The following are the most frequent asked questions to meteorologists.

• What is a meteorologist?
  • A meteorologist is someone who has specialized education in meteorology. A meteorologist uses scientific principles to explain, understand, observe or forecast the Earth's atmospheric phenomena.


• Is the greenhouse effect influencing our climate?
  • Yes, it has been, but not in a bad way. It is essential in balancing the natural gases in our atmosphere and; therefore, the temperature. The greenhouse effect is necessary for our survival.


• What are fronts?
• Fronts are boundaries between air masses with temperature and/or moisture differences. Examples include: cold, warm, stationary, occluded, etc. A cold front sepparates warm moist air from cold dry air, a warm front has warm moist air running over colder drier air, an occluded front is where a cold front overtakes and merges with a warm front, and a stationary front has warm air to the south and cooler air to the north with winds move along the front instead of pushing the front.


• How can one tell how far they are from a lightning strike?
• Once you see the lightning flash, begin counting the seconds before you hear the thunder. Every 5 seconds equals one mile. So if you see a flash and then hear the thunder 15 seconds later, the lightning strike was about 3 miles away.


• How is snow mesaured in comparison with rain?
• Snow is measured with a ruler; rain is measured with a rain gauge. Every ten inches of snow wet equals one inch of water.


• How does one convert temperature from degrees fahrenheit to degrees celsius?
• There is a simple formula: Temp In F=1.8*(temp in C) + 32 or Temp in C=(temp in F-32)/1.8. Example: The temperature is 32 degrees fahrenheit find the temperature in degrees celsius. (32-32)/1.8=0; 32 degrees fahrenheit is 0 degrees celsius.


• What is the name of the cloud which follows an airplane?
• The engines of airplanes create condensed water vapor once they are high in the atmosphere. The cloud of water vapor following the plane is called a contrail.


• What is heat lightning?
• Heat lightning is not a special form of lightning. It is simply a term given for lightning too far away for the thunder to be heard. There is really no such thing as heat lightning. Heat doesn't cause lightning.


• Why is the sky blue?
• Air molecules scatter the colors of the sun's light differently, depending on wavelength. The blue portion predominates in the light we see in the sky.


• What causes tornadoes?
• Spin, or horizontal vorticity, converges in the updraft of a strong thunderstorm. The rate of spin increases; therefore, lifting the spin vertically and a funnel is formed. Tornadoes are still not fully understood.


• What is a Nor' Easter?
• Deep, low pressure systems form over the eastern US and then get a feed of warm, moist air. They then grow explosively while moving northward along the Atlantic coast. Since winds in low pressure rotate counter-clockwise, rain and/or snow in coastal cities is accompanied by strong north-east winds.


• What is LES?
• LES or lake effect snow is heavy snowfall which occurs over the Great Lakes region. This happens normally during early winter when the lake temperatures are still fairly warm and a cold dry air mass moves over them.


• What is the NWS?
• NWS stands for the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service started in 1870 and now there are 151 stations across the US. Besides forecasting weather, these stations are used primarily to save lives and protect property.


• What is El Nino?
• El Nino is an unusual warming of water temperatures on the surface of equatorial Pacific Ocean. On average it cycles every seven to ten years and has a profound impact on global weather patterns.