Meteorology (Weather)/Questions Answered by Expert Alan Strealy
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Little Ice Age?/How Thick is a Snow Storm? | 1/8/2010 |
| Q: I am 55 years old and can well handle any level of answer, average or complex. I'll try to ask two ... A: I was unable to find an exact reason for the Little Ice Age. Most of what I was able to find leaned ... | |
| meteorology | 1/1/2010 |
| Q: I have been in Lieberia for a couple of months now and I haven't seen any tornodoes but I have seen ... A: Thunderstorms are formed by rapidly rising air. This can be due to frontal passage, terrain or ... | |
| science | 3/26/2009 |
| Q: What are two factors that influence weather A: Two major factors that influence weather is the tilt of the earth on its axis and moisture. Based ... | |
| Question about the ozone layer | 3/25/2009 |
| Q: In the movie, Knowing, a giant solar flare destroys the ozone layer in the atmosphere. Right ... A: Very short answer is no. The ozone layer acts as a filter. It helps scatter the highest level of ... | |
| Wind incorporated into falling object's equation of motion | 3/24/2009 |
| Q: I've been searching for so long now that I'm starting to get desperate/frustrated. Any help would ... A: I do not know of anything that is specifically tailored to your application. Coriolis was only ... | |
| Wind incorporated into falling object's equation of motion | 3/24/2009 |
| Q: I've been searching for so long now that I'm starting to get desperate/frustrated. Any help would ... A: I think you my be looking at it from the wrong angle. The effect you are looking for seems to be ... | |
| Wind incorporated into falling object's equation of motion | 3/20/2009 |
| Q: I've been searching for so long now that I'm starting to get desperate/frustrated. Any help would ... A: To incorporate wind into the drop of your object, you will need to add the force into your equation ... | |
| aviation weather | 3/18/2009 |
| Q: i am studying for my ppl, i am struggling with the meteorology exam, do you have any pointers that ... A: The following link is to a web-site that was created and is maintained by a college professor who ... | |
| temperature inversions | 3/11/2009 |
| Q: Why does an inversion put a 'lid' on rising air, preventing it from rising any further? A: An inversion places an area of less dense air over an area of more dense air. This difference does ... | |
| wind direction | 3/10/2009 |
| Q: I hear the term WSW, NNE ect. when the weather person is giving wind direction. Can you clearify ... A: What they are referring to is one of two things. Really amount to nearly the same thing. The first ... | |
| SHUT EYE | 3/5/2009 |
| Q: I was wondering would you please explain to me: why does hot weather make us sleepy? Thanks A: There are several reasons for feeling tired in the heat. As the air gets warmer your body has to ... | |
| Science | 3/4/2009 |
| Q: and I am working on an ISP project and I was wondering if I could interview you and ask you 15 ... A: Alan Strealy not directly related to global warming. 1. Global warming is real. It is as real as ... | |
| humidity? | 3/1/2009 |
| Q: why is the eastern half of the US more humid than the western half. I understand about the desert ... A: You have to look at how air masses move. They move generally from west to east. Now when a parcel ... | |
| cruising in the Pacific Ocean | 3/1/2009 |
| Q: We are planning on taking a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands and then from there to Ensenada ... A: There is Typhoon season in the Pacific. Same thing different name. Due to the current it normally ... | |
| sunset | 2/26/2009 |
| Q: Why are evening skies typically redder(sunsets)than dawn skies? (Air temp, rotation of earth?, etc?) A: I was unable to find any hard and fast facts to support your statement. I do not think that it is ... | |
| may 2009 weather | 2/25/2009 |
| Q: I'm planning a bridal shower for may 17, 2009. I need to get an idea of the weather for that time so ... A: By looking up the city you are planning your shower at you should be able to find the climatological ... | |
| cold [density] centers, horizontal | 2/24/2009 |
