Climate & Weather

Spaghetti models plot the potential tracks of tropical storms and hurricanes from different meteorological organizations onto one map. The resulting visual helps project how likely the forecast track will be.

By Patrick J. Kiger

These annual winds blow during Southern California's dangerous dry season, whipping up wildfires that can ravage thousands of acres.

By John Donovan

If the legend is true, at the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold. Does that mean if triple rainbows exist, you'll find three pots of gold?

By Kate Kershner

One of the best things about autumn is watching the leaves change color to fiery hues of red, gold and orange. Some say a rainy summer leads to an extra-vivid leaf show. Is that true?

By Kate Kershner

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?

By Kate Kershner

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.

By Kate Kershner

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?

By Kate Kershner

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.

By Kate Kershner & Austin Henderson

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?

By Allison Troutner

Mammatus clouds, which are made from falling air instead of rising air, are one of the most spectacular cloud formations you'll ever see.

By Jesslyn Shields

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.

By Jesslyn Shields

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?

By Andrew Fisher

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.

By Thomas Harlander

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

Haboobs are giant walls of dust that can come seemingly out of nowhere. How are they created and are they different from sandstorms?

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

Frogs! Fish! Birds! A surprising number of things have rained down from the sky besides water. But how?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

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.

By Marshall Brain, Robert Lamb & Yara Simón

There's often a strong, quite pleasant, smell right after a rain shower. What accounts for petrichor, the 'smell of rain'?

By Kathryn Whitbourne & Desiree Bowie

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.

By Laurie L. Dove

Where is tornado alley and why do so many tornadoes form there?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Every night on the news, the weatherperson reports the UV index. What is the UV index and how is it calculated?