Every snowflake starts its life as a single suspended droplet of liquid water high in the atmosphere, where the temperatures are far below the freezing point of water. Only supercooled water can freeze quickly enough to form a delicate, six-sided…
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Being a geologist is a lot like being a detective. Unlike most detectives however, being a geologist can get you a lot of strange looks. Rocks Remember. You see, I routinely talk to, and listen to, rocks. Yes, I am…
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The central plains of the United States as well as the rest of the nation have had an unusually mild winter thus far. For most people this means a cheaper winter! Aside from the expenses of the holidays, the presents, the…
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Lighting is produced by thunderstorms and are represented by a flash of electricity. When there is a thunderstorm there are lightning strikes. Each flash of lighting is considered to be very dangerous and have killed between 75 to 100 people…
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We have all read stories about lightning striking on a cloudless day. These streaks of lightning are often referred to as “bolts from the blue” since they seem to come out of a clear blue sky. This is where bolts or streaks…
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With an axial tilt of 23.5 degrees, the poles of the earth enjoy no direct sunlight for several months each year. It would be sensible to conclude, like winter in the lower portions of the earth’s latitudes, that the extended…
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Those who prefer not to experience the extreme cold weather that winter often brings might think a mild winter would have no disadvantages, only benefits. Lower fuel bills, safer traveling conditions, no business or school closures due to inclement meterological…
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There’s a fearsome killer, dangerous and lethal, that strikes silently, swiftly and viciously. This killer happens to be a particularly fierce form of lightning that erupts unexpectedly from a clear sky – a veritable “bolt from the blue” – which…
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Some people just fundamentally don’t enjoy the winter. There are those who would much rather recline in the sun than build a snowman in the nippy December air. What are sometimes spoken of less than personal preference are the actual…
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Lightning is one of the most powerful and dangerous forces of nature on the planet. On a typical year it will kill more people then tornadoes or hurricanes which is amazing considering the destruction those storms do. With hurricanes and…
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