weather

9 Hard-Hitting Facts About Hail

3. Inside a storm, hailstones move like lottery balls in a tumbler.

Few People Die From Lightning Strikes These Days. Why?

It’s more complicated than any one cause, but there are at least three major factors at play.

Meet the Scientist Who Worked as a Snowflake Consultant on Frozen

CalTech physicist Ken Libbrecht has elevated snowflake science to an art.

10 Damaging Facts About the Fujita Scale

The U.S. is the most active tornado zone in the world.

Pacific Ocean Warming Can Predict East Coast Heat Waves

This metric did a better job of predicting the extreme heat waves of 2012 than the National Weather Service did.

This Smart Umbrella Predicts the Weather and Alerts You When You Leave It Behind

Never forget your umbrella again.

Alex Calderon, Flickr // CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

How Does Weather Radar Work?

Weather radar is an incredible piece of technology, and knowing how to interpret the colors on the map can keep you safe as we enter severe weather season.

15 Archaeological Sites Revealed By Climate Change

As quickly as new discoveries are made, they are vulnerable.

Is This the Coldest and Windiest Intersection in North America?

Neil Young sang so, so probably.

What Is the Snow-to-Liquid Ratio?

How much water snow contains has a big impact on whether you get light and fluffy flakes or a wet and heavy slush.

Why Did We Just Have a Spring-Like Tornado Outbreak?

A sprawling storm that covered almost the entire eastern half of the country produced just about every type of weather imaginable this week, including blizzard conditions near Chicago and deadly tornadoes in the southeast.

19th century London. Image Credit: Christie’s via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

5 Predictions for 20th Century London From 1857

No more fog!

Study Casts Doubt on Whether Seasonal Affective Disorder Is Real

A large study found no support for seasonal mood changes.

How the Wind Chill Makes Cold Days Even Worse

Scientists used detailed human studies to figure out how a cold wind affects your body’s ability to retain heat.

A Brutal Cold Snap Is Freezing Much of the U.S. This Weekend

Low temperatures on Saturday morning will plummet to double digits below zero in the Upper Midwest, with lows on Saturday and Sunday dipping near or below zero in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.