Tag: Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

5 simple ways to run your A/C less this summer
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Help your air conditioner help you stay cool this summer. Check out these things that you can do today to take some pressure off your A/C and save you some money on your electric bill.
What You Need To Know

Your ceiling fan should spin a certain way to create a breeze

Limit the amount of sunlight coming into your home

Raise the thermostat, especially when you’re away

Maintain your air conditioning system
Look at your ceiling fans

Turn on your ceiling fans and see which way they’re spinning. Having them go counterclockwise circulates the air around the room, creating a small breeze that’ll help keep you cool.

This can especially become helpful if you have a second floor, since warm air rises and you might need a little extra “oomph” to keep things cool there.

(Spectrum News/Justin Gehrts)

Open up

Don’t close doors to rooms or walk-in closets. Keeping them open lets air circulate. One exception to this rule is the bathroom while showering, beyond obviously wanting privacy. You don’t want your air conditioner working hard to counteract the warm, humid air, so close that door while you’re in there and turn on the ceiling vent fan.

Block the sun

Okay, you can’t completely blot out the sun’s light to keep it from heating up your house. But you can close your blinds or curtains. Bright sunlight shining through the windows adds unwanted heat… well, maybe not unwanted by everyone.

Turn the dial

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Turn up your thermostat a few degrees. There’s a good reason it’s repeated so often. Every degree of cooling increases energy usage by as much as 8%!

(Photo by Olivia Levada)

Try upping it by a degree or two at first and gradually increase it as you get more used to the higher setting. Remember to use fans to your advantage.

If you’d rather not set your thermostat higher all the time, try doing it when you’re going to be away for a while. Just don’t crank it really low for your return; a colder setting doesn’t make your home cool any faster.

Keep it clean

Replace the indoor air filter as necessary (usually every couple of months), since a dirty filter reduces air flow and makes your A/C work harder than it needs to.

(Spectrum News)

You also need to keep the actual air conditioning unit that’s outdoors clean. Remove leaves and other debris, then hose off the dust, dirt and other stuff that’s gotten stuck in there.

Extra credit

Want to go above and beyond the five simple tips above? Here are three bonus ideas.
- Seal air leaks around windows. Many kids have heard “we’re not cooling the outside!” as they hold the front door open for longer than necessary. Your house might already be doing that without being as obvious. Closing those leaks keeps warm air out and cool air in.
- Get an A/C inspection. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having a professional check on your air conditioner each year can save you a lot of trouble… and sweating, if it conks out in the middle of the summer.
- Plant shade trees. These are most effective on the south and west sides of your house, since that’s where the strongest afternoon sunshine comes from. This can be pricey up front, but is certainly beneficial. If you DIY it, be sure to get underground utilities marked.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

Source link
July 9, 2025
5 simple ways to run your A/C less this summer
[ad_1]
Help your air conditioner help you stay cool this summer. Check out these things that you can do today to take some pressure off your A/C and save you some money on your electric bill.
What You Need To Know

Your ceiling fan should spin a certain way to create a breeze

Limit the amount of sunlight coming into your home

Raise the thermostat, especially when you’re away

Maintain your air conditioning system
Look at your ceiling fans

Turn on your ceiling fans and see which way they’re spinning. Having them go counterclockwise circulates the air around the room, creating a small breeze that’ll help keep you cool.

This can especially become helpful if you have a second floor, since warm air rises and you might need a little extra “oomph” to keep things cool there.

(Spectrum News/Justin Gehrts)

Open up

Don’t close doors to rooms or walk-in closets. Keeping them open lets air circulate. One exception to this rule is the bathroom while showering, beyond obviously wanting privacy. You don’t want your air conditioner working hard to counteract the warm, humid air, so close that door while you’re in there and turn on the ceiling vent fan.

Block the sun

Okay, you can’t completely blot out the sun’s light to keep it from heating up your house. But you can close your blinds or curtains. Bright sunlight shining through the windows adds unwanted heat… well, maybe not unwanted by everyone.

