This morning on the Morning Show, we talked about hail. We showed video out of Oklahoma showing hail stones the size of chicken eggs and golf balls hitting the area. Hail can cause major damage to crops, cars, houses and you. So how does hail form? Well, I will give you the short and simple answer.

For hail to form, the conditions must be right. For starters, there needs to be a strong updraft. This is the flow of moisture and energy into the storm. Also, the freezing level, the level at which temperatures are at 32 degrees in the sky, must be low enough for hail to form and remain frozen. Basically, a particle like a bug or piece of dust attracts water droplets. The updraft then moves this water droplet up in the upper levels of the storm. The turbulence of the storm along with the updraft cause this new frozen particle to bounce around aloft and collect even more layers of ice. Eventually, the hail chunk gets too heavy for the updraft and it falls to the ground. Hail can range in size from pea-sized to as big as a softball. If you ever do see a big hail stone, grab it and cut it in half. You’ll see the rings of growth. It will look like tree rings or like the layers of a gobstopper.

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It’s hard to believe, but we are already into the Month of May. So far, we’ve enjoyed some pretty nice weather around here. Now that it’s a new month, lets take a look back on how April stacked up for South Bend.

April turned out to be a warm and dry month. The average temperature for the month was 54.3 degrees. That’s the mean temperature you get when you average all day time highs and lows. The 54.3 degrees is six degree above the normal average. So, April 2010 ranks as the 4th warmest April for South Bend.

As for precipitation, there wasn’t all that much. The area got 2.38 inches of rain. That’s 1.24 inches below the normal. There was only a trace amount of snow for the month. That was way off the month average of 1.7 inches.

If you’re wondering, these numbers are typical of an El Nino year.

Have a great May!

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It’s now March which means we will soon begin the transition from winter weather to the stormy weather. We ran a story Monday on The Morning Show about a microburst that happened in Arizona. I gave a brief explanation of what it is. It’s basically a strong blast of wind from a thunderstorm that’s confined to a relatively small area. But here on Ken’s Korner, I want to give a bit more detail.

These things set up when thunderstorms are getting to their maturity state. The maturity stage is when storms are raining their hardest and at their strongest. In side the rain cloud, there is a lot  of cooling taking place. As a note, cold air is more dense than warm air. So, with all those cooling, the air is getting heavier, so to speak. Eventually it gets too heavy and it “falls” out of the cloudy. It “falls” at a high rate of speed and can often be confused with a tornado. The “fall” is also part of the storm downdraft.  When this air hits the surface, it spreads out in all directions. This lasts for several seconds. I have attached some pictures to illustrate.

There are two types of microbursts; wet and dry. Dry has no rain and wet is with rain. Microbursts will knock over trees and cause other damage. It’s also very dangerous to airplanes. If a plane gets caught in one, the microburst disrupts the flow over the wings which eliminates the lift. This causes the plan to go down and possibly crash.

They happen all the time, and could happen as we get into the summer season. Stay safe!

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Once again, Michiana got hit by a winter storm. It dropped over seven inches of snow across the area, making for an interesting couple of days. All of this snow prompted school closures and that meant kids were able to have a SNOW DAY!

Many kids spent the day sledding, skiing, or trying to have snowball fights. However, those kids likely didn’t have much luck in making snowballs. Below is an explanation of why making snowballs or snowmen was a little tough. I also explain what’s the best kind of snow for snowballs.

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Yet another winter storm moved through Michiana and it brought a mixed bag of goodies. We got snow, rain, freezing rain, sleet and more snow. However, I want to talk about freezing rain. This is the stuff that causes all of the icing problems during the winter. It’s probably one of the more damaging aspects of winter.

So what in the world is freezing rain? As it’s name implies, it’s rain that freezes. Here is how it all works. Way up in the sky, ice melts and turns into rain drops. Generally, when you go up higher in the sky, temperatures decrease. But in the case of freezing rain, there is a layer of warm air that creates the water drops. Once the drops get past this warm layer, they hit a layer of freezing air. As the droplets pass through the layer of cold air, they get colder and eventually cool to a temperature that’s below freezing (32F). This is called supercooled. It’s called this because these droplets don’t freeze back into a solid. It will not become a solid again until it hits something on the ground that’s below freezing. Generally, these drops freeze on contact with the surface. When the drops hit, they create what’s known as glaze.

When ice storms move through the area, it’s all because of freezing rain. It’s dangerous stuff. It can build up on trees and snap them like match sticks. It brings power lines down and keeps people in the dark for days until the ice melts. And it makes driving virtually impossible.

If you ever hear a meteorologist say freezing rain is in the forecast, it’s probably best to listen up.

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This is going to be a short one. On November 24th, Michiana woke up to dense fog across the area. While having thick fog isn’t new, it does give me a chance to explain what happened.

The fog on that morning was known as radiation fog. For this kind of fog, certain conditions have to be present. First, winds have to be light to calm. Skies have to be pretty clear. And it has to be cool. At night, the Earth’s surface radiates energy back into the atmosphere. This is known as radiational cooling. When this happens, it cools the surrounding air. As a result, temperatures drop and eventually reach the dew point. When that happens, condensation occurs and BOOM, you have fog.

Once the sun comes up, it begins to warm up the fog and eventually the fog dissapates.

