The answer: No. Lightning occurs when the difference in charge between the cloud and the ground becomes so great that a conductive channel of air develops. In that channel lightning discharges the electricity from the cloud to the ground. Often…
This is from the NOAA website: The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees, making it the hottest July in the 140-year record, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for…
Temperatures are warming on the planet. Here in Columbia, that's no exception. This table shows the percent of cold and hot records by decade. 90% of the records set from 2010 on have been record highs. If temperatures were not…
Today hit 100 degrees. That's the 6th time that's happened this year - 5 times in May and once in August. By comparison, last year, 2018, hit 100 degrees only 3 times. Some cooler weather is on the way for…
The Perseid Meteor Shower will peak overnight tonight. The problem is the moon. It's close to full and will fill the night and early morning sky with lots of light. But if you're hardy and want to see the meteor…
The "star" that's just to the lower right of the moon tonight is not a star at all. It's the planet Jupiter. It's the biggest planet in our Solar System - roughly 318 times more massive than the Earth. If…
An international panel of scientists is warning that land use is a significant contributor to global warming. And a big part of that is animal agriculture. Changing the way humans use the land surface is a daunting challenge, especially as…
As global temperatures rise, summertime overnight temperatures here in Columbia are also rising. Here's a look over roughly the last 50 years. There is a clear upward trend. Overnight lows are nearly 5 degrees warmer now than they were in…
The Gulf Stream runs up the east coast all the way to northwestern Europe. It's part of a clockwise circulation that transports warm water from the topics up north, and cold water from up north down to the topics. Scientists…
The European Climate Agency, Copernicus, has concluded that this July was the hottest month on record. They found that the global temperature was around 0.07°F warmer than July of 2016, which was the previous record holder. NOAA and NASA also…
I have seen social media posts recently expressing concern that an asteroid (2006 QV89) might strike the earth in September. NASA and the European Space Agency have released their calculations and concluded that we have nothing to worry about. In…
You may recall last weeks record breaking heatwave in Europe, where many countries measured their hottest temperatures on record. Well that heat wave moved north to Greenland where temperatures are running 25° to 30° above normal. So this week's ice…
Jan Null, a well-respected meteorologist who has done a tremendous service to all of us by leading the charge on Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke, tweeted the following today. Already in 2019 there have been 24 Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH) Deaths; and…
You've no doubt heard about a Blue Moon, but tonight we'll be treated to what's called a "Black Moon." A Blue Moon happens when we see 2 full moons in the same calendar month. A full moon occurs when the…
If you're thinking that the summers are getting hotter in Columbia, you're correct. As always, there are significant year to year variations. But if you look at the long trend, there's no denying it. In the early 1970's, Columbia averaged…
Temperatures are heating back up - you'll notice higher humidity too, over the next few days. And the typical PM summer thunderstorms will rejoin us this week as well.
Weather updates and information from ABC Columbia's John Farley.
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