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>>Cameron: The prairie is not a land flat and unbecoming
but a land fruitful of possibilities. It is the foundation of our existence for
many centuries to come. The prairie is the game board on which the
skies above influence the land and the future of its people.
>>Cameron: Illinois' Skies is a quarterly magazine that
features stories about the skies and landscapes of Illinois, the Midwest, the Nation, and
the world. >>Chris:
You may not realize it, but this is the story about you, the resident of the Illinoisan
landscape. >>Cameron:
Whether your family has been here for generations or you just moved from another region, your
story was and continues to be shaped by the environment.
>>Chris: As little ones, we have looked up at the sky
and with our imagination, animals or creatures become visible to us.
But their true identity comes from an amateur meteorologist from the early 1800s.
What are those puffy things in the sky? >>Cameron:
Storm systems bring us either a little precipitation or a surplus of precipitation.
Which storm tracks influence our skies here in Illinois?
>>Chris: While some of those storms track across Illinois,
there are some seasons when the storm track simply misses us altogether pushing us into
a drought. Although we are not in a drought this season, California has suffered an exceptional
drought. Cameron and Nate Page traveled to Fresno,
California to research the affect drought has on their region.
>>Cameron: And finally, we have heard many terms thrown
around this winter season but one has dominated the media, Polar Vortex.
The phrase is truly scientific but somewhere along the multitude of stories, we have heard
this season, it has become confusing. We will define in an easy way what the phrase
means here on "Illinois' Skies." [music playing]
>>Cameron: Chris, when I was young I used to lie on the
ground staring at the sky. My imagination swirled with images of animals
of all sorts or even a human's head with a big nose.
>>Chris: Does your imagination still run wild when
you look up and see clouds like that in the sky?
>>Cameron: I have to concentrate really hard because
I know what those clouds are after many years of teaching clouds to students.
Although we all see clouds as different things, one thing is for sure, they all have specific
scientific names created in the early nineteenth century by one man, Luke Howard.
>>Cameron: In 1804, Luke Howard, an amateur meteorologist
from England, developed a classification scheme based on the appearance of the cloud formation.
There are essentially three basic cloud forms-stratiform, cumuliform, and cirrus.
These forms are defined from the Latin terms that describes their appearance in the sky.
For example, stratus in Latin is translated as layered.
Clouds that exhibit a layering effect will contain the root, stratus.
Cumuliform describes the cloud's appearance as being stacked.
Finally, cirrus clouds are defined as 'hair-like.' There are three cloud types that are similar
to the basic cloud forms; however, their added features give them a separate definition.
Clouds that have precipitation are given the Latin prefix, 'nimbo-,' or suffix, '-nimbus.'
For cumulus clouds that have vertical extent and have precipitation, they are labeled as
'cumulonimbus.' Stratus clouds that have precipitation are called 'nimbostratus.'
Each cloud type is categorized according to the basic form very low to high altitude.
Learning the different cloud types is relatively easy if you notice the patterns, size and
height. It is important to remember that these are
basic cloud types and it is possible that nature can provide several different cloud
combinations within a single day or even hour. Stratus clouds exhibit a layered appearance
due to the gradual incline of relatively weak winds associated with an oncoming warm front.
As the wind blows, cloud droplets are spread across the sky giving a layered appearance.
Stratus clouds are typical of the stratiform definition, layered, at the low altitude.
It is the cloud that provides for a 'gloomy day.'
Altostratus clouds are found within the middle altitude.
When the Sun shines behind this cloud, the cloud appears milky and fibrous.
Cirrostratus clouds are found in the higher altitudes.
A halo around the Sun or Moon can be used to identify this cloud.
This cloud is mostly made of ice crystals and gives the appearance of a very thin film
with the disc of the Sun or Moon extremely distinct.
Cumulus clouds are just as they are defined, large white puffy clouds. These clouds are
typical of a fair weather day. Altocumulus clouds are smaller than cumulus
and often positioned in rows. These clouds can often display a 'mackerel' sky.
Cirrocumulus clouds are the smallest of this class of cloud and arrange themselves in rows
in the higher altitudes. Cirrus clouds, defined as 'hair-like,' are
clouds that exhibit a streakiness as if they were pulled apart like cotton candy.
There is only one cloud associated with this form, which is only found in the higher altitudes.