| Q: Yes, hello. My question is, .. Where - exactly, on the broader, surface-level analysis chart ... A: When looking at a surface chart to find the center look at the direction and speed of the wind. ... | |
| clouds | 2/23/2009 |
| Q: Are there more clouds in the sky during the winter? If so, why? If warmer air can hold more ... A: Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, so it must be raised higher and/or cooled more in ... | |
| meteorology, health, physics? | 1/10/2009 |
| Q: In general, and not limited to weather, what are the effects of high pressure? In looking at a ... A: It is possible that they had rain that day, but it is very unlikely. There was a much better chance ... | |
| Periodicity in clouds | 12/30/2008 |
| Q: Strealy, I am an college biology major with an interest in chemistry and have a question about ... A: You have to remember that the atmosphere is a fluid. And just like a stream there are areas that ... | |
| question about future weather | 12/29/2008 |
| Q: I am planning an outdoor wedding this upcoming year, I live in south east Michigan, but the wedding ... A: Found some good information that might help with your planning. ... | |
| coldest period in winter | 12/21/2008 |
| Q: Why is it that the shortest day (21st December)is not in the middle of the usual coldest period of ... A: The earth and the water are capable of retaining heat. It takes a while for the heat to dissipate. ... | |
| Shear | 11/18/2008 |
| Q: Hey, I was researching the tornado that was in Southeastern NY on June 16, 2008. Basically several ... A: Some time all it takes is just a little bit to upset the balance. Based on your description it ... | |
| SO HOT | 11/16/2008 |
| Q: I was wondering would you please explain to me: why does hot weather make us tied? Thanks A: There are several reasons for feeling tired in the heat. As the air gets warmer your body has to ... | |
| Lightening | 11/15/2008 |
| Q: Where does Lightening come from? School teacher says the ground, the internet says mostly sky? ... A: Lightning is an electrostatic discharge, similar to you zapping yourself after dragging your feet ... | |
| sunset and following day weather | 11/10/2008 |
| Q: can you use the color of the sky at sunset to predict weather? what will the sunset tell you about ... A: Got allot of small hits but nothing that contained all the stories in one place, till I hit ... | |
| Wind & Winter | 10/24/2008 |
| Q: After surfing some science sites, I understood that wind is made by the movement of air particles ... A: The easiest way to look at it is like a fan. Wind blows outward from cold high pressure, the closer ... | |
| Tornados | 10/23/2008 |
| Q: How is a Tornado started? A: In large thunderstorm clouds, often referred to as cells, there is strong upward and downward ... | |
| rainbow cloud | 10/18/2008 |
| Q: Today was a brilliant 31 degrees Celsius with not a drop of rain and hardly any clouds to be seen ... A: Rainbows are caused by the scattering of light. As you break up white light it allows you to see ... | |
| Cold front | 10/12/2008 |
| Q: I am looking for a translation for a German word which describes unsettled weather which occurs ... A: I was unable to find any direct connection. However, I think I may know what they are describing. ... | |
| Atmospheric explosions? | 8/24/2008 |
| Q: I hope you are able to answer this question. I have been looking online for an answer now for a ... A: It sounds like a major electrical storm. There are many different types of lightning and you may ... | |
| cold up there | 8/22/2008 |
| Q: why are higher altitudes colder? A: There are a couple of theories as to why it is colder the higher you get. The first is as you get ... | |
| lightning strikes | 7/3/2008 |
| Q: I clean a house which is built on ledge - the interior of the entry actually consists entirely of ... A: It is possible that a strike could have caused the issue. You will have to check and see if there ... | |
| lightning | 6/23/2008 |
| Q: Last night we had a thunderstorm that woke my wife and I at about 2:00. There were violent lightning ... A: What you have described is an almost perfect example of BALL Lighting. You have seen a fairly rare ... | |
| Explain the diffrence. | 6/20/2008 |
| Q: I have lived on long island, New York an now in Portland Oregon and i have noticed sever differences ... A: Unless you are in the west hills, the majority of Portland Oregon is at or below 200 feet above sea ... | |