Turn the dial

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Turn up your thermostat a few degrees. There’s a good reason it’s repeated so often. Every degree of cooling increases energy usage by as much as 8%!

(Photo by Olivia Levada)

Try upping it by a degree or two at first and gradually increase it as you get more used to the higher setting. Remember to use fans to your advantage.

If you’d rather not set your thermostat higher all the time, try doing it when you’re going to be away for a while. Just don’t crank it really low for your return; a colder setting doesn’t make your home cool any faster.

Keep it clean

Replace the indoor air filter as necessary (usually every couple of months), since a dirty filter reduces air flow and makes your A/C work harder than it needs to.

(Spectrum News)

You also need to keep the actual air conditioning unit that’s outdoors clean. Remove leaves and other debris, then hose off the dust, dirt and other stuff that’s gotten stuck in there.

Extra credit

Want to go above and beyond the five simple tips above? Here are three bonus ideas.
- Seal air leaks around windows. Many kids have heard “we’re not cooling the outside!” as they hold the front door open for longer than necessary. Your house might already be doing that without being as obvious. Closing those leaks keeps warm air out and cool air in.
- Get an A/C inspection. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having a professional check on your air conditioner each year can save you a lot of trouble… and sweating, if it conks out in the middle of the summer.
- Plant shade trees. These are most effective on the south and west sides of your house, since that’s where the strongest afternoon sunshine comes from. This can be pricey up front, but is certainly beneficial. If you DIY it, be sure to get underground utilities marked.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

Source link
July 9, 2025
5 simple ways to run your A/C less this summer
[ad_1]
Help your air conditioner help you stay cool this summer. Check out these things that you can do today to take some pressure off your A/C and save you some money on your electric bill.
What You Need To Know

Your ceiling fan should spin a certain way to create a breeze

Limit the amount of sunlight coming into your home

Raise the thermostat, especially when you’re away

Maintain your air conditioning system
Look at your ceiling fans

Turn on your ceiling fans and see which way they’re spinning. Having them go counterclockwise circulates the air around the room, creating a small breeze that’ll help keep you cool.

This can especially become helpful if you have a second floor, since warm air rises and you might need a little extra “oomph” to keep things cool there.

(Spectrum News/Justin Gehrts)

Open up

Don’t close doors to rooms or walk-in closets. Keeping them open lets air circulate. One exception to this rule is the bathroom while showering, beyond obviously wanting privacy. You don’t want your air conditioner working hard to counteract the warm, humid air, so close that door while you’re in there and turn on the ceiling vent fan.

Block the sun

Okay, you can’t completely blot out the sun’s light to keep it from heating up your house. But you can close your blinds or curtains. Bright sunlight shining through the windows adds unwanted heat… well, maybe not unwanted by everyone.

Turn the dial

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Turn up your thermostat a few degrees. There’s a good reason it’s repeated so often. Every degree of cooling increases energy usage by as much as 8%!

(Photo by Olivia Levada)

Try upping it by a degree or two at first and gradually increase it as you get more used to the higher setting. Remember to use fans to your advantage.

If you’d rather not set your thermostat higher all the time, try doing it when you’re going to be away for a while. Just don’t crank it really low for your return; a colder setting doesn’t make your home cool any faster.

Keep it clean

Replace the indoor air filter as necessary (usually every couple of months), since a dirty filter reduces air flow and makes your A/C work harder than it needs to.

(Spectrum News)

You also need to keep the actual air conditioning unit that’s outdoors clean. Remove leaves and other debris, then hose off the dust, dirt and other stuff that’s gotten stuck in there.

