Mr. Kish's Weather Facts Page

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Last updated: 9/7/2005

To comment or contribute additional weather facts e-mail: ckish@saratogaschools.org

Temperature

• Thanks to the Alchemy Handbook for this handy tool:

  Temperature Conversion Calculator for Fahrenheit, Centigrade, and Kelvin

  type in a number and click anywhere

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  Celsius	Fahrenheit	Kelvin

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• Highest world temperature: 136° F / 58° C, Al Aziziyah, Libya, 13 September, 1922¹

• Highest USA temperature: 134° F / 56.7° C, Death Valley, California, 10 July, 1913
  (neither 140° F / 60° C at Delta Mexico 8/1933 or 136.4° F / 58° C at San Luis Mexico, 8/11/1933 are internationally accepted) ¹

• Lowest world temperature: -128.6°F / -89.6°C, Vostok Station, Antarctica, 21 July 1983--without windchill.^1,4

• Lowest world temperature in inhabited area: -90.4° F / -68° C, Oymyakon, Siberia (pop. 4,000), 6 February, 1933 and also at Verkhoyansk, Siberia, 3 January, 1885¹

• Lowest USA temperature: -79.8° F / -62.1° C, Prospect Creek, Alaska, 23 January, 1971 ¹

• Lowest USA (48 contiguous states) temperature: -69.7° F / -56.5° C, Rogers Pass, Montana, 20 January, 1954. ¹

• Lowest Northern Hemisphere Temperature: -81°F /-62.78°C; Snag, Yukon Territory(Canada); 2 February, 1947.⁶

• Heat bursts are an odd atmospheric event that occurs in thunderstorms. Although most thunderstorms produce cooling gusts, an occasional parcel of air is pushed down from 20,000 feet to the surface, warming by compression all the way down. In Glasgow, MT, on September 9, 1994, the temperature at 5:02 AM was 67°F. A heat burst from a nearby storm shot the temp up to 93°F by 5:17 AM, tying the date's record high. By 5:40 AM, it was back to 68°F. ⁴

• The summer of 1995 was so hot that at the end of August, methane emitted within big bales of freshly-cut hay in Missouri began spontaneously combusting. ⁴

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Air Pressure

• Lowest barometric pressure recorded in the western hemisphere:   October 19, 2005, Hurricane Wilma, with a pressure of 882 mb (26.045 inches of mercury at 0C), is the most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin;  [previously, 888 millibars (26.17 inches) during Hurricane Gilbert (1988). ^4]

• Highest barometric pressure -- world record:   1083.6millibars (32.01inches); Agata, USSR; 31 December, 1968. ⁶

• Weight of air:

  • Cubic yard at sea level: over 2 pounds.  ⁴

  • Entire atmosphere:   5.1 million billion tons ⁴

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Winds

• Fastest surface wind speed: 231 miles per hour (Mount Washington, New Hampshire; April 12, 1934) ²

• Fastest tornado winds: 286 miles per hour (Wichita Falls, Texas; April 2, 1958) ²

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Precipitation

•  Greatest rainfall in a day: 73.62 inches (RØunion, Indian Ocean; March 15, 1952) ²

• Greatest rainfall in a year: 1,041 inches (Assam, India; August 1880-1881) ²

• World's one minute rainfall record:   July 4, 1956, 1.23 inches of rain fell in Unionville, MD. ⁴

• 12 inches of rain in Holt, MO, on June 22, 1947 in 42 minutes. ⁴

• It takes about one million cloud droplets to provide enough water for one raindrop. ⁴

• Greatest snowfall in a day: 75.8 inches (Silver Lake, Colorado; April 14-15, 1921) ²

• Greatest snowfall in a single storm: 189 inches (Mt. Shasta, California; February 13-19, 1959) ²

• Saratoga Springs, NY greatest snowfall: 58 inches (1888, March 11-14) ⁶

• Largest hailstone: 17.5 inches (Coffeyville, Kansas; September 3, 1979) ², wieght 1.67 pounds ⁶