| forecast | 6/9/2008 |
| Q: What is the supposed forecast for Saturday, July 19 of 2008 in Saint Paul, MN? ANSWER: Normally ... A: How nice it is will be very subjective. Some people are melting at 83 degrees and others don't ... | |
| The Wind | 6/6/2008 |
| Q: I've lived in the SF Bay Area all my life, and Sonoma County for 10 years. I don't ever remember a ... A: I am running one handed so bear with me. The high winds in the area are most likely due to high ... | |
| Barometric pressure causes headaches | 5/29/2008 |
| Q: I have experienced migraine headaches related to the weather, and was told it was due to the change ... A: This is going to be a very subjective form of measurement. Because the shift that triggers a ... | |
| Persistant weather patterns | 4/29/2008 |
| Q: Given that persistant weather patterns exist,(Juipiter's Bloody Red Eye) would it be possible for a ... A: There are persistent weather patterns here on earth. The Sahara, Gobi and Mojave deserts are a ... | |
| moon | 3/17/2008 |
| Q: This is sunday march 16. I looked up at the moon tonight and there was big circle around it. Can you ... A: A ring around the moon means that there are ice crystals causing refraction of the moon light. ... | |
| temperatures and air masses | 3/15/2008 |
| Q: Okay so can you explain to me how an autumn anticyclone can bring record low temps and continental ... A: An anticyclone is a high pressure (cold) system. As it moves out of the area its clockwise rotation ... | |
| clipper syatem | 3/12/2008 |
| Q: what is a clipper system A: A clipper system is a fast moving low pressure system. Its normal movement is from northwest to ... | |
| tropical air masses and heat equator | 3/10/2008 |
| Q: How does the movement of the heat equator influence the movement of air masses, winds and pressure ... A: The movement of the heat equator is part of a global weather scheme. It is has no direct influence ... | |
| earth science | 3/8/2008 |
| Q: what do the rock cycle and the water cycle have in common? A: The water cycle is part of the rock cycle. Water seeps through the rock pulling out minerals and ... | |
| Earth and Surface | 3/2/2008 |
| Q: If the earth were not rotating, how would the wind blow with respect to centers of high and low ... A: Without any rotation and the effects of terrain the winds would blow directly from high pressure to ... | |
| lightning | 2/28/2008 |
| Q: how does it lightning?and why? and how do clouds form? A: Lightning is an electrostatic discharge. It requires allot of movement in order to produce a large ... | |
| x-project | 2/27/2008 |
| Q: i am doing a expiement for my projeect and i was wondering if you could help. See we have to have ... A: I have experience in the meteorology field, but I am not a meteorologist. I am a military weather ... | |
| Atmosphere? | 2/27/2008 |
| Q: I've done research and can't seem to find the answers for the following questions and was hoping you ... A: When O2 first arrived depends on which idea you subscribe to. Based on the bible it arrived when ... | |
| dew point | 2/25/2008 |
| Q: what does dew point mean? If the temperature is 35 degrees and the dew point drops to 28, and the ... A: There are a couple of reasons that might be. First is that you had freezing rain. When the rain ... | |
| 5th grade science | 2/25/2008 |
| Q: I am a 5th grader and need to know what happens when air warms and what causes weather? Thank you A: As air warms up the molecules increase in speed causing it to expand. With the same amount of ... | |
| dew point | 2/23/2008 |
| Q: what does dew point mean? If the temperature is 35 degrees and the dew point drops to 28, and the ... A: Dew point is the point that the air will become saturated if the current amount of water vapor ... | |
| lightning | 2/21/2008 |
| Q: My 8th graders posed an excellent question that I was unable to answer... if lightning developes as ... A: Lightning is an electrostatic discharge. It requires allot of movement in order to produce a large ... | |
| Light | 2/8/2008 |
| Q: Can you explain why it is still light in Florida when it is dark in NY? I would have thought that ... A: Actually, it will vary by the season. Due to the tilt of the earth on its axis Florida will have ... | |
