Portal:Weather

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Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature, precipitation, and other atmospheric conditions, whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth.

Weather is driven by air pressure, temperature, and moisture differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to the Sun's angle at any particular spot, which varies with latitude. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the largest scale atmospheric circulations: the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell, the polar cell, and the jet stream. Weather systems in the middle latitudes, such as extratropical cyclones, are caused by instabilities of the jet streamflow. Because Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane (called the ecliptic), sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year. On Earth's surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C (−40 °F to 104 °F) annually. Over thousands of years, changes in Earth's orbit can affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by Earth, thus influencing long-term climate and global climate change.

Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes, as most atmospheric heating is due to contact with the Earth's surface while radiative losses to space are mostly constant. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. Earth's weather system is a chaotic system; as a result, small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout history, and there is evidence that human activities such as agriculture and industry have modified weather patterns.

Studying how the weather works on other planets has been helpful in understanding how weather works on Earth. A famous landmark in the Solar System, Jupiter's Great Red Spot, is an anticyclonic storm known to have existed for at least 300 years. However, the weather is not limited to planetary bodies. A star's corona is constantly being lost to space, creating what is essentially a very thin atmosphere throughout the Solar System. The movement of mass ejected from the Sun is known as the solar wind. (Full article...)

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The 1933 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 21 storms forming during that year in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1933, and was only surpassed in total number of tropical cyclones by the 2005 season, which had 28 storms. The 1933 season saw tropical activity before its start, and a tropical cyclone was active for all but 13 days from June 28 to October 7. Tropical cyclones that did not approach populated areas or shipping lanes, especially if they were relatively weak and of short duration, may have remained undetected. Because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, historical data on tropical cyclones from this period are often not reliable. Compensating for the lack of comprehensive observation, one hurricane researcher estimates the season produced 24 tropical cyclones.

Ten of the season's 21 storms attained hurricane status. Five of those were major hurricanes, with sustained winds of over 111 miles per hour (179 km/h); the strongest reached peak winds of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) near the Bahamas in early October. The season produced several deadly storms, with eight storms killing more than 20 people. All but one of the 21 known storms affected land at some point during their lifetimes.

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Did you know (auto-generated) - show different entries

... that Japanese actor Kouhei Higuchi prepared for his role on the television drama adaptation of My Personal Weatherman by learning from a weather forecaster?
... that Come In was recorded on a hands-free microphone attached to a pair of headphones?
... that in the 1980s, "Sherman Bonner, The Human Thermometer" presented the weather on an Arkansas TV station?
... that state representative Karl Bohnak, referring to his former profession, said that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was one of the most challenging places in the U.S. to forecast the weather?
... that weather whiplash is the phenomenon of rapid swings between extremes of weather conditions?
... that Richard Davis made the earliest known continuous land-based weather recordings in New Zealand?

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A roll cloud off the coast of Punta del Este, Uruguay. Roll clouds are formed by strong outflow from a thunderstorm forcing surrounding air upwards.

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More did you know...

...that the Flying river is the name given to the transport of water vapor from the Amazon rainforest to southern Brazil?

...that hurricane shutters are required for all homes in Florida unless impact-resistant glass is used?

...that the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research is a combined weather and ocean research institute with the cooperation of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the University of Hawaiʻi?

...that the SS Central America was sunk by a hurricane while carrying more than 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857?

...that a hurricane force wind warning is issued by the United States National Weather Service for storms that are not tropical cyclones but are expected to produce hurricane-force winds (65 knots (75 mph; 120 km/h) or higher)?

...that the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System is a software package for tropical cyclone forecasting developed in 1988 that is still used today by meteorologists in various branches of the US Government?

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Recent and ongoing weather

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This week in weather history...

February 4

2010: Cyclone Oli struck parts of French Polynesia, including Tahiti. One person was killed on the island of Tubuai.

February 5: National Weatherperson's Day

2002: Cyclone Chris, one of the strongest tropical cyclones to strike Western Australia on record, reached peak intensity just hours before landfall.

February 6

1996: Heavy rain and warm temperatures started several days of significant flooding in the Pacific Northwest, resulting in more than $500 million in damage.

February 7

2002: A strong windstorm known as the South Valley Surprise struck the Pacific Northwest with no warning due to the rapid deepening of the storm, causing major tree damage across the area.

February 8

1962: The TIROS-4 weather satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

February 9

1969: A severe nor'easter brought unexpectedly heavy snow to the Northeastern United States, bringing over 40 inches (100 cm) of snow in some places and killing 94 people.

February 10

1972: A week-long blizzard came to an end in the country of Iran, leaving around 4,000 people dead.

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Tetsuya Theodore Fujita (/fuːˈdʒiːtɑː/; FOO-jee-tah) (藤田哲也, Fujita Tetsuya, October 23, 1920 – November 19, 1998) was a Japanese and American meteorologist whose research primarily focused on severe weather. His research at the University of Chicago on severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons revolutionized the knowledge of each. Although he is best known for creating the Fujita scale of tornado intensity and damage, he also discovered downbursts and microbursts and was an instrumental figure in advancing modern understanding of many severe weather phenomena and how they affect people and communities, especially through his work exploring the relationship between wind speed and damage. (Full article...)

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WikiProjects

The scope of WikiProject Weather is to have a single location for all weather-related articles on Wikipedia.

WikiProject Meteorology is a collaborative effort by dozens of Wikipedians to improve the quality of meteorology- and weather-related articles. If you would like to help, visit the project talk page, and see what needs doing.

WikiProject Severe weather is a similar project specific to articles about severe weather. Their talk page is located here.

WikiProject Tropical cyclones is a daughter project of WikiProject meteorology. The dozens of semi-active members and several full-time members focus on improving Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones.

WikiProject Non-tropical storms is a collaborative project to improve articles related to winter storms, wind storms, and extratropical cyclones.

Wikipedia is a fully collaborative effort by volunteers. So if you see something you think you can improve, be bold and get to editing! We appreciate any help you can provide!