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Thunderstorms

• Lightning from the blue: Lightning bolts can jump 10 or more miles from their parent cloud into regions with blue skies. ⁴

• Temperature of lightning:  estimated   50,000°F ( hotter than the surface of the sun )  ⁴

• Odds of being struck by lightning: approx. 1 in 800,000.  ⁴

• Lightning strikes:  9 out of 10 lightning bolts strike the continents rather than oceans.  ⁴

• For each lightning bolt that hits the ground, about 200,000 pounds of rain are also formed. ⁴

• Number of thunderstorms:  Nearly 2,000 thunderstorm cells are estimated over the planet at any given time. The U.S. has over 100,000 thunderstorms annually, the global average being 16 million! ⁴

• Heat bursts are an odd atmospheric event that occurs in thunderstorms. Although most thunderstorms produce cooling gusts, an occasional parcel of air is pushed down from 20,000 feet to the surface, warming by compression all the way down. In Glasgow, MT, on September 9, 1994, the temperature at 5:02 AM was 67°F. A heat burst from a nearby storm shot the temp up to 93°F by 5:17 AM, tying the date's record high. By 5:40 AM, it was back to 68°F.  ⁴

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Tornadoes

• Fastest tornado winds: 286 miles per hour (Wichita Falls, Texas; April 2, 1958) ²

• Worst tornado outbreaks: Some  have not been in the midwestern "tornado alley." On March 28, 1984, 22 tornadoes ripped across the Carolinas, killing 57, injuring 1,248 and causing $200 million in damages. On May 31, 1985, 41 tornadoes in Ohio, Pennsylvania and ontario killed 75, injured 1,025 and left almost $500 million in damages. ⁴

• Tornado frequency in U.S. :  3 out of 4 of all world tornadoes hit the U.S. ⁴

• Long distance traveler:  293 miles on the ground, 1917,  traveled from Missouri to Indiana.  ⁴

• A tornado destroyed a motel near Broken Bow, OK. The motel's sign was found later in Arkansas. ⁴

• Only 2% of U.S. tornadoes reach "violent" intensity, yet those few result in 70% of all tornado deaths.  Winds in these tornadoes exceed 200 mph and can stay on the ground for an hour or more. ⁴

• The Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity   (also Fujita-Pearson Scale; based on storm damage)

  F-Scale Number		Intensity Phrase	Wind Speed(mph)	Type of Damage Done
  W E A K	F0	Gale tornado	40-72	Some damage to chimneys; breaks branches off trees; pushes over shallow-rooted trees; damages sign boards.
  	F1	Moderate tornado	73-112	The lower limit is the beginning of hurricane wind speed; peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos pushed off the roads; attached garages may be destroyed.
  S T R O N G	F2	Significant tornado	113-157	Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted; light object missiles generated.
  	F3	Severe tornado	158-206	Roof and some walls torn off well constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in fores uprooted
  V I O L E N T	F4	Devastating tornado	207-260	Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown off some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.
  	F5	Incredible tornado	261-318	Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters; trees debarked; steel re-inforced concrete structures badly damaged.
  F6		Inconceivable tornado	319-379	These winds are very unlikely. The small area of damage they might produce would probably not be recognizable along with the mess produced by F4 and F5 wind that would surround the F6 winds. Missiles, such as cars and refrigerators would do serious secondary damage that could not be directly identified as F6 damage. If this level is ever acheived, evidence for it migh only be found in some manner of ground swirl pattern, for it may never be identifiable through engineering studies

  F-0 and F-1 tornadoes are considered "weak," F-2 and F-3 are "strong" and F-4 and F-5 are "violent." The Fujita-Pearson Scale adds categories to include path length and path width. The scale had been originally calculated through F-12, which is Mach 1 - the speed of sound (750 mph) - but tornado wind speeds are not expected to reach these speeds.

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Hurricanes

• Longest-lasting Atlantic tropical storm:   "Ginger",  1971, which spun around the open ocean for 28 days.