| frost | 2/5/2008 |
| Q: While driving from cold air into much warmer air, the frost forms on the windshield of the car. Does ... A: The frost or condensation, depending on conditions, will form on the outside of the windshield. If ... | |
| Earth's Axis | 1/25/2008 |
| Q: How would the seasons be affected where I live,Florida, if the tilt of the earth's axis is increased ... A: The greater the tilt the greater the weather extremes. With an increased degree of lean everywhere ... | |
| Humidity in the Home | 1/18/2008 |
| Q: I have a Digital BionAire Humidty/Temperature gauge that I have been looking at during this last ... A: The air in your house in comes in from the outside, so an increase in R/H is to be expected during ... | |
| Planning for outdoor event | 1/16/2008 |
| Q: My sister is getting married and we would like to have an outdoor garden bridal shower on May 17, ... A: Trying to predict that far out you will have to use climatology. It will give you an idea of what ... | |
| frosty mornings | 1/13/2008 |
| Q: My qestion is On a frosty morning after dawn it gets colder than before sunrise. An example: During ... A: The coldest part of the day is normally dawn or just after. The sun warms the earth's surface ... | |
| Feelings of coldness | 1/13/2008 |
| Q: I live in Uzbekistan where the climate is dry. They tell me a dry cold is colder than a wet one why ... A: Moisture is a weather moderator. Near the ocean the temperature changes are much smaller than ... | |
| Lightning | 1/10/2008 |
| Q: My question is where does lightning come from? I need to know if it comes from the ground to the ... A: Lightning is an electronic discharge of static electricity. (The same way that you can get shocked ... | |
| Dew Point | 1/6/2008 |
| Q: When I go to weather dot com I get my local weather. It shows, dew point, humidity, chance of rain, ... A: The dew point is the temperature that the air must be cooled to in order for it to reach saturation. ... | |
| Wind-Chill Factor | 1/3/2008 |
| Q: Let's sy that the temperature is x, the wind speed y, and the wind-chill z. If I understand, z is ... A: Z is based on our understanding of heat transfer and how it impacts the human body. Wind chill is ... | |
| Salty snow | 12/16/2007 |
| Q: I am from Michigan. We receive lake effect snow from the moisture being pulled from lake Michigan. ... A: Snow produced my ocean moisture will not contain salt directly. Snow is produced from water vapor, ... | |
| Barometric trends | 12/13/2007 |
| Q: Alan, I am trying to find a quick reference chart to hand to my students so that they can understand ... A: I could not find a millibar chart, however the following link will explain how to do the conversion ... | |
| weather | 12/12/2007 |
| Q: I was wondering when it is going to get cold on Vancouver island here again. We had some snow on ... A: Based on where you are at, there is a chance of another cold snap. You will have to watch for ... | |
| Sublimation | 12/11/2007 |
| Q: I had heard that in winter snow will sublime directly into water vapor. If that is true, from where ... A: What is actually happening is both processes. Both melting and sublimation will happen at the same ... | |
| Sublimation | 12/10/2007 |
| Q: I had heard that in winter snow will sublime directly into water vapor. If that is true, from where ... A: Normally, sublimation will occur on sunny days. The incoming solar radiation will provide the ... | |
| windy city ranking | 11/16/2007 |
| Q: please? i live in Cape Town and our South Easterlies can be pretty fierce. any pointers much ... A: According to National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) LOCATION ... | |
| different uses | 11/11/2007 |
| Q: my friend said if i answer this question correct she will not bug me!! The beaufort scale is a ... A: Five uses for the Beaufor Wind Scale. Well, it can be used for avaition weather observation. If ... | |
| weather phenomenon in the 1950's | 11/9/2007 |
| Q: I was told about a weather phenomenon that happened during one winter in central Texas sometime in ... A: Actually, your best bet would be to look at the location of where it was supposed to have occurred. ... | |