Extra credit

Want to go above and beyond the five simple tips above? Here are three bonus ideas.
- Seal air leaks around windows. Many kids have heard “we’re not cooling the outside!” as they hold the front door open for longer than necessary. Your house might already be doing that without being as obvious. Closing those leaks keeps warm air out and cool air in.
- Get an A/C inspection. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having a professional check on your air conditioner each year can save you a lot of trouble… and sweating, if it conks out in the middle of the summer.
- Plant shade trees. These are most effective on the south and west sides of your house, since that’s where the strongest afternoon sunshine comes from. This can be pricey up front, but is certainly beneficial. If you DIY it, be sure to get underground utilities marked.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

Source link
July 9, 2025
Eggs, shadows and daylight: Equinox fact and fiction
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Everybody knows you can balance an egg on the equinox, the day with 12 hours of light across the planet… right?
What You Need To Know

You can balance eggs and brooms any day

Daylight is close to 12 hours, but not exactly

As fall begins in one hemisphere, spring begins in the other
There are various theories surrounding the equinox, which happen every year in March and September. Let’s separate fact from fiction.

Balancing eggs and brooms: Fiction

Have heard that you can balance an egg only on the equinox?

Try it on a day other than the equinox. You’ll find that you can do it then, too! It just takes the right egg and a bit of patience.

The egg-balancing myth swept over to brooms, which spread wildly thanks to social media. Like eggs, you can balance a broom with stiff, straight bristles any day of the year. There’s no exceptional, mysterious gravitational pull during the equinox that will balance your egg and/or broom.

A moment, not a day: Fact

The equinox happens when the sun passes the “celestial equator,” the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. It’s just a moment in time. For example, the spring equinox for 2025 is at 5:01 a.m. While we observe the equinox as the first day of spring or fall, it’s just an instant.

12 hours of daylight worldwide: Fiction

No, there’s not exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night around the globe on the equinox. We have more than 12 hours of daylight on the equinox. The date when daylight and nighttime are both closest to exactly 12 hours falls a few days before the spring equinox and a few days after the fall equinox.

So, why isn’t it exactly 12 hours? There are a handful of reasons, but two stand out. First, sunrise and sunset are when the very top-most tip of the sun–not the middle–crosses the horizon. Second, our atmosphere bends sunlight, so we see the sun a little longer than we “should,” so to speak.

“Equal night”: Fact

It’s understandable why some think the equinox means 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. The word “equinox” translates to “equal night”. It comes from the Latin word aequinoctium–“aequi” meaning equal, and “nox” meaning night–according to Mirriam-Webster.

If you want to impress your friends (or maybe just make them roll their eyes), you can mention the equilux (“lux” coming from Latin for “light”). That’s the date when day and night are equal lengths, although a true equilux is pretty rare.

No shadow at noon: Fiction

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, our shadow will be shortest on the summer solstice when direct sunlight reaches the northernmost point of its annual journey. A person’s shadow disappears only where the sun is directly overhead, which isn’t anywhere close to home on the equinox.

Opposite seasons: Fact

What we call the fall equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is the spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. It might be hard to imagine, but our friends on the other side of the planet enjoy spring from late September through late December as the Earth’s tilt gives them increasingly direct sunlight.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Britney Hamilton, Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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March 20, 2025
Christmas trees need good weather to ‘stand in splendid beauty’
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O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches… as long as the weather stays off the naughty list.
What You Need To Know

Christmas trees do well in moderate weather

Trees are more susceptible to drought early on

Harmful fungi grow in very wet conditions

Tree farmers may have to adjust their practices as climate changes
Farmers grow Christmas trees in all 50 states. Unlike most crops, they’re not planted and harvested all in one season. It takes years for a tree to become ready, which can help fend off the problems of damaging weather.

Growing trees

Christmas trees are often spruces, pines or firs. Not surprisingly, farmers grow them in places where the climate allows them to have their best chance at becoming mature.

The details vary from place to place, but trees generally do best with moderate temperatures, plentiful (but not excessive) rainfall and no extreme cold or heat.

Damaging weather

Like most crops, Christmas trees don’t like drought. Farmers who grow seedlings typically have to do quite a bit of irrigation, according to Doug Hundley from the National Christmas Tree Association.

