Ask the Meteorologist: Cloud Shapes
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Why are clouds flat on the bottom?” Lucy G., Mr. Ward’s 6th Grade Class St. Mary’s School It’s important to remember that not all clouds are flat on the bottom, but the type we...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Northern Lights
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “What causes the Northern Lights?” Walker, Mae Richardson Elementary The sun is the basic cause of the Aurora. They occur at each of the Earth’s poles, and the one that we are...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Afternoon Winds
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Why are winds stronger in the afternoon?” Something that we commonly see is that winds will start out calm or light in the morning hours, and then as the day progresses, the...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Rain Chances
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “What does ANY percent chance of rain really mean?” Bud Fuller, Grants Pass In some weather forecasts, you have probably heard the phrase “There is a ____ percent chance of rain...
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Ask the Met: Why Do We Have Seasons?
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Why does the weather change every season?” 6th grades in Mrs. Schultz’s class at St. Mary’s School The main reason for the seasons is the tilt of the Earth’s axis! The Earth...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Forecasting
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “How long does it take you to gather the data for your weather forecast?” Cameron, Mae Richardson Elementary There is a short and long answer to this question. The short answer...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Cirrus Clouds
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “What is the maximum altitude of a cirrus cloud?” Will, Mr. Ward’s class, St. Mary’s School Cirrus clouds are those high thin wispy clouds, seen high up in the sky. They get...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Lightning
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Why does rain not always bring lightning and thunder?” Ainsley, St. Mary’s School The answer to this question lies in the height of the clouds that produce the rain. When...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Hurricanes
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Is it possible for a really small hurricane to be happening and for nobody to know about it?” Marcus, Mae Richardson Love this question Marcus! In this day and age, it would be...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Cloud Color
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Why are clouds white?” Mrs. Schultz’s Class, St. Mary’s School Why are clouds white? Well, it has to do with the kind of light that is reflected through the water droplets that...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Newscast Preps
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “How long does it take you to get all the reports, satellite data and other data to do your weather forecasts? Cameron, Rae Micharson Love this question! Prepping for our...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Units of Pressure
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “What are the different units of pressure and why?” Nancy Wieber, Grants Pass There are a few different units of atmospheric pressure, but the most commonly used by...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Tornadoes
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Does it have to be a certain degree, super warm or super cold or in between, for a tornado to go a certain distance?” Sofie, Mae Richardson There is no correlation between...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Tornado Size
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “How big can a tornado get? How can you tell a tornado is on its way?” Kristapher Kinzel, Medford Pretty big! The largest tornado on record touched down on May 31, 2013 just...
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Ask the Met: Largest Hailstone in U.S.
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST The largest hailstone ever recorded was 8″ in diameter, found in Vivian South Dakota on July 23, 2010. It’s circumference measured 18.62″ and weighed nearly 2 pounds! This hail...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Water Colors
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Aren’t clouds supposed to be blue because they have lots of water in them?” Anshuman Singh, Bellview Elementary in Ashland Anshuman is referring to the ocean, and why the ocean,...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Cloud Bases
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST Aidan, Bellview Elementary First we’ll explain how we get clouds, because this well help you to understand how and why their bases tend to be flat … The sun everyday heats the...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Waterspouts
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST Isaac, Ashland Middle School Tornadoes that we see over the ocean are called waterspouts! There are two types …fair weather and tornadic. Tornadic waterspouts are simply...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Average Rainfall
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “What is the average amount of rain in the Rogue Valley?” Abby, 6th Grader at St. Mary’s School When we talk about climate data for the Rogue Valley, we have to use the data for...
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Ask the Meteorologist: Fog
ASK THE METEOROLOGIST “Is Fog Formed From Clouds?” Samantha G. It’s the time of the year where morning fog is becoming a staple in the forecast. Fog has many different types, but essentially forms...
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