| Defining a Rainfall Event | 11/8/2007 |
| Q: I am working on a project where we want to determine the number of rainfall events that our ... A: For reporting purposes of aviation, any stop in the rain is reportable by special observation. So, ... | |
| El nino | 11/5/2007 |
| Q: Can you clearly explain what kelvin and Rossby waves are and how they affect El Nino? A: The following link should explain all that you want to know about Rossby waves. ... | |
| moon | 10/29/2007 |
| Q: On Saturday 27th October, I was outside and saw something that I think is a very strange occurrence. ... A: The ring is due to high level, upper atmospheric, ice. Normally, the tiny pieces of ice that cause ... | |
| weather | 10/23/2007 |
| Q: What would weather be like on an island in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. What would the ... A: It depends on how far north the island is. The closer to the equator the warmer and moister it will ... | |
| Green Glow around object lightning struck | 9/28/2007 |
| Q: Is there an explanation for why a house appeared to become enveloped with a green glow as it was ... A: An electrostatic corona with out a lightning strike poses minimal risk to structures, plants and ... | |
| tsunamis | 9/27/2007 |
| Q: I am in the 5th grade and we are learning about tsunamis in reading class. How often does Florida ... A: Tsunamis are the result of a seismic underwater event(earthquake or volcanic eruption). You are ... | |
| Weather issue | 9/24/2007 |
| Q: I was curious if you have ever heard of a meteorological issue known as a "haboom"? I am trying to ... A: I could not find a haboom but I was able to find a haboob. Main Entry: ha·boob Pronunciation: ... | |
| cold front clearing out the weather | 9/9/2007 |
| Q: Often in aviation I hear pilots say that a cold front comes through and clears out the weather. ... A: Actually, what is happening is the due to what is behind the cold front. Behind the cold front is a ... | |
| drought | 9/7/2007 |
| Q: Is the map I see on the U.S. Drought Monitor as scary as it looks or is that "normal"? i.e. Is ... A: It all depends on what kind of numbers that they are using. If they are only using montly, then it ... | |
| Course in Meteorology | 9/6/2007 |
| Q: Is the Linear speed of Earth's rotation in Fullerton, CA less than or greater than 356 m s -1 ? ... A: The following link will explain all you need to be able to calculate angular velocity. ... | |
| lightning | 8/28/2007 |
| Q: what causes lightning and where does it come from A: Lightning is an electrostatic discharge. If you have ever rubbed your feet on the carpet and the ... | |
| Barometric pressure | 8/17/2007 |
| Q: I have been doing a study for a while regarding the connection between bi-polarity and barometric ... A: If you are looking for a consistent area of low pressure, the you will have to look at upper ... | |
| snow patterns from hurricanes | 8/15/2007 |
| Q: We live in Jackson, WY, and remember what an amazing winter we had after Katrina and all those ... A: Right now there is not any research out there as to if there is a correlation between the two. If ... | |
| intro to geography (college level) | 7/29/2007 |
| Q: what is a pressure gradient and how does this effect our weather? A: Pressure gradient is the difference in pressure over a given area. It can be read similar to a ... | |
| Rainbows | 7/11/2007 |
| Q: When driving along and a rainbow is visible from the roadside and seems to travel with the car, is ... A: The following links are good breakdowns of rainbows. The second one is a very detailed and indepth ... | |
| Severe Weather | 5/9/2007 |
| Q: Hey Alan, It would be great if you can help me with these few questions that have been bothering ... A: The following is a good link that explains the Mesoscale Convective Complex its formation and ... | |
| I need to know | 4/29/2007 |
| Q: How does the weather cause and affect the colors of sunsets and sunrise? A: Actually, weather does not cause the colors of sunset/sunrise. It is due to scattering of the ... | |
| Greenhouse gases | 4/21/2007 |
| Q: I would like to know more about where samples for greenhouse gas determinations , esp. CO2, are ... A: To my knowledge the primary green house gas is CO. Since the atmosphere is a fluid it is in a ... | |