Irrigation isn’t as necessary once they’re about 12 inches tall and transplanted into fields, he adds, although they’re still vulnerable for the first year or two and will need some help during dry spells.

In this photo taken Nov. 8, 2011, David Barfield checks one of his saplings at his Christmas tree farm in New Caney, Texas. Only a handful of the 500 saplings planted survived the drought. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Because these trees are a crop that can take ten years or longer to become ready for harvest, losses from drought usually don’t take as much of a toll as they would for single-season crops like corn or soybeans. Instead of losing 20% of an entire crop, farmers could confine their losses to just 20% of the younger trees, while the established trees survive.

Excessive rainfall can harm any tree, though. “We always think that drought is the great enemy. But in all agriculture, rain and flooding and oversaturation of the soil does just as much damage as droughts do,” says Hundley.

Wet conditions are good for fungi–which are bad for trees. They can kill the roots of a tree or cause needle cast, which is a disease that makes the older inner needles turn brown and fall off.

Needle cast on a spruce tree. (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

These trees can face damage from out-of-season frosts and freezes. Those can damage or kill new growth, sometimes putting those trees back a year, even when farmers can prune the problem spots.

Extreme heat can ruin new growth, too. Hundley says the Pacific Northwest lost 5% to 10% of marketable trees after its heat wave in June 2021.

Climate change

Farming practices are adapting as conditions change over the years. To deal with the increase in precipitation in the eastern U.S., Hundley says some farmers are planting trees farther apart or pruning them differently to allow better airflow.

He also gives a specific example. “We grow a fir that’s native to only about a dozen mountain tops in the southern Appalachians. They grow naturally at about 6,000 feet. We can grow them on production farms, but only down to about 3,000 feet elevation. If you go lower than that, it becomes too warm, and the soil does not drain as well in flat land and they’re very susceptible to root rot.

“So, as the planet warms, we’re going to have to move up the hill, possibly, or we’re going to have to use alternative conifers that are used to warmer climates.”

Be green

Hundley says that farmers replace the trees as they come out and make an effort to disturb the soil as little as possible. Integrated pest management also lets them avoid using pesticides.

He also encourages people who buy real Christmas trees to recycle them if their community offers such a service. Often, the trees are chipped into mulch.

This Jan. 14, 2013 photo shows free mulch strewn in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, N.Y., available for residents to take home and use in urban backyards. The mulch comes from Christmas trees that are collected and recycled in a program run by the New York City Department of Sanitation and the New York City Parks Department. The city collects about 150,000 trees each year and uses the mulch in parks, playing fields and community gardens in addition to making some of it available for personal use. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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December 17, 2024
The Perseid meteor shower peaks late this weekend
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One of the best meteor showers of the year peaks late this weekend into early next week.
What You Need To Know

The Perseid meteor shower has up to 100 meteors per hour

The best time for viewing will fall between midnight and dawn

This meteor shower comes from the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle
The Perseid meteor shower peaks Sunday night into Monday, but you can catch them the rest of this weekend and even into early next week. While you can spot meteors zooming across the sky after dark, your best opportunity will be after midnight.

As the night goes on, the constellation Perseus–where the meteors appear to originate–will rise higher in the northeast sky. However, you can look anywhere overhead, not just in that direction.

The good news is that the moon won’t be full yet, meaning the light won’t wash out the meteors.

In ideal conditions, this show produces 50 to 100 meteors per hour, or about one or two every minute. Go find a dark place away from city lights and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 15 minutes.

The Perseids produce long, bright trails, making it one of the more visual annual showers.

You might be inclined to photograph these spectacles of light. Like in May, when the northern lights were visible, the best way to capture space phenomena is using a DSLR camera on timer and low exposure.

If opting for your smartphone, it’s best to put it on a tripod or stable platform. Go to settings and use long exposure or night mode.

In this long exposure photo, a streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower in 2016. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

We see the Perseids in the late summer as the Earth passes through the dust and debris that Comet Swift-Tuttle leaves behind. The “shooting stars” actually come from grains that are about the size of Grape Nuts, according to Sky & Telescope, that burn in the atmosphere as they zip by at over 130,000 miles per hour.

