Today I'll be talking about some weird weather events and the science behind them. I'll look at two unusual weather happenings and try to explain the science that was behind them so that they no longer look weird.
First up isn't that strange, but it is unusual, at least in Regina. In June, there were some really weird clouds that showed up after a big thunder storm. These puffy, cotton ball looking clouds are called mammatus clouds. They are usually indicative of an extreme storm, and often extend from the base of cumulonimbus clouds. Aviators are extremely recommended to avoid these clouds, even more than they are recommended to avoid cumulonimbus clouds in general. If you want, you can read the news story here. You might think that this is a little too weird to believe due to the rarity of these clouds appearances, but I assure you, I myself saw them, and if it was faked, there wouldn't have been so many tweets with pictures or the news story on it.
The second event isn't really unusual, but it is very freaky. I am talking about hurricanes, specifically Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy formed on October 22, 2012 and lasted for nine days, ending on the 31st. Classified only as a Class 2 hurricane at its peak, it was still the largest Atlantic hurricane to date. It is ranked as the second-costliest hurricane after hurricane Katrina, causing an estimated 77.43 billion USD in damages. At least 253 people were killed and 15 went missing as the superstorm tore a path through 7 countries. Hurricanes begin their lives as tropical storms. As the storm moves over the ocean, water evaporates and rises until enormous amounts of heated moist are going straight up into the atmosphere. This air feeds the storm, allowing it to grow bigger and faster. What made Hurricane Sandy so destructive was its size. It gained enormous amounts of water when it passed over the warm waters south of Kingston, Jamaica. There are those that would argue that global warming caused Hurricane Sandy to grow in size enough to cause the damages that it did. So, although hurricanes aren't that rare, they are still freaky. If you ever want to read an interesting story on a man-made hurricane destroying the world (fictional of course), check out Skeleton Coast, by Clive Cussler. I found that it helped me understand how hurricanes were formed and how they grow. Anyways, see you for now! My next post will be on Weather Forecasting. (Wait until tomorrow when you