Atmospheric Processes
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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… Continue reading
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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… Continue reading
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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. Continue reading
altered circulation patterns, anomalous propagation, atmospheric reorganization, atmospheric structure, December 2025 weather, deformation zone, freezing level, Georgia weather, jet stream, jet stream changes, mesoscale dynamics, microphysics, new climate regime, sloped ascent, Southeast US precipitation, stratiform precipitation, vorticity advection, weather patterns -
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… Continue reading
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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. Continue reading
aerosol–moisture interaction, atmospheric forecasting, atmospheric processes, atmospheric science, atmospheric structure, boundary layer processes, climate science, Cloud Formation, convection, kinematics, lapse rate, meteorology, microphysics, process coupling, process-based framework, radiation, SAMF, thermodynamics, tornadoes, vertical motion, weather prediction -
How Autumnal Snow Cover in Siberia Really Relates to Cold Winters (Weather Explained #4)
Eurasian snow cover, tropical convection, and stratospheric dynamics form an interlinked system shaping midlatitude winters. This article examines recent research—including Cohen et al. (2021) and Gastineau et al. (2017)—to show when early snow growth strengthens the polar vortex connection and when it fails to. Continue reading
Arctic air, Arctic amplification, Arctic variability, downstream amplification, ENSO, Eurasian snow, Eurasian snow correlation, jet stream, Judah Cohen, La Niña, Madden–Julian Oscillation, MJO, planetary waves and polar vortex, polar vortex, polar vortex explained, Rossby waves, Science 2021, snow cover, snow cover and cold winters, stratosphere-troposphere coupling, stratospheric warming, weak La Niña forecast, winter forecast 2025 2026, winter temperature anomalies -
The Polar Vortex Explained: Why Winter 2025–2026 Could Bring Repeated Arctic Outbreaks (Weather Explained #3)
A surge of Arctic air next week marks the season’s first polar vortex episode. This post explains how the vortex forms and breaks down, why the eastern U.S. often feels its chill, and what current signals reveal about jet shifts, solar activity, and a dynamically active winter ahead. Continue reading
Arctic air outbreak, Arctic amplification, atmospheric circulation, atmospheric dynamics, climate variability, cold air outbreak, eastern U.S. cold, global circulation patterns, jet stream, jet stream shifts, Meteorological Cosmology, polar vortex, polar vortex explained, Rossby waves, Siberian snow cover, solar and magnetic influences, solar cycle 25, stratospheric warming, troposphere–stratosphere coupling, winter 2025–2026, winter weather science -
Liquid Is Where the Energy Is: The Energetic Core of the Water Cycle (Weather Explained #2)
This post explores the importance of liquid water in atmospheric processes. It emphasizes how phase changes of water balance energy, supporting weather patterns and climate. Liquid water uniquely absorbs and releases heat, aiding moisture exchange, forming clouds, and maintaining organizational structures in the atmosphere, thus driving the continuous renewal of weather systems. Continue reading
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Delicate Wisps in Equilibrium: How Lonely, Stray Cumulus Clouds Appear in Blue Sky (Weather Explained #1)
Stray cumulus clouds form when clean air, weak heating, and subtle feedbacks align just enough for condensation to appear. These delicate clouds are brief structures born from balance, where sunlight, moisture, and turbulence meet only momentarily before the sky returns to a brilliant blue. Continue reading