The nuggets of Grape Nuts cereal are a good approximation of the cometary dust grains that create meteor showers. (Courtesy of Sky & Telescope)

Hopefully clouds don’t get in your way! Check your local forecast here. But if clear skies aren’t in the cards Saturday night, don’t worry. That’s when they should be most active, but the Perseids don’t suddenly start and stop; you can try looking any time around the peak.

This isn’t the last meteor shower of the year. See the others coming up, along with other night sights, right here.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Stacy Lynn

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August 7, 2024
The northern lights: Photos vs. what your eyes see
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Dazzling, shimmer curtains of red and green… you’ve probably seen amazing photos of the aurora, or northern lights. Unfortunately, if you’re lucky enough to see the aurora with your own eyes, it typically won’t live up to those expectations.

Technology and biology are why.
What You Need To Know

Cameras can have long exposures and wide apertures to let in lots of light

Image editing can bring out the colors

Our eyes don’t pick up color very well in low light
For those of us in the mid-latitudes–that is, most of the U.S.–aurora aren’t visible very often, especially the farther south you are. And when they do show up, they’re typically not very bright.

So how do photographers snap such stunning photos?

Technology

“Cameras with long exposures will pick up on the northern lights because cameras use that long exposure of several seconds to absorb the light and colors of the aurora,” says Willard Sharp, who photographs everything from severe storms to solar storms. “Modern camera sensors are very sensitive in low light, so it’s easier to get a detailed photo of the aurora.”

Northern lights fill the sky in Edinburg, N.Y. (Photo by Derek Spagnola)

A long exposure and wide-open aperture let a lot of light in. “This allows the camera to gather data in a photo that I can then work with in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to bring out details and get the colors to look good and natural,” Sharp says.

“Your eyes may not catch as much color here [in the Lower 48], but the camera will do a wonderful job with that several second exposure to get a vivid picture.”

Biology

And why won’t your eyes catch much color? As great as they are, they’re just not equipped to do color at night.

You might know that your eyes have rods and cones, which are stimulated by light. The gist is that we have three types of cones that work with the brain to see red, green and blue (and all the combinations of those), but cones need a lot of light… something that the night sky doesn’t provide.

Rods are much more sensitive to light so we can see at night, but they don’t have nearly the same color abilities as cones. Sure, we can kind of see color, but it’s not at all vivid. Our eyes, like a camera, need a wide aperture and a lot of light to get the most out of what’s in front of us.

Normalized wavelengths the rods and cones of the eye are sensitive to. (CC by 4.0/Ibrahim Al-Bahadly)

Even so, “when you head north to, say, Canada, the lights are much brighter even with weaker geomagnetic storming, so the eyes can see them much more easily,” Sharp says.

Photography tips

Sharp has a “night skies cheat sheet,” if you’re interested in trying out astrophotography. And you’ll need patience. Forecasting space weather is even more difficult than Earth weather forecasts, and Sharp says looking at the data can be “daunting.”

“Sometimes a predicted geomagnetic storm will not pan out as expected. Other times minor space weather events trigger big and bright aurora displays,” says Sharp.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has an aurora dashboard that displays current space weather conditions and aurora forecasts. Sharp also recommends SpaceWeatherLive. Here are the parameters he likes to see:
- Kp: At least 5
- Bz: At least -10 for at least one hour; two or more hours is better, and -20 suggests aurora visible to the naked eye
- Solar winds: At least 500 km/sec
- Density: At least 5, but 10 or higher is better
Wondering how northern lights even happen in the first place? We have the answer. Plus, your chances of seeing amazing aurora photos–or maybe with your own eyes–could be increasing, as solar activity is forecast to peak in 2024.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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May 10, 2024
Warren Washington: Climate adviser to 6 presidents
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Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan. George H. W. Bush. Bill Clinton. George W. Bush. Barack Obama.