Nimbostratus clouds are clouds that look like the status cloud but produce precipitation.
This cloud is found in the very low altitudes. The only cloud that extends from the low altitude
to the high altitude is considered the 'King of All Clouds,' the cumulonimbus.
This cloud often exhibits an 'anvil' top and produces thunderstorms.
Meteorologists and weather enthusiasts use cloud classification to understand how the
immediate atmospheric environment is evolving and can determine a general forecast.
For example, stratiform clouds are commonly associated with an oncoming warm front. if
you see cirrostratus clouds and, then, altostratus and stratus move in, you can generally expect
warmer temperatures and a chance of rain showers in the next few hours.
When the region experiences thunderstorms ahead of a cold front, you can generally expect
cooler temperatures and clear skies with a few cirrus clouds the next day.
Clouds are a great tool in forming a basic forecast of what is to come.
The next time you need the forecast, look up at the sky and read what the clouds are
telling you. In most cases you will be correct!
We have heard the term, "Alberta Clipper," or, simply, "Clipper."
What does it mean? While storm tracks take different paths across
the eastern United States, each one has a unique character based on speed of development
and the amount of moisture available. Chris takes us on a journey of the 3 major
storm tracks that influence Illinois' skies. >>Chris:
Storm tracks are the routes that storm systems travel upon from the Rockies to the Atlantic
Ocean. The speed of these tracks depends upon the
amount of moisture available to them from a major source of water, such as the Gulf
of Mexico. The closer the track is to one of these large
bodies of water, the slower it moves. Consider this simple example.
If you picked up two empty 5-gallon buckets, how fast could you run?
Now try to do the same thing only with two 5-gallon buckets full of water each weighing
roughly 40 pounds. How fast would your run now?
You guessed it much slower. From this simple example, a storm system that
tracks furthest away from a source of water will develop and move quickly while a storm
system closer to the Gulf of Mexico a major source of atmospheric moisture would develop
and move much, much slower. Let's start with the storm track that is furthest
from the Gulf of Mexico, which develops quickly and moves fast the Alberta Clipper.
Clippers are born in southern Canada hence the use of “Alberta” in their name and
travel through the Great Lakes, and continue-on towards the Northeast.
Clippers are typically known for their fast movement due to their lack of moisture those
empty 5-gallon buckets. Winds, and a lack of significant snowfall,
are characteristic of this type of storm system. As we move south, closer to the Gulf of Mexico,
the next storm track originates over the central Rockies, and is called the Colorado Low.
This track typically heads through Illinois and Indiana and exits through the Northeastern
United States. The speed of development is slightly slower
than the Alberta Clipper because it is closer to the Gulf of Mexico sort of like trying
to run with half-full 5-gallon buckets you’ve slowed down, but your still jogging.
The last storm track originates in the Four Corner's Region of the Southwest.
The Inside Leader migrates through Texas and the Gulf States of Mississippi and Alabama,
before turning northeast and moving up along the eastern seaboard.
This storm system has an abundance of available moisture due to its proximity to the Gulf,
which causes it to migrate along its track very, very slowly.
Now, as winter turns to spring, and the last of the Alberta Clippers hurriedly make their
way across our country’s northern tier, we begin to move towards the warmer months
of summer. Hopefully, the days of looking to the north
and west for our next snowfall, or to the south and west for our next ice storm, have
ended. With summer lying ahead, we’ll begin our
transition into thunderstorm season the oppressive heat and humidity brought in by the Colorado
Lows, and the relief that’s ultimately felt as the storms pass, and cool, crisp air from
the northwest settles in. >>Cameron:
Every once and a while, we need a moment to reflect on the day and let the hustle and
bustle melt away with images of the Illinoisan landscape and original music.
As we say goodbye to the long winter season let spring burst forth with a multitude of
colors. [music playing]
>>Chris: Drought here in the Midwest can be a serious
matter when it comes to agriculture and sometimes water supply.
But in California, they have a serious situation when a regulatory drought is declared.
Cameron and Nate Page traveled to Fresno, California to learn about the affects of drought
on a region different from our own here in central Illinois. Nate will join us afterwards
to highlight some of their research and what they found.