| canadian forecasting - env, canada vs. weather network | 4/20/2007 |
| Q: I am a bit confused about the fact that these two forecasting bodies provide such differnet forecast ... A: Forecasting boils down to data interpretation. Depending on the source of the education and the ... | |
| El Nino | 2/4/2007 |
| Q: Could you please explain the phenomenon of El Nino? I have seen it mentioned in several news reports ... A: El Nino is a what happens when the primary current in the Pacific Ocean is weakened. When that ... | |
| circle around the moon | 1/3/2007 |
| Q: My family saw something unusual last night, 01/01/07, and we wondered what it was. We live in ... A: It seems that you saw a halo. I have seen one before that encircled the moon with a very clear gap. ... | |
| Moutain-Valley temp. variance | 12/11/2006 |
| Q: Mr Strealy- I've been peeking in on NOAA's data on the Great Smoky Mountains for some time now. ... A: When you look at the elevation it should help you understand. The mountains stick up allot higher ... | |
| Thunder storms. | 8/2/2006 |
| Q: First off you're a meteorologist, right? Secondly must there be lightning for there to be the ... A: I am a weather forecaster, not a meteorologist. They can tell you what all went into what is making ... | |
| Difference between a tidal wave and tidal bore | 7/31/2006 |
| Q: How can I explain the difference between a tidal wave and a tidal bore to fifth grade students? I ... A: Well, for starters you can explain that the term "tidal wave" is a mis-nomer. I know several years ... | |
| Sea Level | 7/26/2006 |
| Q: Yes, I went to keesler, I don't remember them ever mentioning positive lightning. Oh, all the global ... A: One part that the global warming are talking about it the melting of large ice bodies. This melting ... | |
| Waves | 7/26/2006 |
| Q: I heard all weather on earth is caused by waves and in a type 1 civilization, we would be able to ... A: The problem with controling the waves is the conservation of energy. If you stop a storm over the ... | |
| tropical air mass | 6/4/2006 |
| Q: tropical masses DO NOT; [which of the following? have warm/moist air or have strong winds in the ... A: * Tropical air masses by their very nature are warm. A maritime air mass will be moist while a ... | |
| lightning | 5/30/2006 |
| Q: When I was younger, I witnessed something with lightning that I have never seen again. The sky had ... A: Based on what you have said it is likely that the angle of the sun allowed you to see farther than ... | |
| cooler at the coast? | 5/30/2006 |
| Q: I had a bit of an argument with friends over this: When we were going to the beach over the ... A: Well, the explanation that you are looking for is that land heats up faster than water. It takes ... | |
| temperature at dawn | 5/18/2006 |
| Q: Why does it seem that the overnight temperature reaches its lowest point just when the sun rises in ... A: Actually, in a normal situation that is exactly what happens. The coldest temperature overnight ... | |
| Hurricanes causing early labor?? | 5/6/2006 |
| Q: What are the real facts surrounding the theory that hurricanes (barometric pressure) can cause early ... A: You are getting into theories. Like why you should not fly after a certain point in your pregnancy. ... | |
| meteorology definitions | 5/5/2006 |
| Q: What is the difference between isolated thunderstorms and scattered thunderstorms A: It is very subjective. Isolated or scattered depends on who is looking at it. To one person 3 ... | |
| Weather Maps | 4/19/2006 |
| Q: When I go to my favorite websites to look at current weather conditions in the US I can pretty much ... A: The purple line that you see on the map is an occluded front. It happens when a cold front moves ... | |
Meteorology (Weather)
Answers by Expert:
Alan Strealy
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I am great at breaking down complicated weather phenomenon into readily understood formats. Based on the education level of the individual asking the question, the explanation will be more complex at the higher grade levels.
Experience
Past/Present Clients
MCAS Futenma (Japan), MCAS El Toro (CA), MCAS Mirimar (CA), MCAGCC Twentynine Palms (CA), MCAS Beaufort (SC)
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.