Weather

Winterizing Your Home And Preparing For The Cold

It many not be "winter" yet, but in some parts of the country, it already feels that way!

Before it gets any colder, you should consider winterizing your home.  Winterizing your home includes inspecting your furnace, checking your fireplace, and getting a winter emergency kit together.

And when winter storms and blizzards strike, you need to take action to prepare your home and protect your family. Have plenty of batteries and flashlights on hand, stock up on water and non-perishable food, and have lots of long clothes on hand to keep everyone cozy and warm.

Fall Foliage Report: Tips For Tracking The Fall Colors

Perhaps you're wondering how the weather affects fall colors and how foliage actually changes colors in the fall.

Ever hear of chlorophyll?

Chlorophyll is a chemical that gives leaves their green color. In fact, chlorophyll is partly responsible for making green grass stains in your sock and pants. Chlorophyll is a vital element in photosynthesis (in very simple terms, the process in which leaves use sunlight to make sugar).

So, when chlorophyll is being produced, leaves remain green. However, when chlorophyll production slows down (such as when nights get longer and weather gets cooler), leaves begin to lose their chlorophyll. Carotenoids and anthocyanins, which are found in leaves throughout the year and give color to various kinds of fruit, predominate in the leaves. As the carotenoids and anthocyanins take over, leaves begin to change colors.

The changing colors of leaves in the fall, however, is a part of the process that lasts into the winter -- when plants whose leaves are too tender to survive very cold weather must fall. This process actually helps protect these plants and enables the plant to survive into the spring, when weather is warmer and leaves may grow anew.

Wondering where you can see the most brilliant colors of fall?...

Continue reading: Tracking Fall Foliage Colors

Pacific Raging With Typhoons

While the Atlantic hurrricane season has been quiet this year, the Pacific Ocean is raging with violent weather.

See how hurricanes and typhoons form, how strong these storms can get, and more.

Before a hurricane or typhoon threatens your area, find out 10 things you should do right away in the event of a typhoon or hurricane warning. Here are a few of the key points:

• Take an inventory of your home
• Trim your trees
• Remove potential projectiles from your yard

Learning The Definitions Of Weather Words

Hygroscopic. Anemometer. Peak pulse. What do all these weather words mean? Find out at NOAA's National Weather Service online weather glossary! This service offers an alphabetical glossary as well as a type-and-find option, where you can insert a weather word you want to look up and the computer find the definiton for you.

And while you're checking out new weather words, why not find out what "gropple" is.... Here's a hint: it falls from the sky and does not have arms or legs....

Fall Foliage: Where Are The Colors And Why Are Leaves Changing?

I love this interactive fall foliage map service on the Weather Channel site. It organizes the nation into regions and allows you to see how the fall leaf color changes are progressing throughout each state. It even has beautiful photos of fall foliage.

You may also be interested in learning more about why the leaves change colors and how the weather affects fall colors. To put it briefly, it has a lot to do with:

• shorter days and longer nights
• warmer autumn days and crisp cold nights
• soil moisture levels

How To Get The BEST Local Weather Forecast, Plus How To Do Your Own Weather Forecasting

What's the weather going to be on Friday? Rain during the picnic? Freezing on the morning of the marathon?

Well, all of us want to know what the weather is going to be tomorrow, next week... and, of course, today.

The problem is, it's not always easy to find a good weather forecast. And, of course, go all the jokes about the weather forecasters not getting it "right."

Truth be told, weather forecasters cannot always get the forecast right on the money all the time. But who can blame them? Despite all the best efforts by today's weather forecasters using modern technology, even the best weather team using state-of-the-art computers cannot always persuade Mother Nature to fulfill a 50% chance of rain in this particular city, on this particular day, between such and such a time.

It's hard to nail down exactly what time it's going to rain, if there will be a freeze the night the cold front pulls through, or where that hurricane is going to make landfall.

So, how do you get a good weather forecast? Are there ways to forecast the weather yourself?...

Continue reading: Weather Forecasting For Dummies

Weather Widgets And Other Fun Tools For Your Blog

With so many blogs on the Internet, it's important to find ways to make your blog stand out from others. 

Fortunately, there are many website tools and gadgets you can find online to make your blog different from all the rest. Think of it as blog bling, which is similar to all the widgets you might add to your computer's desktop.

Want to show the local weather on your blog? What about breaking weather news and reports? Those and more can be added to your personal blog in the form of weather widgets. And some can even be customized with a fun background or photograph!

Following are some fun website tools to enhance your blog with weather trackers, weather widgets, and other weather gadgets...

Continue reading: FREE Weather Widgts For Blogs

How To Throw A Rain Party - Simple & Fun Rain Play For Kids!

Kids love all kinds of things -- including getting wet and messy!

When I was a kid, my sister and I were allowed to play in the rain -- so long as there was no lightning and the rain was not too heavy.

Sun showers were our favorite. No lightning, no hail, no gale force winds. Just good, pure rain drops falling from the sky while 'ol Mr. Sunshine was still popping his head through the clouds.

So, what's involved in planning a Rain Party for kids?...

Continue reading: How To Throw A Rain Party!

How The Weather Affects Your Mind And Body

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that seasonal changes in the weather just plain hurt... physically.

That's right, it doesn't matter if we're going into winter or coming out, it's just the fact that a change is taking place that seems to stiffen my joints and raise my pain level to the point I'm just shuffling along.

Scientists seem to feel it's the change in barometric pressure that creates an increase in pain for those suffering from arthritis or migraines.

For me, it isn't so much an individual weather event that sets off a painful period. It's more a time of year issue. When the temperatures start dropping in the fall, I start stiffening up. By the time winter has set in and much of the moisture has been freeze-dried out of the air, my mobility issues start to ease up.

This leads me to believe that humidity levels may also play a part in how the weather affects our bodies. 

The examples in this forum seem to reinforce my own experiences: Does Humidity Affect Your Pain Level?

Continue reading: How Weather Affects Mind & Body