Weather

10 Ways To Prepare Your Home & Family For A Winter Snow Storm Or A Blizzard

Blizzards are quite common among those who live in the midwest and on the east coast of the United States.

Although the last few years we've had some very freaky weather in places that normally would not see such weather. So even if you think you're safe, it doesn't hurt to know what to do to prepare for a blizzard!

A winter storm WATCH means a winter storm is possible in your area.

A winter storm WARNING means a winter storm is headed for your area.

A BLIZZARD WARNING means strong winds, blinding wind-driven snow, and dangerous wind chill are expected. Seek shelter immediately!

Source: Winter Storm Safety

Here are 10 tips to help you prepare for a big snow storm or blizzard...

Continue reading: 10 Ways To Prepare For A Blizzard

Weather-Related Halloween Costumes You Can Make Yourself

If there's a weatherman in your family (or a weatherman-wannabee), then it will be pretty easy to come up with some unique weather-related costume ideas.

For the rest of us who need a little extra help, try brainstorming some costume ideas along these lines:

• hurricane
• flood
• mother nature
• global warming
• earth day
• hail
• clouds
• weatherman
• tsunami
• rain
• snow
• mother earth
• blizzard
• lightning
• wind
• stormy weather
• tornado
• snowman
   

Would you like to see some ideas from others who've made weather Halloween costumes along these lines? Check these out...

Continue reading: Weather Halloween Costumes

How The Weather Affects Fall Foliage Colors

Weather is one of the key factors that determines why and how the leaves turn color in the Fall.

A small change in the weather can easily affect how colorful the leaves will be. Things such as the amount of moisture in the soil, temperature, and even the length of the days affect what colors the leaves will eventually turn -- and even the brightness and hue of those colors.

To put you in the right mood, check out this soothing video footage showing Fall foliage in various locations; you almost feel as if you're there: 

Now, for some of the ways that the weather affects Fall foliage across the country...

Continue reading: How Weather Affects Fall Colors

Hurricane Recovery - What To Do After A Hurricane Has Blown Through Your Town

Recovering after a hurricane has passed through your area is never easy.

Anyone that has experienced or has loved ones that have experienced Katrina knows this. Hurricanes can be devastating and can leave behind all sorts of destruction ...on people, as well as property.

So the hurricane has blown through your area and wreaked havoc, now what do you do?

Here are some things you need to be aware of after a hurricane has done its damage in your town.

Continue reading: Hurricane Recovery In Your Own Home

Destktop Weather Tools For Monitoring The Weather - They're Fun And They're Free!

Whether you are getting ready to go to the beach, or the mountains, or on vacation to a locale you are not familiar with, being able to track the weather is important... and fun!

Even if you're not going anywhere... we all like to know what the weather is going to be like wherever we are. Right?

But who has the time to log on to the Internet and then bounce around from site to site trying to find the weather information that you need?

Sometimes it's not so much a matter of time as just not wanting to do it. That's usually what the case is for me, I simply don't want to spend the time and energy looking online for a website that has the weather information I'm looking for.

So what are the options when you want to find updated weather information in a hurry, without all the fuss and muss? Fortunately there are a few nifty little weather tools that you can download to your computer that will help you to keep track of the weather -- any time, any place.

You can even download them to your laptop to take along with you on the road!

Continue reading: Fun Weather Tools

Weather Insurance: How Does It Work?

I saw a report a week or so ago on ABC News about weather insurance.

Sometimes it's referred to as vacation insurance or travel insurance.

Several online companies are offering what they call "vacation insurance," deals in which they will reimburse any parts of a vacation that are ruined.  "We will cover them if their vacation is rained out," Jeff Boyd, CEO of Priceline.com, told Good Morning America.  -- ABC News

These days, more and more companies and services are providing weather insurance to protect you from things like rain delays at sporting events and concerts, as well. And companies are even offering weather insurance for those times when a complete change of plans are required (due to the weather) at your own outdoor events, including weddings.

Here's more about weather insurance...

Continue reading: Weather Insurance

Fun Facts About The Dog Days Of Summer

I once heard someone say that teachers coined the phrase "The Dog Days of Summer" because they all got to lay around like dogs and do nothing during the hottest part of the year -- like dogs get to do every day of the year. 

Of course, that's not true, but do you know where the phrase really came from?

Continue reading: Dog Days Of Summer

Summer Solstice & Winter Solstice: The First Day Of Winter & First Day Of Summer Explained

We usually think of summer as that time between Memorial Day at the end of May and Labor Day in the beginning of September.  Officially, that's not really the case though.

Meteorological summer runs from June 1st through August 31st -- typically the hottest 3-month period of the year.  Traditionally, however, we use the astronomical definition of our seasons. 

So here's more about "the first day of summer"... and for that matter, "the first day of winter".  We'll try to make sense of what's going on during summer solstice and winter solstice.

Continue reading: Sumer & Winter Solstice Explained

Explaining Hurricanes To Kids: 5 Great Sites That Help Kids Learn About Hurricanes

Trying to understand a hurricane is tough for even the most seasoned meteorologists. 

That makes big storms like hurricanes really tough to explain to kids. 

Here are some great websites which help do just that...

Continue reading: Kids: Hurricane Safety

Cloud Speak: What Are The Colors & Size Of Clouds Telling Us?

Why is that rain cloud so dark? 

That's one of the most common questions I hear when making weather presentations. 

It is also one of the simplest to answer. 

Read on!

Continue reading: What Clouds Are Telling You