The weather portal
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature, precipitation, and other atmospheric conditions, whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth.
Weather is driven by air pressure, temperature, and moisture differences between one place and another. These differences can occur due to the Sun's angle at any particular spot, which varies with latitude. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the largest scale atmospheric circulations: the Hadley cell, the Ferrel cell, the polar cell, and the jet stream. Weather systems in the middle latitudes, such as extratropical cyclones, are caused by instabilities of the jet streamflow. Because Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane (called the ecliptic), sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year. On Earth's surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C (−40 °F to 104 °F) annually. Over thousands of years, changes in Earth's orbit can affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by Earth, thus influencing long-term climate and global climate change.
Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes, as most atmospheric heating is due to contact with the Earth's surface while radiative losses to space are mostly constant. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. Earth's weather system is a chaotic system; as a result, small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout history, and there is evidence that human activities such as agriculture and industry have modified weather patterns
Studying how the weather works on other planets has been helpful in understanding how weather works on Earth. A famous landmark in the Solar System, Jupiter's Great Red Spot, is an anticyclonic storm known to have existed for at least 300 years. However, the weather is not limited to planetary bodies. A star's corona is constantly being lost to space, creating what is essentially a very thin atmosphere throughout the Solar System. The movement of mass ejected from the Sun is known as the solar wind. (Full article...)
Selected article
Typhoon Tip was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone on record. The nineteenth tropical storm and twelfth typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, Tip developed out of a disturbance in the monsoon trough on October 4 near Pohnpei. Initially, a tropical storm to its northwest hindered the development and motion of Tip, though after it tracked further north Tip was able to intensify. After passing Guam, it rapidly intensified and reached peak winds of 305 km/h (190 mph) and a worldwide record low sea-level pressure of 870 mbar (hPa, 25.69 inHg) on October 12. At its peak strength, it was also the largest tropical cyclone on record with a diameter of 2,220 km (1,380 mi). It slowly weakened as it continued west-northwestward, and later turned to the northeast under the influence of an approaching trough. Tip made landfall on southern Japan on October 19, and became an extratropical cyclone shortly thereafter.
U.S. Air Force Reconnaissance flew into the typhoon for 60 missions, making Tip one of the most closely observed tropical cyclones. Rainfall from the typhoon breached a flood-retaining wall at a United States Marine Corps training camp in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, leading to a fire which injured 68 and killed 13 Marines. Elsewhere in the country, the typhoon led to widespread flooding and 42 deaths, and offshore shipwrecks left 44 killed or missing.
Recently selected articles: Hurricane Floyd, Hurricane Dean, Weather forecasting, More...
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that extreme event attribution estimates how much climate change causes weather events, such as the 2021 Western North America heat wave?
- ... that astrophysicist and space-weather specialist Professor Peter T. Gallagher led the building of Ireland's first serious radio telescope, the 3,000-antenna I-LOFAR, at Birr Castle?
- ... that Canadian ice hockey manager Tubby Schmalz reportedly sheltered visiting teams in his hotel during inclement weather?
- ... that although used as the weather vane of a church, the Söderala vane was probably originally made for a Viking ship?
- ... that WILS-TV in Lansing, Michigan, featured a singing weather girl and pianist dressed appropriately for the next day's forecast?
- ... that actor Carl Weathers agreed to play Greef Karga on the Star Wars television series The Mandalorian on the condition that he direct future episodes of the show?
Selected image
Two sun dogs, also known as "mock suns", appear to the left and right of the sun outside of New Ulm, Minnesota, United States. Sun dogs are an optical phenomenon caused by ice crystals either suspended near the surface during cold weather or in high clouds.
Recently selected pictures: Pyrocumulus clouds, Cloud-to-cloud lightning, Eye of Hurricane Isabel, More...
More did you know...
...that the Flying river is the name given to the transport of water vapor from the Amazon rainforest to southern Brazil?
...that hurricane shutters are required for all homes in Florida unless impact-resistant glass is used?
...that the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research is a combined weather and ocean research institute with the cooperation of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the University of Hawaiʻi?
...that the SS Central America was sunk by a hurricane while carrying more than 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857?
...that a hurricane force wind warning is issued by the United States National Weather Service for storms that are not tropical cyclones but are expected to produce hurricane-force winds (65 knots (75 mph; 120 km/h) or higher)?
...that the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System is a software package for tropical cyclone forecasting developed in 1988 that is still used today by meteorologists in various branches of the US Government?
Recent and ongoing weather
- Wikinews weather portal
- March 26, 2021: Tropical moisture ceases to cause severe floods in South East Australia
- February 19, 2021: Winter storms hammer Texas, fatalities reported
- December 28, 2021: Typhoon Phanfone strikes Philippines
- February 1, 2022: Deadly floods in Brazil after heavy rainfall
- April 15, 2022: South African floods kill at least 300 people
- Weather of 2022
- 2022 Atlantic hurricane season
- 2020–21 North American winter
- 2022 Pacific typhoon season
- Tornadoes of 2022
This week in weather history...
October 22
1986: Hurricane Roslyn made landfall in Mazatlán, Mexico, causing only minor damage.
October 23
1091: The London tornado of 1091, the earliest and possibly strongest know tornado in the history of the British Isles, hit downtown London, killing two people.
October 24
1988: The passenger ferry MV Doña Marilyn sank while sailing from Manila to Tacloban, Philippines during Typhoon Ruby, killing at least 77 passengers, though there were reports of almost 400 killed. The storm also killed more than 200 people elsewhere in the Philippines.
October 25
1997: An unseasonably early winter storm hit the Midwestern United States, bringing record cold and snow to Nebraska.
October 26
2010: An extratropical storm system brought a major tornado outbreak to the Central and Southeastern United States.
October 27
1959: An unnamed hurricane, the deadliest and one of the strongest ever to make landfall in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, struck Mexico near Manzanillo, Colima, killing around 1800 people.
October 28
1996: The extratropical remnants of Hurricane Lili struck Great Britain, causing ₤150 million in damage and killing two people.
Selected biography
Anders Celsius (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈânːdɛʂ ˈsɛ̌lːsɪɵs]; 27 November 1701 – 25 April 1744) was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Germany, Italy and France. He founded the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory in 1741, and in 1742 proposed (an inverted form of) the Centigrade temperature scale which was later renamed Celsius in his honour. (Full article...)
Previously selected biographies: Robert FitzRoy, More...
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- Featured Article Review: 2005 Atlantic hurricane season (Discussion)
- Featured List Removal Candidate: List of storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season (Discussion)
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WikiProjects
The scope of WikiProject Weather is to have a single location for all weather-related articles on Wikipedia.
WikiProject Meteorology is a collaborative effort by dozens of Wikipedians to improve the quality of meteorology- and weather-related articles. If you would like to help, visit the project talk page, and see what needs doing.
WikiProject Severe weather is a similar project specific to articles about severe weather. Their talk page is located here.
WikiProject Tropical cyclones is a daughter project of WikiProject meteorology. The dozens of semi-active members and several full-time members focus on improving Wikipdia's coverage of tropical cyclones.
WikiProject Non-tropical storms is a collaborative project to improve articles related to winter storms, wind storms, and extratropical cyclones.
Wikipedia is a fully collaborative effort by volunteers. So if you see something you think you can improve, be bold and get to editing! We appreciate any help you can provide!
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