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Weather Guide to Weather

Ever wondered what caused rain or breezy winds? Or why is it so hot few months and relatively cold in the other months? Well, these all are a part of the weather. In simple terms, weather is a condition of air at a certain time or place. This condition is affected by a number of factors, thus keeps on changing regularly. However, according to some researchers, human beings are also responsible to some extent for causing changes in the weather.

The study of weather is called Meteorology. Apart from measuring the weather, Meteorology also helps in finding out the reason for a particular weather. It also helps forecasting, i.e. predicting, weather for a few days or weeks. Thousands of stations have been developed throughout the world to record and predict the weather daily. This helps in warning people of any upcoming storm or flood and can help save lives.

Variations in Weather

The weather is difficult to predict, even with all the high tech instruments available. That is because of variations in the weather, some of which are:

Lightning - Lightning is produced as a result of a flash of electricity during thunderstorms. This element can be very dangerous as well as risky. Lightning is caused by the positive charges at the top of the cloud and negative charges at the bottom of cloud. Because opposites attract, the positive charges go near the ground. There, it condenses; and as a result, sticks up to anything - mountains or people or homes.

Wind - Wind is simply moving air. It is made when the earth produces uneven heat. The earth's surface is made up of land and water, and they both absorb the sun's radiation. Some parts of the earth get direct sun radiations, thus making that area mostly warm. Meanwhile others get indirect rays, hence leaving that area cool. Unbalanced winds can lead to different weather problems such as windstorms, downbursts, jet stream sea breezes and land breezes.

Temperature - Temperature is the degree of hotness and coldness. It is measured by a thermometer and can be measured in Fahrenheit, Celsius and Kelvin scales.

Rain - Rain forms from warm air. The warm air can rise because of several things, such as low-pressure or mountains. As the warm air rises, it is cooled down by the water droplets in the cloud. The droplets then join, forming bigger droplets. As they get heavy, they drop due to the gravity and cause rain.

Hurricanes - Hurricanes are a type of storms with high ranges. They have strong-wind speeds and may last for about a week or more. They gain power from the evaporation of sea water. They move in the form of swirls, in a counter clock-wise direction, with the middle eye being the calmest part. This type of weather, when near land, can damage the buildings and even cause the trees to fall.

Floods - Floods are the result of heavy rain and melting of snow. As a result, rivers rise and their levels increase above the target level. There is also another category of Flash Floods, which is a sudden flood that rise without a signal or warning. Around 2 -3 feet of water can take away a car or bus, if it is driven during a flood.

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