>>Gayle: Fresno County is the number one agricultural
county in the nation. And so most people don't realize that when
they sit down to dinner in the evening and they are having a slice of pizza, more than
likely that tomato sauce originated here. Processing tomatoes are the number one product
that is grown right here. >>Cameron:
Fresno County is situated on a vast flat landscape between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the
Coastal mountains of California. Considered the largest agricultural county
in the United States it is also prone to significant drought.
Since January 2012, the Central Valley has experienced drought conditions and has been
classified in the exceptional drought category since the summer of 2013.
Although the current drought is brought on by the lack of significant precipitation,
the government has imposed a regulatory drought on the region.
>>Gayle: This is the third dry winter in a row, but
we also have regulatory restrictions in place that limit the amount of water that can be
pumped into the reservoirs that will then be used for farming as it gets drier and warmer
and typically that would then be used for agricultural purposes.
That is not occurring. The replenishing of the reservoirs hasn't
been able to occur in a full capacity for a number of years.
In fact, it continues to decline to the point that this year we are at a zero percent water
allocation. >>Cameron:
The delta region, located just east of San Francisco Bay, is home to numerous species
of smelt and salmon. Dwindling water from lakes and reservoirs,
which typically keep waterways full, are unable to continue to adequately supply water to
the delta due to the meteorological drought. In order to protect the struggling species,
water from the delta is not being pumped south to the Central Valley.
>>Gayle: We have to back up a bit.
Our water supply originates up in northern California where it is historically wetter.
So that water then is brought down through the delta, which is in the central part of
the state of California. If the water is not captured, it then flows
on out underneath the Golden Gate Bridge out to the ocean.
But the project was put into place to capture that water and then to utilize it by moving
it into a pumping system that pumps into reservoirs that would then fulfill the state water project
or the central valley project, which is the federal project.
And then that water fills the reservoirs during the wet months only when there is excess water
in place. Then that water is there for use by growers
as we move into the warmer drier months of the year.
But because we have the biological opinions protecting the species, currently the biological
opinions have been prohibiting and diminishing the amount of water that's able to be pumped
into reservoirs. What's happening is, it's becoming a battle
between the users; between the fish species that needs water and also municipal, communities,
and agriculture that need water. >>Cameron:
When water is cutoff for farmers and the lack of precipitation does not promote a healthy
fish population, problems begin to emerge and end up in the courtrooms in order to determine
how to essentially divide a non-existent water supply.
>>Gayle: For the first time in the history of the two
projects both the state water project and the central valley water project are at zero.
It's hard to give any more to a fish species when you are at a zero percent and yet the
fish species aren't rebounding and they are not staying healthy.
So, you have to look at other things and think, "gosh, could there be other stressors that
are influencing in the decline of the delta?" >>Cameron:
Fresno County has always been known for its agriculture.
Many generations have worked the land their ancestors established back as far as the late
1800s. If farmers are unable to receive more water
for the upcoming growing season, the ignition switch of tractors and crop trucks may have
to be permanently kept off. Unemployment rates will rise as long as the
zero water allocation ruling continues to be supported by the courts.
>>Gayle: The farmers that we have on the west side
or usually in this area are multi-generational farmers.
They have been doing this for three or four generations and they are raising the fifth
generation that will continue on the farming operation.
But the one component that we don't have and are assured of having is water supply.
>>Chris: I am joined now by Nate Page and Cameron.
What an interesting situation this has been out in the Central Valley region of California.
How might this drought situation affect us here in Illinois?
>>Nate: Well to answer that question, we have to look
at how we went into this project. We went in this project thinking that this
was just a natural-made drought and what we learned was it's not natural-made, it's man-made
and farmers in California aren't going to be receiving any water from the national government
or the state of California. That is going to affect us because they are
the largest agricultural district in the nation and what this means is we can see tomato,
pistachios, almonds, almost anything we consume here jump up not just cents a pound but we're
talking like dollars a pound here. It's going to be very big here in the Midwest.
>>Chris: And I also heard, Cameron, that you are not
only taking Nate but a few other students back out to the Central Valley later on this
spring. >>Cameron:
That's right. The project is called "Expedition Endurance."
And Nate and I are taking three other students from the university and we are going to travel
to New Mexico, Arizona, southern California, Colorado, and Utah and venturing around and
talking to water people, researching the water resources and relate them here in the Midwest.
>>Chris: Thank you.
[music playing] >>Cameron:
Climate plays an important role in the function of the life on earth.