You’ve heard of each of those presidents, but you probably haven’t heard of Warren Washington, the scientist who advised all of them on Earth’s climate. It’s no wonder; he also helped develop one of the first climate models.
What You Need To Know

Warren Washington was the second African American to get a PhD in meteorology

He helped develop the earliest global climate models

The U.S. government awarded Washington the National Medal of Science in 2010
Washington was a pioneer in more than just weather and climate. He was just the second African American to get a doctorate in meteorology, earning his PhD from Penn State in 1964.

Warren Washington standing next to a CRAY supercomputer in 1980. (UCAR)

To put that in perspective, a report from the American Institute of Physics says that only 14 out of the 740 students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science as recently as 2015 were African American.

From the 1960s onward, Washington studied the Earth’s climate system, building simulations that got more detailed as computers became more powerful. Early climate models were crude and slow.

“We weren’t able to go faster than the actual weather. We actually plowed on because what happened was computers got faster and faster,” he told NASA in a 2016 interview.

But, as computers got faster, Washington and his colleagues added more detail into the climate models.

Output from an early climate model in the late 1960s. (UCAR)

Washington used those computer models to experiment with various scenarios, tweaking the amount of carbon dioxide and other gasses to see what the different outcomes would be.

This is routine today. Scientists want to know what to expect if we do nothing to limit greenhouse gas emissions or suddenly stop all of it or something in between.

Washington earned many accolades and awards for his decades of work. In 2010, the country awarded him the National Medal of Science, the U.S. government’s highest scientific honor. He’s also been recognized for his efforts to increase diversity in atmospheric sciences.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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February 27, 2024
George Washington Carver’s legacy is more than peanuts
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Peanuts–that may be what George Washington Carver is best known for, but that was just one part of his work. Arguably more important? He was an advocate of sustainable agriculture before the concept even had such a name.
What You Need To Know

Carver tried to change farming practices in the South

He considered the whole picture of crops, soil and weather

Carver’s largest true legacy may be in sustainable agriculture
Carver was the first Black student admitted to the Iowa Agricultural College, now known as Iowa State University. He went on to be an educator and researcher at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama from 1896 to 1943.

He even took weather observations there for over 30 years as part of a “cooperative observers” program, which the National Weather Service still uses today.

George Washington Carver’s daily weather reports for February 1923. (NOAA Central Library Data Imaging Project)

Carver knew the issues that Southern farmers faced. He encouraged efforts that went against the grain of agricultural science at the time, according to Mark D. Hersey, a historian at Mississippi State University. His efforts didn’t result in much change then, but he was certainly on to something.

“They were farseeing–and many of the things he called for became vital threads in what came to be known as the organic agriculture movement in the mid-20th century… in essence, Carver was a prophet of sustainable agriculture,” says Hersey.

Instead of growing only cotton, Carver recommended crop rotation that included peanuts so those crops could replenish the soil’s nutrients.

Carver’s holistic approach also encouraged composting manure, rather than simply adding chemical fertilizers. This was a cheaper solution that also made the soil more resistant to erosion, Hersey adds. The South gets deluges that drop a few inches of rain in a day, which can wash away the dirt and leave behind ruts.

Photograph of erosion in one of Carver’s bulletins, published in 1908. (Tuskegee Experiment Station Bulletin No. 11/U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library)

In one of the many bulletins he wrote, Carver noted some farmers’ belief that the moon influences the weather, along with other superstitions. He said to focus instead on actual conditions, since he knew seeds need some number of frost-free days and a certain soil temperature.

“My work is that of conservation,” Carver believed. We still hear echoes of that work a century later in sustainable farming.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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February 25, 2024
Look for the Full Wolf Moon this week
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The Full Wolf Moon rises high in our January sky this week.
What You Need To Know

The January full moon’s common nickname is the Wolf Moon

It’ll turn truly full on Thursday

The moon rises high during the winter, similar to the summer sun

The constellation Gemini appears near this full moon
The moon will become fullest at 12:54 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 25. While it’ll be below our horizon then, don’t worry–it appears full for a couple nights before and after the time it’s truly full.

