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>>> HI, I'M JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, AND WELCOME TO SCIENCE TREK, THE
WEB SHOW.
AND WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE AT THE
NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER.
JOINING ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WEATHER ARE
ROBYN HEFFERNAN AND VIN CROSBY.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
I APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AND IT'S ALL ABOUT SAFETY, AND I
LOVE WHAT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOES.
>> OK.
LET'S GO TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
>> I AM BAILEY.
I GO TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
>> YES, BAILEY, I LIKE MY JOB VERY MUCH.
IT'S VERY INTERESTING, EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT.
I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND
DIFFERENT FIELDS, AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT THE RISKS AND CONCERNS
OF THE WEATHER ARE COMPARED TO, TO WHAT JOB THEY ARE TRYING TO
DO FOR THE DAY.
SO, AND I HAVE THE, THE SATISFACTION OF KNOWING THAT
THEY ARE USING THE FORECAST THAT WE'RE PRODUCING, AND IT'S
HELPING THEM TO DO THEIR JOB EVERY DAY.
SO, YES, IT'S A VERY FUN JOB.
VERY INTERESTING.
AND, AND EVERY DAY IS EXCITING.
>> GREAT QUESTION, I LOVE MY JOB.
I LOVE DOING THIS.
I LOVE GETTING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, AND I LOVE TALKING
ABOUT WEATHER, OR METEOROLOGIST, AND HELPING TO BREAK DOWN THE
BARRIERS, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN THE WEATHER FORECASTING AND, AND THE
PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.
SO, YEAH, I LOVE MY JOB, AND I AM A WEATHER GEEK AT HEART.
DEEP DOWN INSIDE.
AND SO, I GET ALL INTO THE CLOUDS AND I'M THE GUY OUTSIDE
USUALLY WATCHING, YOU KNOW, THE CLOUDS AND THE STORMS COME IN
AND, AND I'VE BEEN IN HURRICANES, AND IT'S JUST
EXCITING TO BE OUT IN IT.
BUT, I ALSO SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY AND, AND I KNOW I'M A
VALUABLE TOOL IN THAT FACET TO HELP YOU GET THE INFORMATION,
AND TO HELP PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, BE SAFE.
>> HI, I GO TO LIBERTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WHY DO WE HAVE SEASONS?
>> IT ALL HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THE EARTH IS ROTATING
AROUND THE SUN, AND AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR, THE SUN'S
RAYS ARE IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
FOR INSTANCE, IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WHEN IT'S SUMMER, THE
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, IT IS WINTER, ALL BASED ON THE TILT OF
THE AXIS.
EVERYTHING IS PERFECTLY ALIGNED UP, AND THAT EARTH GOES AROUND
THE SUN AT A PERFORATE TO GIVE US THE DIFFERENT SEASONS DURING
THE YEAR.
>> SHAWN WOULD LIKE TO KNOW -- WHY IS THERE WEATHER?
>> THE REASON WE HAVE WEATHER IS ALL DUE TO TEMPERATURE
DIFFERENCES IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
NOW, COLDER AIR IS WHAT WE CALL DENSER, AND IT WEIGHS MORE, AND
IT SINKS DOWN TO THE SURFACE.
NOW, WARMER AIR IS LESS DENSE AND THEREFORE, IT RISES.
WHEN AIR SINKS DOWN TO THE SURFACE, IT CAUSES HIGH
PRESSURE.
WHEN AIR RISES FROM THE SURFACE, IT CAUSES LOW PRESSURE.
AND OUR PRESSURES WANT TO EQUALIZE, AND THEY WANT TO BE
THE SAME ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, AND THEREFORE, WE GET
WIND IN BETWEEN THESE TWO PRESSURE LEVELS.
THE STRONGER THE PRESSURE, THE STRONGER THE WIND, THE STRONGER
THE STORMS, THE STRONGER THE WEATHER.
>> I GO TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
MY QUESTION IS -- WHY THE SNOWFALL?
>> SNOW IS A TYPE OF PRECIPITATION.
THERE IS DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRECIPITATION.
THERE IS RAIN, WHICH WE ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, WATER THAT'S
FALLING OUT OF THE CLOUDS.
THERE COULD BE HAIL THAT HAS COME DOWN AS ICE.
BUT THERE IS ALSO SNOW THAT IS A FORM OF ICE, AS WELL.
AND SNOW IS FORMED IN THE CLOUDS WHEN WATER VAPOR TRANSITIONS
FROM A VAPOR, A GAS STATE, WE KNOW THAT THERE IS SOLIDS,
LIQUIDS, AND GAS, AND IT TRANSITIONS FROM A GAS STATE
RIGHT TO A SOLID STATE AS A SNOWFLAKE, AND THEN IT COMES
DOWN AS SNOW.
>> GARRETT ASKS -- WHAT TEMPERATURE IS LIGHTNING?
>> OH, GREAT QUESTION.
LET'S PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE.
WHEN YOUR MOM TURNS ON THE OVEN TO COOK YOUR LITTLE FROZEN
PIZZA, 450 DEGREES.
THAT'S REAL HOT.
YOU TOUCH THAT, AND YOU ARE GOING TO GET A SERIOUS BURN.
A LIGHTNING BOLT IS 50,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
THAT'S FIVE TIMES HOTTER THAN THE SURFACE OF THE SUN.
TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HEAT.
IT'S THAT HEAT THAT RELEASES THE EXPANSION OF AIR, WHICH FORMS
THUNDER.