Animals are naturally designed to live in certain climate regions of the world. Take
a look at these two foxes. Which one is more adapted to the Polar climate?
[Music] >>Cameron:
If you chose the one with smaller ear, you are correct!
The ears of a fox determine its natural habitat. The ears are either heaters or air conditioners.
Smaller ears retain heat while larger ears allow heat to escape if they live in desert
regions. Here's a question to ponder, what about human
ears? >>Cameron:
We have heard it throughout the winter season. >>Chris:
Polar Vortex! The plunge of cold air from the Arctic region.
Some think that it is a new phrase created this year.
>>Cameron: But in fact, it is a scientific term that
has been around for many years and it has occurred many times.
>>Chris: In simple terms, we take you behind the scenes
of the infamous Polar Vortex. >>Cameron:
This winter we experienced several harsh cold spells dropping daytime highs into the single
digits and in a couple of cases the daytime highs only reached as high as the negative
single digits. The culprit behind these brutal events was
the sudden burst of cold air that escaped the cyclonic flow called the Polar Vortex.
>>Bob: It's a circulation around the North Pole in
the winter time. It is typically located around the North Pole.
It's a very fast moving cyclonic flow, counter-clockwise flow.
It normally, because its high rate of speed, keeps the Arctic air from the Arctic Circle
to the North Pole. It keeps the continental Arctic air, very
cold, very dry. Every once and a while that Polar voracity
or Polar Vortex drifts to the south through Canada and may go far south as, maybe, Hudson
Bay. When that occurs, then that counter-clockwise
circulation takes the Arctic air normally hangs out at the North Pole and drags it south
and takes it down to southern Canada and, eventually, the United States.
>>Cameron: Let’s begin with the anatomy of the jet
stream. A jet stream is a channel or river of fast
flowing air in the upper atmosphere created by the sudden change in vertical temperatures.
The natural spin of the earth and the difference between cold and warm air creates tongues
within the jet stream. A tongue of warm air that migrates northward
is called a ridge. A tongue of cold air is called a trough that
migrates southward. Normally in winter the jet stream is extremely
strong and highly organized due to the lack of solar influence.
Warming of the upper atmosphere causes the jet stream to become weaker thus allowing
tongues of cold air to plunge toward the southern reaches of the mid-latitudes.
At the same time, warmer air shoots toward the polar region.
>>Bob: One of the things that has been noticed is,
when there is a sudden warming in the stratosphere,they call it sudden stratospheric warming.
When an event like that happens, and we take measurements throughout the vertical structure
of the atmosphere, but when that occurs, typically within ten days to a week after this sudden
stratospheric warming that the Polar Vortex begins to drift south.
>>Cameron: What is typically misunderstood about these
events is that people continue to be skeptical about global climate change.
In fact, while we were experiencing winter’s wrath here in the States, a ridge of warmer
air was shooting towards the polar region. In some cases, weather stations in the Arctic
region were recording warmer temperatures than Central Illinois.
>>Bob: We have had winter was over yesterday, officially,
but we've had one of the coldest winters in the last twenty years.
>>Cameron: Minimum temperatures here in Charleston dropped
to negative 27 on January 19th, 1994. That record-breaking temperature was possibly
due to a weaker jet stream allowing the polar vortex to plunge to the south.
Not only did central Illinois see near record breaking temperatures but cold temperatures
coupled with passing storm systems due to an active jet stream brought record snowfall
to the region. >>Bob:
Snowfall amounts, if you look at December, January, and February collectively, probably,
maybe twice the average of that three-month period. That's significant and it's caused
people to get pretty disgusted. >>Cameron:
As we continue to move toward the middle of the spring season and with the jet stream
continuing to be active, the threat of an active storm season looms across the region.
Unlike the winter and spring of 2012 and 2013, we can expect a significant share of severe
weather while tongues of cold air and warm air continue to trade places.
[music playing] >>Cameron:
We're always looking for weather questions and weather stories.
Send yours to weiu@weiu.net. >>Chris:
We hope you have enjoyed our first presentation of Illinois' Skies.
>>Cameron: As professors of geography, we enjoy educating
future generations of Illinoisans in the classroom. >>Chris:
And beyond the classroom about the fascinating wonders of Illinois' landscape.
>>Cameron: Until we see you next time, look up and reflect
on the beauty of Illinois' Skies. [music playing]