10 Interesting Facts About Weather

Tornado

A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. Tornadoes can be detected before or as they occur through the use of Pulse-Doppler radar by recognizing patterns in velocity and reflectivity data.

Fact 1:

Debris from a tornado can be lifted into the parent storm and carried a very long distance. Waterspouts and tornadoes have been advanced as an explanation for instances of raining fish and other animals.

Fact 2:

The highest wind speed ever measured in a tornado, which is also the highest wind speed ever recorded on the planet, is 301 ± 20 mph (484 ± 32 km/h) in the F5 Bridge Creek-Moore, Oklahoma, tornado – faster than speed of Formula One racing cars!!!

Lightning

A lightning strikes because of the discharge of electricity built up in a cloud. It is so strong that it breaks through the ionized air, creating a lightning bolt that travels downward towards the surface of the earth.

Fact 3:

Lightning never strikes the same place twice? False.

There is nothing to stop the lightning to strike the same place again, either decades or centuries later or even during the same thunderstorm. Any place which is more susceptible than others for lightning strike will definitely have multiple lightning strikes in a year. For example skyscrapers can be struck by lighting in every thunderstorm. Thankfully they are equipped with lightning conductors and therefore safe from any damage.

Fact 4:

It is estimated that Earth as a whole is struck by an average of more than a 100 lightning bolts every second.

Fact 5:

Which is hotter – lightning or Sun? Surprise, surprise – It is lightning!

Air is a very poor conductor of electricity and gets extremely hot when lightning passes through it. In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the surface of the sun).

Read more interesting facts about Dinosaurs, Jelly Fish, Plants, Eyes

Rain

Fact 6:

Rain can contain vitamin B12. Water obviously has no vitamins, but rain water is not pure. As it falls down it comes in contact with many micro-organisms which get caught up in the rain. Many of these micro-organisms produce vitamin B12 as a bi-product of their metabolic activity. Thus rain can contain vitamin B12!

Fact 7:

Raindrops can be the size of a housefly and fall at more than 30kmph.

Fact 8:

In July 2001, some parts of Kerala in India, experienced blood red rainfall. It was earlier believed to be due to a meteorite but detailed report by the government institutions later revealed that the colour was found to be due to the presence of a large amount of spores of a lichen-forming algae.

Snow:

Fact 9:

Snow can affect sound. Freshly fallen snow absorbs sound waves, giving everything a seemingly hushed, quieter ambience after a flurry. But if the snow then melts and refreezes, the ice can reflect sound waves making sound travel further and clearer.

Fact 10:

Snow can warm you up! Snow is comprised of 90 to 95 percent trapped air, which is why it is a great insulator and traps heat inside. This is the reason many animals burrow deep into the snow during winter in order to hibernate. It’s also the reason that igloos, that use only body heat to warm them, can be 100 degrees warmer inside than outside.

Sources:

• www.natgeokids.com
• http://www.bbcearth.com
• http://www.wikipedia.org
• www.weather.gov
• www.nature.com