Native Americans’ names for this full moon include the Great Spirit Moon, Ice Moon and the wonderfully descriptive Someone’s Ears are Freezing Moon.

If those cold weather themes have you yearning for summer, this little nugget may help. Because the full moon resides roughly opposite the sun, it rises high in the winter since the sun’s highest point is relatively low. So, when you look at this month’s full moon, its path is similar to what the sun’s will be in July.

Simulated sky the evening of Thursday, Jan. 25. (Stellarium)

While you’re out, you’ll have no trouble finding a couple other night sights. The full moon will appear near the stars Pollux and Castor, which are the heads of the twins of the constellation Gemini. And toward the north, you’ll see the Big Dipper and Little Dipper.

Since it’s still early in the year, now’s a good time to make note of 2024’s astronomical events.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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January 24, 2024
‘Sudden stratospheric warming’ can drive arctic outbreaks. Here’s how
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You’ve almost certainly heard of the polar vortex. But what about “sudden stratospheric warming,” a weather term that’s started making the rounds on social media? They’re related to one another, and they can play a big role in winter weather.
What You Need To Know

Not all our weather happens near the ground

Atmospheric waves sometimes break on the polar vortex, making it weaken

A weaker polar vortex sometimes makes air far aloft descend and quickly warm

These events can cause arctic outbreaks
The polar vortex

First, a quick review of the polar vortex. The one we care about lives in the stratosphere, the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere. The stratosphere is above where most of our weather happens, starting about 6 miles above the ground and reaching up about 31 miles.

That polar vortex forms in the fall as polar nights get longer and temperatures turn colder. In the spring, it breaks down as daylight returns and temperatures become more balanced.

Polar temperatures in the stratosphere are very cold in the winter, but turn relatively warm in the summer. (NOAA)

But something else can make it break down during the winter, waves in the atmosphere. That’s where sudden stratospheric warming comes in.

Sudden stratospheric warming

The atmosphere has waves, just like the ocean. After all, it pretty much is an ocean… just made of air, not salt water. These waves rise up and down, and sometimes they’ll break and crash on the polar vortex, weakening it.

What happens if the vortex weakens enough? Its winds can reverse direction, causing cold air in the stratosphere to descend and quickly warm. And that’s where the name “sudden stratospheric warming” comes from.

“Sudden” doesn’t mean it happens out of the blue, completely unexpectedly. And “warming” is relative, since we’re still talking temperatures that are way below zero.

Polar vortex temperature centered on 2022, when a sudden stratospheric warming event happened. (NOAA)

Cold air outbreaks

Forecasters try to get a sense of whether sudden stratospheric warming might happen because it can give clues about weather patterns a few weeks away.

Instead of a stable swirl keeping the arctic air bottled up, the polar vortex is knocked off-kilter, coming off the North Pole or splitting into a couple pieces. The frigid air mass sometimes spills southward, although it doesn’t always dump into North America. It can just as easily hit Europe or Russia.

Major sudden stratospheric warming events happen once every winter or two on average, according to NOAA. These can cause big cold air outbreaks, although not every cold wave can lead to sudden stratospheric warming.

It also turns out that El Niño can cause sudden stratospheric warming events–and polar vortex breakdowns–because of how it influences the pattern of waves in the jet stream in the late winter.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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January 19, 2024
This year’s Iowa caucuses will be the coldest ever
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Iowans are used to cold weather, but the arctic blast that’s spread across much of the country is the biggest one to happen at the same time as the caucuses.
What You Need To Know

The coldest Iowa caucuses before this year were in 2004

Most have had highs in the 30s and 40s

This year, wind chills will be in the -20s throughout Iowa on caucus night
The Iowa caucuses began in 1972. That year, the high in Des Moines was 25 degrees and scattered snow fell around the state.

