Category Archives: General Info

25 Mar

Dr. Witiw Aviation Weather Expert

General Info, Weather Expert, Weather for PilotsWith 0 comments

Dr. Mike Witiw Aviation Weather Expert has just accepted a position at The University of the Turkish Aeronautical Association (UTAA)and will have the title Professor Doctor there starting in February 2016. Dr. Witiw will continue as Associate Professor Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide (meteorology, exploration in physics, mathematics-algebra through calculus, graduate course in statistics). Dr. Witiw

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11 Mar

How Midwestern blizzards are born

General Info, Poor VisibilityWith 0 comments

How Midwestern blizzards are born. A Midwestern blizzard, the most common type, is born when a cyclonic, deep low spins next to a very cold, very high-pressured anticyclonic Canadian air mass while it pushes southeasterly into the upper Midwest. If the pressure gradient between the two air masses tightens, wind speeds increase. Moisture in the

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20 Nov

What is Forensic Meteorology?

General Info, Historical Weather DataWith 0 comments

What’s in the past is in the past, so why focus on yesterday’s weather? Understanding what the weather was yesterday, last week, or even farther back in time can be immensely useful for a variety of purposes. Insurance companies solving disputes, attorneys using scientific testimony in court, airlines and government rely on forensic meteorologists to

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08 Oct

The Life Cycle of Hail

General InfoComments are off

Hail originates as tiny cloud droplets with diameters of 0.02 mm. After large masses of these droplets are sucked into updrafts, they elevate to heights that are much colder than the surface. Their rapid transport and the lack of ice nuclei in their paths cause them to cool below 0°C without freezing (supercool.) Soon, additional

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03 Sep

Tornadogenesis: How Tornadoes Form

General Info, Historical Weather Data, Microburst, Weather ConditionsComments are off

Before tornadoes, there exist mesocyclones: giant, rotating columns of low-pressure air that sink below the height of their surrounding cloud basins. Sometimes subsidiary vortices called tornadoes spawn under them. The already swiftly-moving air circulating above is restrained into a smaller diameter and, due to the conservation of angular momentum, wind speed is increased. If the

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