Monday, May 20 2013 9:15 PM EDT2013-05-21 01:15:38 GMT
A massive tornado touched down to the southwest of Oklahoma City Monday afternoon. Starting out as a classic funnel it quickly became a giant half-mile wide wedge tornado as it proceeded east north eastMore >>
A massive tornado touched down to the southwest of Oklahoma City Monday afternoon.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 12:50 PM EDT2013-05-21 16:50:22 GMT
MOORE, OK (RNN) – In one of the few positive stories to come from the deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma, an elderly woman was reunited with a four-legged friend she thought was dead. Barbara Garcia, a residentMore >>
Elderly resident Barbara Garcia frantically called for her dog after the tornado had leveled her house, but with no success.More >>
Friday, May 17 2013 7:16 PM EDT2013-05-17 23:16:53 GMT
One person has died in a crash near Harrisonville, MO, Thursday evening. The crash happened on Missouri Highway 7 and Walker Road. It involved a car and a tractor-trailer. Harrisonville is in Cass County.More >>
Savannah Nash celebrated her 16th birthday last week. She died Thursday when her car slammed into a semi while she was texting during her first time driving by herself.More >>
Tuesday, May 21 2013 10:56 AM EDT2013-05-21 14:56:05 GMT
A North Carolina woman is charged with trying to poison five family members after one of them refused to share some cheese with her. A statement from the Nash County Sheriff's Office said 24-year-oldMore >>
A North Carolina woman is charged with trying to poison five family members after one of them refused to share some cheese with her.More >>
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - When we think of a passing cold front, we expect showers, maybe thunderstorms, and cooler air. So what gives with the higher temperatures behind the front?
It seems counterintuitive, but there are occasions where a passing cold front will actually lead to warmer temperatures.
When we see this setup, we're not talking about a blue norther. We see this happen with very weak fronts where changes in temperature across the two air masses on either side of the front are only a few degrees. What can often happen is that despite the slightly cooler temperatures behind the front, the real change is in the humidity.
Often, the first mass of air will be warm and very humid, almost tropical in nature. Then, the front moves in and drops the dewpoints significantly without a drastic change in temperature. The cold front has passed, but it's the humidity that's different.
With drier air in place, temperatures heat up much more quickly due to the lack of moisture. Think of a desert. It's very dry, and as a result we see big swings in temperatures. Lows in the 40s and highs over 100 are normal in the desert Southwest. Now, move East along the same latitude, into the Southeast. There's lots more water vapor, but temperatures would more commonly range from the 60s to the 80s.
We can apply the same idea to a cold front. Without that moisture, temperatures can widely fluctuate.
That extra moisture moderates our temperatures because water vapor requires much more energy to heat than any other gases found in our atmosphere. The other gases are in roughly the same concentration all the time, but water vapor fluctuates widely. When there's more of it, the humidity climbs, and temperatures well, don't.
Another idea to note is that with drier air usually comes more sun, which only aids in surface heating.
