Ask us about the weather, storms, Earth's atmosphere, and even weather in space
Recent Responses
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The categories assigned to tornadoes are based on the Fujita scale, which estimates wind speed based on the damage a tornado leaves behind. The Fujita scale goes from F0 (65-85 MPH) to F5 (over 200 mph). So, there's really no F6 category. http://scijinks.gov/tornado
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Not all communications satellites orbit over the poles. Some are in geostationary orbits like the GOES weather satellites. Satellites that need to "see" all parts of Earth (but not all at once) travel in relatively low-altitude, near-polar orbits, with Earth turning beneath them. That way, during one complete Earth rotation, nearly every part of Earth passes beneath them. Want to learn more about orbits? http://scijinks.gov/orbits
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If a snowflake falls through a warmer part of the cloud it can get coated with water, then frozen again as it’s tossed back into a colder part. It can go round and round, adding more and more layers of new ice. When it’s too heavy to stay up, what finally comes down is hail. If the updrafts in a thunder cloud are strong enough, the hail stones can get pretty big before they become too heavy to stay up. http://scijinks.gov/rain
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A volcano erupts when hot, molten lava breaks through a thin or weak place in Earth's crust. Since the weight of Earth's crust rests on this layer of liquid rock inside Earth, the liquid rock is under a lot of pressure, and can really explode quite violently once it breaks through. Ash from volcanoes can spread for many miles and rise high into the atmosphere. http://scijinks.gov/volcano
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Take a look at our handy cloud poster to learn the names of the clouds, where (how high) in the atmosphere you will find them, and what they mean (both the clouds and their names). http://scijinks.gov/posters
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Many people confuse these two terms, but the difference is very important. Weather is short-term and local. It's what is happening today where you are, or in another particular place. Climate is long-term and regional. It is the average of the weather conditions over a large area and a long period. http://scijinks.gov/weather-v-climate
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Tornadoes become likely when two masses of air--cold and dry, against warm and humid--slam together, with winds blowing in opposite directions at different altitudes. These conditions create a supercell thunderstorm, and a very unstable atmosphere. Find out more and see photos of a tornado's power. http://scijinks.gov/tornado
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If you think about, that's a funny question. You would have to examine ALL snowflakes under a microscope to answer it. But there are so many different snowflake designs, that finding two just alike is very unlikely. Find out what causes snow to fall, and see amazing photos of snowflakes under a microscope. http://scijinks.gov/rain
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Yes, and imagers on satellites can see in wavelengths of light our eyes cannot see. Thus, the images from space give firefighters more information about the extent of the fire and where humans and structures might be in danger. See a space image of a devastating wild fire near Los Angeles in 2009. http://scijinks.gov/landforms-gallery
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The Northern (and Southern) Lights are beautiful, dancing curtains of light that sometimes appear in the sky near Earth's magnetic north and south poles. They are caused by "space weather." Charged particles of the solar wind follow the lines of force of Earth's magnetic field right down into Earth's upper atmosphere. The charged particles make the gases in the atmosphere glow in shades of green and red. Find out more about space weather and its effects on Earth. http://scijinks.gov/space-weather-and-us
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One big help is weather satellites. Another big help are computer models that are getting better at predicting what is likely to happen in the future given the conditions right now. Watch a video to find out how a real weather forecaster answers this question. http://scijinks.gov/ask-a-weatherman
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Lightning occurs when electricity travels between areas of opposite electrical charge within a cloud, between clouds, or from a cloud to the ground. Lightning bolts between cloud and ground start with electrons (negatively charged particles) zig-zagging downward from the cloud, drawing a streamer of positively charged ions up from the ground. When they meet, an intense wave of positive charge travels upward at about 96,000 kilometers (about 60,000 miles) per second! This process may repeat several times in less than half a second, making the lightning seem to flicker. Find out what people around the world used to believe about lightning and other scary weather events before modern science explained them. http://scijinks.gov/folklore
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At the Summer Solstice (around June 21), the day with the most hours of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is directly overhead at "high-noon" at the latitude called the Tropic of Cancer. Get the full story, with lots of pictures, on our "What's a solstice" page. http://scijinks.gov/solstice
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The atmosphere lets most of the colors of light that make up sunlight shine straight through to our eyes, giving a overall whitish light. But the atmosphere scatters the blue and violet light which makes the sky look blue. Please read our "Now I get it" page for a full explanation. http://scijinks.gov/blue-sky
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This beautiful and rare event occurs when the Sun is high in the sky and its light passes through the ice crystals in high-altitude cirrus clouds. The ice crystals are like prisms that break the sunlight into all its colors, like a rainbow. See a fire rainbow in the SciJinks Cloud Gallery. http://scijinks.gov/clouds-gallery
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During summer in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is actually at the farthest part of its orbit around the Sun. The seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth on its axis. Understand seasons once and for all at SciJinks. http://scijinks.gov/earths-seasons
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It's very hard to tell for sure. But as the ocean warms, more water evaporates and more energy escapes from the ocean to drive powerful storms. Find out all about hurricanes and play "Whirlwind Disaster" at SciJinks. http://scijinks.gov/hurricane
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The tides cause the level of the ocean to rise and fall as Earth rotates. Most places experience two high tides and two low tides each day. Find out all about tides at SciJinks! http://scijinks.gov/tides
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Scijinks’s Bio
Pasadena, CA
The SciJinks Weather Laboratory at scijinks.gov is a website targeting middle-school-age youth with fun and games and useful information about weather and other Earth science subjects. It has a fun, sophisticated look and feel, with lots of animation, sou