TREMENDOUS.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET HIT BY LIGHTNING.
>> MY NAME IS MATTHEW.
I GO TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
IN BOISE.
MY QUESTION IS -- HOW DOES FOG START.
>> HOW DOES FOG START?
WE GET A LOT OF FOG IN THE TREASURE VALLEY, OBVIOUSLY, AND
IT REALLY STARTS FROM THE WATER IN THE ATMOSPHERE THAT WE CAN'T
SEE.
THERE IS WATER IN FRONT OF YOU AND I RIGHT NOW THAT WE CANNOT
SEE.
AND AS THE AIR TEMPERATURE COOLS, TO WHAT'S CALLED THE
DEWPOINT TEMPERATURE, AND IF THERE IS ENOUGH WATER IN THE
ATMOSPHERE, CONDENSATION WILL OCCUR.
IT GOES FROM WHAT WE CAN SEE, TO WHAT WE CAN'T SEE TO WHAT WE CAN
SEE.
WE CAN SEE WATER AND DRINK IT, AND THAT'S THE LIQUID FORM, AND
IN THAT PROCESS, FOG FORMS, IT'S TINY WATER DROPLETS THAT ARE
SUSPENDED.
THE FORM IT FORMS THE THICKER THE FOG WILL BE.
>> WHY DO CLOUDS GET GRAY DURING A STORM AND WHITE NOT DURING A
STORM?
>> WELL, THE COLOR OF THE CLOUD HAS TO DO WITH A COUPLE OF
THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, IT HAS TO DO WITH HOW MUCH WATER IS IN THAT CLOUD.
AND THE MORE WATER YOU HAVE, THE DARKER THE CLOUDS ARE GOING TO
APPEAR.
WHY IS THAT THE CASE?
BECAUSE THE SUN'S RAYS ARE GOING TO BE OBSCURED AS IT COMES
THROUGH THE CLOUD AND YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SEE AS MUCH LIGHT
COME THROUGH BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE BLOCKED BY SOME OF THAT.
YOU CAN DO AN EXPERIMENT AT HOME, IF YOU PUT SOME WATER IN A
GLASS, AND POUR A BIT OF MILK IN THERE AND SHINE THE FLASHLIGHT
THROUGH IT AND SEE HOW MUCH OF THE LIGHT GETS THROUGH.
AND POUR A BIT MORE MILK IN, AND SHINE THE FLASHLIGHT, AND SEE
HOW MUCH OF THE LIGHT GETS THROUGH.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH CLOUDS.
SO, IF YOU SEE DARK, GRAY CLOUDS, THERE IS A LOT OF
MOISTURE IN THOSE CLOUDS.
AND IN FACT, A LOT OF THAT MOISTURE IS IN THE FORM OF WATER
DROPLETS.
AND WILL LIKELY COME DOWN AS RAIN.
ICE IS GOING TO REFLECT LIGHT MORE, SO IT'S GOING TO LOOK
BRIGHTER AND THE CLOUD WILL LOOK WHITER IF YOU HAVE SOME ICE SUCH
AS HAIL OR SNOW THAT'S COMING OUT OF THE CLOUD.
AND FINALLY, THE LAST THING IS THE SHADOW THAT A CLOUD CAN, CAN
CAST.
IF IT'S A LOW CLOUD, LOW TO THE SURFACE, IT CAN CAST A SHADOW
THAT WILL MAKE IT LOOK DARKER.
>> KYLE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, WHY DO HURRICANES COME BETWEEN JUNE
AND NOVEMBER?
>> GOOD QUESTION.
THE MAJORITY OF HURRICANES COME BETWEEN THOSE MONTHS IN THE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, BASICALLY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE WATER
TEMPERATURES ARE THE WARMEST, AND THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE THE
LIGHTER WINDS AND, AND A VERY LARGE COLUMN OF AIR.
HIGH PRESSURE KIND OF SETS UP IN AREAS AROUND THE OCEANS AND, AND
TYPICALLY, THE ATLANTIC OCEANS OVER TO THE GULF COAST AREAS AND
DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN LATITUDES OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN, SO BECAUSE
OF THE WARMER WATER TEMPERATURES, WHERE IT GETS OVER
80 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR HIGHER, AND SOME OF THE TEMPERATURES IN
THE GULF OF MEXICO GET OVER 90 DEGREES, AND THAT, THAT IS
REALLY KEY TO THE FORMATION OF THE TROPICAL STORMS, AND YOU
NEED THE LIGHT WINDS.
WINDS THAT CUT DOWN THUNDERSTORMS, NOT FRIENDLY FOR
HURRICANE DEVELOPMENT.
>> I'M SORRY BUT WE HAVE RUN OUT OF TIME.
MY THANKS TO ROBYN AND VIN FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS, AND --
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT
WE LOVE.
>> AND THANKS TO THE FOLKS HERE AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FOR HOSTING US.
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WEATHER, CHECK OUT THE WEATHER
AREA ON THE SCIENCE TREK WEBSITE.
YOU WILL FIND FACTS, LINKS, AND GAMES AND OUR WEATHER BROADCAST
SHOW AND LOTS MORE.
AND EVERY WEEK, CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR THE LATEST SCIENCE NEWS
FOR KIDS.
ALL AT IDAHOPTV.ORG.
THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR SCIENCE TREK, THE WEB SHOW. 177 00:08:04,166 Captioning Performed By LNS Captioning www.LNScaptioning.com