Ask Jack
Answers: heating, cooling degree days
Q: Several years ago, you wrote a short article for USA TODAY about heating degree days. I have depended on that article, and its links, to monitor the heating and cooling degree days in my area. Now, I cannot access this article any longer through a USA TODAY search and I'd really like to have access to it. I would... »
Answers: Hurricane rainbands
Q: Cross-cut figures of hurricanes show a structure like a jelly roll turned on end and sliced through the middle. Are these rings all connected in a continuous spiral or are they multiple rings? (I suspect they are continuous.) Also, how do they develop in the evolution of a hurricane? That is, why isn't the hurricane just a big homogeneous storm?... »
Answers: Finding wind data
Q: What is your favorite source for near real time surface wind visualizations in the mid Atlantic region. I need the information for balloon flight planning in the field. Curt, Falls Church, Va. A: I’ve yet to find any really good visualizations for surface winds because none show the winds in any real detail. That said, best that I've found are NWS... »
Answers: Supercooled water
Q: How can water that is below 32 degrees F (zero degrees C) remain in liquid form and not freeze? That is, become "supercooled"? Matt, LaGrange, Ga. A: The best way to begin understanding how supercooled liquid water forms is to forgot what you've been told about water "freezing at 32 degrees F." This is really the temperature at which ice... »