A Process Analysis of Major Flash Floods
Introduction In 1996 Chuck Doswell, Harold Brooks, and Robert Maddox published an important paper outlining an “ingredients-based methodology” for flash flood forecasting. They pointed out that rainfall accumulation depends on its intensity times its duration: how hard is the rain falling, and for how long? Rainfall intensity is driven by how much moisture is available…
Hot Pavement, Dry Air: The Process-Based Physics Behind Cloud Dissipation Over An Airport (Weather Explained #5)
Introduction Airports, even small ones, act as localized sources of heat and disrupt the moisture balance near the surface. But how can something so limited in scale produce visible, immediate effects on clouds overhead? I found out on April 2, 2026. I set up my phone for a timelapse video (I had to do so…
Beyond Overshooting Tops: What the Enhanced-V Reveals About Storm-Top Physics
Introduction I’m covering satellite imagery in one of my classes, and we’ve recently discussed the enhanced-V signature that’s appears during some severe storms. While the signature is well-established as an indicator of potential severe activity when it appears, the physical processes leading to its appearance remain poorly understood. I decided to work with generative AI…
Why Tornadoes Don’t Suck: The Fallacy of Suction and Low Pressure (Weather Explained #5)
Introduction When I played in the pep band in college, we had a cheer to taunt the goalie at hockey games that went something like this: You’re not a sieve; you’re a funnelYou’re not a funnel; you’re a vacuumYou’re not a vacuum; you’re a black holeYou’re not a black hole; you just suck! We didn’t…
Cloud Timelapse Videos, Week of January 4
I recently added a phone app that records timelapse videos and put it to work imaging clouds. I think the results are pretty spectacular so far, but I’ll let you view the videos below and decide for yourself. On Sunday, January 4, I was eager to try out my new app. Earlier low cloud cover…
Subcritical Aerosol-Moisture Feedback (SAMF) Case Study: Self-Organization During Evening Transition
Setting Up the Experiment As I was teaching my environmental air quality course in 2022, a local business was under scrutiny for emissions of a substance – carbon black – that was soiling people’s clothes, pets, cars, and homes. I used some available funds to purchase air quality sensors that could detect aerosol particles (particulate…
When It Isn’t As Humid As It Feels: Surface Dewpoint and Adaptability in a Changing Climate
Introduction I’ve lived in the Deep South for a few years. It can get pretty humid here. But usually, by the time October and November roll around, the air dries out. Winters are usually pleasant for this transplanted northerner, and even if the dewpoint temperature rises during the cool season, it remains tolerable. But in…
Stratiform Precipitation in the New Climate Regime: How the Atmosphere Organizes With a Broad Jet Stream
Stratiform precipitation developed over Georgia even as the jet stream lost definition. This case study shows how the atmosphere built a new vertical pathway for ascent, organized around the freezing level, and sustained a coherent rain band through deformation, layered stability, and microphysical constraints.
A Sophisticated Storm Events Filter for the NCEI Storm Events Database
Introduction Since 1950, local National Weather Service offices have tracked reports of severe and hazardous weather. These reports are compiled in a large online repository known as the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) Storm Events database. These reports serve as a record of the toll that weather takes across the U.S., logging fatalities, injuries…
How the Atmosphere Works: A Process-Based Framework
This post introduces a process-based view of the atmosphere that explains how energy and mass move through thermodynamic, microphysical, radiative, and kinematic pathways. By tracing how these processes couple across scales, from the surface to the jet stream, we gain a clearer picture of convection, storm evolution, and the connections that organize weather and climate.
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