Of course, when it comes to fog, always remember to drive with your low beam headlights. You need to also drive a little slower since visibility is always reduced.

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If you watched the Fox 28 Morning Show on November 4th, I talked about virga. Some people thought I was talking about Viagra, but I wasn’t. Steve did clarify that viagra is what keeps the sun up. HA!

So just what is virga? You’ve probably seen and never realized what it was. Basically, virga is rain that is falling from the clouds and evaporating before it hits the ground. Rain is falling into very dry air and, without getting into too much science, evaporated to try and make up for the lack of moisture in the air.

It’s common to see virga in the southern U.S. and desert areas. It can also happen in the plains states.

Here are some pictures of what virga looks like. Enjoy!

If you ever see something cool happening in the weather, please email me the pictures. I will try to get them on the air and will definitely get them on Ken’s Korner. kgarcia@fox28.com.

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Over the past weekend, the New England states got hit by a Nor’easter. The word, as you can likely figure out, is a combination of the words north and east. If you watched the Patriots-Titans game on Sunday, you saw quite a bit of snow falling. Nor’easters can bring a lot of rain or snow (depending on temperatures…but since they tend to happen during the cold months it’s snow), strong winds, and cold temperatures. It gets the name “Nor’easter” because of the counter clockwise rotation. In other words, the winds come from the northeast (this is the area that gets the snow and cold weather).

So what is a Nor’easter? Basically it’s a low pressure system that sets up residence just off the coast of New England. They can form further south, but the “classic” Nor’easters happen north. The systems tend to form in the south in the Gulf of Mexico and then move up along the east coast. While it’s in the gulf, it picks up a lot of moisture which it holds onto as it moves north.

Example of rotation.

Once it gets far enough north, it maintains it’s moisture thanks to the Gulf Stream. The Gulf stream is a current of warm water that flows from southern Florida to the north Atlantic. Since low pressure systems spin counter clockwise, the moist and warm air from the gulf stream is sent to the coast. The system also brings in cold air from northern Canada to mix with the moist air coming in. When those two things mix…BOOM…snow. Lots of snow. It’s a similar concept to the lake effect we feel here in Michiana. The main differences are the fact the snow from a Nor’easter is much more wide spread and the winds make for blizzard like conditions.

Nor’easter Blizzard of 1978.

There is a lot more to these system, but I have given you the very basic info on them. I know we will never get a Nor’easter here in Michiana, but I thought I would pass along a little info on what is going on. I’m sure there will be more as we move further into the cold season.

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It was bound to happen, and it finally did as snow fell on parts of Michiana on October 15. It wasn’t a lot of snow, thank goodness. Officially it’s being calculated as a trace at the South Bend Airport. Believe it or not, that’s a record amount of snow for the day. Usually the first measurable amount of snow doesn’t start falling around here until the 23rd.

This little bit of snow, and the recent bout of cold weather, is a reminder that Old Man Winter isn’t too far off. Based on the cool summer we had and the current cool October, some might come to the conclusion the winter is going to be a rough one. What if I told you it may be the opposite case?

On October 15th, the Climate Prediction Center released their forecast for the upcoming winter season. For Michiana, it looks like we will have a “normal” winter as far as temperatures are concerned. With that said, Michiana could end up with slightly warmer or colder temperatures when all is said and done. We will also have our share of very cold weather outbreaks. As for snow and rain, it looks like it will be drier than “normal”. The main drive for this forecast is El Nino.

El Nino is expected to continue, and even strengthen in the Pacific through the winter season. For a refresher, El Nino is when the currents in the Pacific are altered and warmer water is pushed closer to South America. When this happens, it influences the weather here in the North America.

One thing I know will happen… there will be cold temperatures and there will be snow. Sorry.

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Several days ago, we celebrated Labor Day. It’s a holiday designed to honor the American workforce and of course enjoy that last big bar b Que. It also means the end of summer vacation for kids and the unofficial end to summer.

It doesn’t seem fair that summer has to end once Labor Day passes. The actual season still has two more weeks until the fall equinox. Temperatures don’t automatically drop to fall averages. This year, temperatures were very close to 80 right after Labor Day. Normally I would head to the pool to cool off, but no luck. The pool at my apartment complex closed the day after Labor Day. But, that’s the way it is when you live up north. That let down is one thing I’ve had a hard time adjusting to (the other being snow).

I personally think pools should stay open until it gets too cool.  Sometimes on those warm weekends in September I look at the pool and think, “I would love to do a cannon ball into that water right now”. But the deck remains empty, the gate remains locked tighter than Fort Knox and the water stays calm.

I know one of the reasons for the early closing time is to prepare pools for the winter, but really cold weather tends to not get here until October. I can’t imagine it takes that long to get a pool winter ready.

I won’t even bother going into the Halloween candy and costumes I saw in the stores. Oh, and I did see some Thanksgiving and even some Christmas decorations. The post Labor Day transition to fall and winter happens way too fast.

I am not completely negative on this transition. I enjoy the fall colors and the hints of cool weather to come. But the main thing is the return of football. I am a big college football fan and I look forward to the start of the season and the opportunity watch to my Florida Gators!

No matter how you feel about the post Labor Day time, just remember this… Only eight months until Memorial day and the unofficial start to summer.

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