Sunday Science Moment- June 25th 2016

SUNDAY SCIENCE MOMENT

June 25th 2016

           During this time of year it is typical to have an afternoon shower or storm move through the area. In Northeast Ohio we also see most storms fire to the West of our area and then move our way. This is because these storms rely off of the sun. Commonly known as day time heating, the sun is what fuels these storms and provides enough instability in where the thunderstorms can thrive. However in the last few weeks we have seen that the sun sets right as the line of storms get over us, which causes the storms to weaken. In fact most of the time the showers don't make it over us and all we are left with is cloudy skies overnight. 

           This is what promoted this week’s Science Moment. During the overnight hours, in the last week alone, we have seen temperatures that range from the upper 40s to the lower 70s. So what causes this drastic change in temperatures during the night? There are a lot of factors that play into the fluctuation of temperatures. Winds, dew points, and rain are some just to name a few. Though recently a major contributing factor has been the cloud cover we have seen some nights during this last week. The sun’s rays are the strongest in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer months; this is why we see the highest temperatures during the summer. Pretty straight forward. During the day we see that the sun warms up the surface to Highs typically in the 80s. However for the low temperature, it all depends on whether or not the cloud cover rolls in during the overnight hours.

          For example, when we have the clouds roll in during the evening it creates a cap layer that does not let the heat escape. The clouds act like an insulator and can cause temperatures to drop slightly to only in the middle to lower 60s. We know that warm air rises but when that air hits the clouds most of the warmer air stays stagnate until the clouds clear or there is a strong wind that comes in that pushes out the warmer air at the surface. The other example is that after a warm day, we do not have any clouds roll in and there is a clear night. On a calm clear night the heat is allowed to escape and as the warm air rises it mixes and/or dissipates into the atmosphere. On those nights we saw temperatures dropped up to 30 degrees in some areas. Knowing that cloud cover is not the only reason for the variability in overnight lows. So the next time you see the clouds come rolling in before you go to bed, during the summer, the odds are pretty high that you might not need a jacket when you wake up the next morning. 

If you have any weather related questions or want something explained, let me know. Enjoy the weather and I'll be back next week for the next Science Moment.