• Longest-lasting Pacific tropical storm:   a storm named John hung on for 31 days. Since it crossed the dateline twice, it changed status from a hurricane to a typhoon and back to a hurricane. ⁴

• Lowest hurricane barometric pressure recorded in the western hemisphere:    October 19, 2005, Hurricane Wilma, with a pressure of 882 mb (26.045 inches of mercury at 0C), is the most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin;  [previously, 888 millibars (26.17 inches) during Hurricane Gilbert (1988). ⁴]

• Deadliest Atlantic Hurricane:  1780; hit Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados;  killed 22,000 people. ⁶

• Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale:  used by the US for the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific basins to give an estimate of the potential flooding and damage to property given a hurricane's estimated intensity:

  Category example	Maximum sustained wind speed mph (m/s) [kt]	Minimum surface pressure mb (inches Hg)	Storm surge m  [ft]	Damage Description
  1 Hurricane Jerry (1989)	74-96 (33-42) [64-83]	> 980 (28.94)	1.0-1.7 [3-5]	MINIMAL: Damage primarily to shrubbery, trees, foliage, and unanchored homes. No real damage to other structures. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Low-lying coastal roads inundated, minor pier damage, some small craft in exposed anchorage torn from moorings.
  2 Hurricane Bob (1991)	97-111 (43-49) [84-96]	979-965 (28.91-28.5)	1.8-2.6 [6-8]	MODERATE:    Considerable damage to shrubbery and tree foliage; some trees blown down. Major damage to exposed mobile homes. Extensive damage to poorly constructed signs. Some damage to roofing materials of buildings; some window and door damage. No major damage to buildings. Coast roads and low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 2 to 4 hours before arrival of hurricane center. Considerable damage to piers. Marinas flooded. Small craft in unprotected anchorages torn from moorings. Evacuation of some shoreline residences and low-lying areas required.
  3 Hurricane Gloria (1985)	112-131 (50-58) [97-113]	964-945 (28.5-27.91)	2.7-3.8 [9-12]	EXTENSIVE:   Foliage torn from trees; large trees blown down. Practically all poorly constructed signs blown down. Some damage to roofing materials of buildings; some wind and door damage. Some structural damage to small buildings. Mobile homes destroyed. Serious flooding at coast and many smaller structures near coast destroyed; larger structures near coast damaged by battering waves and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Flat terrain 5 feet of less above sea level flooded inland 8 miles or more. Evacuation of low- lying residences within several blocks of shoreline possibly required.
  4 Hurricane Andrew (1992)	132-155 (59-69) [114-135]	944-920 (27.88-27.38)	3.9-5.6 [13-18]	EXTREME:    Shrubs and trees blown down; all signs down. Extensive damage to roofing materials, windows and doors. Complete failures of roofs on many small residences. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Flat terrain 10 feet of less above sea level flooded inland as far as 6 miles. Major damage to lower floors of structures near shore due to flooding and battering by waves and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Major erosion of beaches. Massive evacuation of all residences within 500 yards of shore possibly required, and of single- story residences within 2 miles of shore.
  5 Hurricane Camille (1969)	156+ (70+) [136+]	< 920 (<27.38)	5.7+ [19+]	CATASTROPHIC:   Shrubs and trees blown down; considerable damage to roofs of buildings; all signs down. Very severe and extensive damage to windows and doors. Complete failure of roofs on many residences and industrial buildings. Extensive shattering of glass in windows and doors. Some complete building failures. Small buildings overturned or blown away. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Major damage to lower floors of all structures less than 15 feet above sea level within 500 yards of shore. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5 to 10 miles of shore possibly required.

Note that tropical storms are not on this scale, but can produce extensive damage with rainfall-produced flooding. Note also that category 3, 4, and 5 hurricanes are collectively referred to as intense (or major) hurricanes. These intense hurricanes cause over 70% of the damage in the USA even though they account for only 20% of tropical cyclone landfalls.  Main source:  Landsea, C.W. (1993): A climatology of intense (or major) Atlantic hurricanes. Mon. Wea. Rev   ( www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqD.html#D1 )   Note that Australian forecasters have developed a different scale for Australian cyclones.

