March 18, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR MARTY CHINTALA IN RI
Ashley,
That is a good question. There are many things that can affect our
weather, global warming is only one of them. The weather patterns this
winter have been caused by something called "El Niño." El Niño is a
disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having
important consequences for weather around the globe. This year, it has
caused lots of snow on the East Coast, but it can have many other
consequences as well, such as drought conditions in the Midwest and
Rockies. Check out the following web page to learn lots about El Niño
and its sister phenomenon La Niña: http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/
They have real time graphics and lots of information on how to predict
them, when they have occurred, and how it affects weather!
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A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI
There's a lot of variation in temperatures from day to day and place
to place. As the atmosphere swirls around the earth, one place could
be colder while others could be warmer than average. Snowfall, of
course, depends not only on cold enough temperatures but on having
enough moisture in the atmosphere to crystallize as snow. Colder air
is saturated with water vapor with a smaller total amount of water
than it could hold if it were warmer. Therefore, really cold
temperatures might well lead to less snow. Air picks up its moisture
from passing over water, particularly warm water - so a change in the
direction of the winds and the temperature of bodies of water can
influence the moisture in the air and the amount of snowfall.
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A: FROM MENTOR DIANA DIONISIO IN CA
Just because there is more snow this year doesn't mean that acid rain doesn't exist. Acid rain is caused by all the pollution that humans are putting into the ground and air, so the snow fall or rain fall can be of acid rain.
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