learn More / Page 5
To paraphrase the band Queen, thunder and lightning are very, very frightening. Especially when you're stuck in a car in the middle of nowhere. But can your rubber tires protect you from a lightning strike?
If you hear thunder during the winter, should you get your snow shovel ready? Find out if thunder in winter means thunder snow is coming.
A double rainbow, man! Just the sight of one can send us babbling into happiness. And why not? Rainbows are beautiful. And two rainbows at the same time? Even better. But just how rare are these colorful arcs?
Advertisement
Can you shower during a thunderstorm? It's long been rumored that taking a nice, warm shower is a dangerous proposition when electricity is coursing through the sky.
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?
Mammatus clouds, which are made from falling air instead of rising air, are one of the most spectacular cloud formations you'll ever see.
Bombogenesis is a phenomenon in which the atmospheric pressure in the middle of a low-pressure system drops rapidly, intensifying a storm and creating a bomb cyclone.
Advertisement
Weather forecasters can tell what the weather will be by reading the barometric pressure, but how does it work?
By Dylan Ris
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?
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.
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
Advertisement
Haboobs are giant walls of dust that can come seemingly out of nowhere. How are they created and are they different from sandstorms?
Frogs! Fish! Birds! A surprising number of things have rained down from the sky besides water. But how?
A tornado is one of those amazing, awesome acts of nature that simply leaves you dumbfounded -- a huge, swirling, 200-mph beast of a storm that appears to have a mind of its own.
There's often a strong, quite pleasant, smell right after a rain shower. What accounts for petrichor, the 'smell of rain'?
Advertisement
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.
Where is tornado alley and why do so many tornadoes form there?