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Miscellaneous

• Antartica is getting warmer. It has long been suspected that signs of greenhouse warming might first show up in south polar regions. Over the last 50 years the average temperature of parts of the ice continent have increased by 2.5°C. Some of the milder coastal regions are seeing 25-fold increases in the amount of vegetation. And in 1995, a gigantic iceberg some 23 by 48 miles in size broke loose and floated out to sea. The 600-foot thick berg was the size of Luxembourg.   ⁴

• The relatively mild winter of 1994-95 in the Twin Cities allowed local street departments to use 8,000 fewer tons of salt and 30,000 fewer tons of sand on area highways for a savings of $750,000  ⁴

• Air pollution in the U.S. is not as big of a problem as in third world nations.  In Mexico City, only 31 days in 1993 had air considered fit to breathe.  In Bombay, India, breathing the air is equivalent to smoking ten packs of cigarette a day.  ⁴

• Carbon Monoxide had been steadily increasing in the earth's atmosphere, along with gases such as greenhouse culprits carbon dioxide and methane. Then suddenly, in the last few years, these gas levels have unexpectedly dropped. One theory is that decreases in stratosheric ozone let more ultraviolet rays through to lower levels, converting them into other gases.  ⁴

• On April 1st, 1960, Tiros I, the world's first weather satellite was launched from the U.S.  ⁴

• Ever wonder about the term "Harvest Moon?" Actually, 26 names for the full moon of each month are recognized. ⁴

•Scientists have been trying to explain the extinction of dinosaurs for a long time. First it was a giant asteroid impact, which hurled vast clouds of dust into the stratosphere, causing a worldwide winter.  The latest twist is that the asteroid now believed to have struck parts of the Gulf of Mexico heated large amounts of water to 50°C, much hotter than present oceans, and triggered giant "hypercanes"--hurricanes with near supersonic winds that also hurled vast quantities of debris into the stratosphere. 4

•The amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface is 6,000 times the amount of energy used by all human beings worldwide. The total amount of fossil fuel used by humans since the start of civilization is equivalent to less than 30 days of sunshine. 4

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AMAZING WEATHER FACTS ³

Review the following forecaster's secrets with your kids--then let them dazzle their friends with a little weather magic. ³

Tree crickets are called the poor man's thermometer because temperature directly affects their rate of activity. Listen for a cricket and count the number of chirps it makes in fifteen seconds. Add 37. The sum will be the Fahrenheit temperature (almost exactly!).³

Ask your kids to keep an eye on leaves. Poplar trees and red and silver maples flip up their leaves when air pressure is low and rain is imminent. ³

Challenge your children to smell rain coming--many people can. Some scientists believe moisture (impending rain) makes your nose more sensitive. ³

How far away is lightning? During a storm, count the number of seconds between the strike of lightning and the sound of thunder, then divide by two. The answer reveals how many miles away the lightning is. (The thunder and lightning strike at the same time, but it takes the sound longer to travel; if you see lightning and hear thunder simultaneously, you are right in the middle of the storm.)³

Do the kids see any dark clouds? Those are storm clouds. Because they have a high ice crystal content, light has trouble passing through them, making the clouds appear dark. Eventually, the crystals become so heavy that they fall to earth as either snow (when the air is cold) or rain (when the air is warm). ³

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Sources

1. The Handy Science Answer Book, compiled by the Science and Technology Dept., Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh
2. WILD WEATHER RECORDS:             http://family.disney.com/Features/family_1996_06/famf/famf199606_famf66weath/famf199606_famf66record.html
3. AMAZING WEATHER FACTS:          http://family.disney.com/Features/family_1996_06/famf/famf199606_famf66weath/famf199606_famf66facts.html
4. http://people.aero.und.edu/~ehall/wxfacts.html
5. Landsea, C.W. (1993): A climatology of intense (or major) Atlantic hurricanes. Mon. Wea. Rev   (www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqD.html#D1 )
6. 1999 Weather Guide Calendar, Accord Publishing Ltd., 1998

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©C. Kish,  2000-2007
(except where otherwise credited)
All Rights Reserved