Since then, the warmest caucus day was 49 degrees on Feb. 20, 1984. The coldest, in 2004, had a high of just 16 degrees with wind chills in the single digits.

That’ll seem almost tropical compared to what’s coming on Monday.

Highs throughout Iowa will struggle to even get close to 0 degrees–and that’s just the actual temperature. Caucus-goers are going to face frigid wind chills in the -20s while they’re heading to and from their local precincts in the evening.

Here’s a snapshot of the conditions people had to brave through to caucus.

If there’s any good weather news in the Hawkeye State, it’s that they’ll have dry weather on Monday. That’ll be a welcome change after two powerful winter storms socked parts of the state with heavy snow in the days before. The bad weather forced Republican candidates to cancel some events.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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January 15, 2024
2023 saw a record 28 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters
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The U.S. dealt with 28 disasters that each cost over $1 billion last year, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. That’s the most in one year since records began in 1980.
What You Need To Know

The U.S. had 28 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2023

19 of them were severe storms and tornadoes

The 28 disasters cost an estimated $93 billion

Last year broke the record of 22 such events in 2020
The average number of billion-dollar disasters since 1980 is 8.5 per year. However, from 2019 to 2023, the average was 20.4 events, including the previous record of 22 events in 2020.

NOAA adjusts for the Consumer Price Index to account for inflation.

Here’s when and where 2023’s billion-dollar disasters happened.

The majority were from severe storms and tornadoes, which made up 19 of them. The rest included four floods, two tropical cyclones (including Hurricane Idalia), one wildfire, one winter storm and one drought/heat wave.

The year may end up with one more, depending on the tally from the mid-December East Coast storm.

In total, NCEI estimates 2023’s billion-dollar disasters cost $93.0 billion, above the average of $60.5 billion. They also say these also contributed to at least 492 deaths.

NOAA’s information on 2023’s costly disasters came the same day that Europe’s climate agency reported the global average temperature last year set a record that was 2.66 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The Lower 48 had its fifth-hottest year on record, according to NOAA.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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January 11, 2024
Most of the U.S. will have to dream of a white Christmas this year
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Burl Ives sang the words “I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer”… you’re going to need the cup of cheer, because most of the country won’t wake up to a winter wonderland next Monday.
What You Need To Know

A mild pattern has kept winter storms at bay

Very few areas will have at least an inch of snow on the ground on Monday

This year’s snow coverage is relatively low compared to the long-term average
The recent mild pattern has been quite persistent and will stay that way right through the holiday. Here’s what temperatures compared to average look like through Monday.

The relative warmth is great news for travelers hoping snow and ice won’t snarl their pre-holiday trip. But for those who like seeing a white Christmas, it’s a disappointment. Here’s where one of our reliable computer models predicts at least an inch of snow will be on the ground Christmas morning (which is the definition of a white Christmas).

Snow will definitely be in short supply this year. For example, those who average three out of four Christmases being white… well, this year is that one-out-of-four.

Travel weather next week likely involves a couple of weather systems in the central and eastern U.S. that’ll produce both rain and snow. Keep up with your local forecast to see what conditions may be like in your area–rain, snow or shine.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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December 19, 2023
Wildfire smoke reducing air quality on Tuesday
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Smoke from Canadian wildfires has made it all the way down the East Coast into Florida. It’s causing spots of relatively poor air quality on Tuesday.
What You Need To Know

Canadian wildfire smoke is over Florida

It’s reducing air quality in some places

Smoke has also caused hazy skies
The smoke has caused the hazy sky early this week, and it’s also been enough to reduce air quality in some parts of our region. Occasionally, the smoke will cause the air quality to be unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as those with respiratory issues, children and older adults.

Those in the sensitive groups should limit their time outdoors when the air quality is poor enough. Here’s a current map of the latest air quality.

Wildfire smoke will gradually move away and diminish later Tuesday, although some of it could linger a bit into Wednesday. Air quality will improve as the smoke moves away.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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Meteorologist Justin Gehrts

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October 3, 2023