What Is It About The Weather

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Natural Sciences
**What Is It About The Weather**

Because there is more to weather than weather itself. What Is It About The Weather is a podcast/vidcast series where we explore the various ways weather is intertwined into and impacts our lives. Weather itself is interesting and amazing, but what can be even more fascinating and intriguing is how much influence it actually has in our lives. In this journey we hope you will find yourself laughing, enjoying, and learning and from time to time even uttering “I did not know that”. Weather geek by nature, atmospheric scientist by degree and meteorologist by trade, your host Mark T Jelinek loves talking about the weather. That love for weather actually drove him back to graduate school after a successful first career in the information services field. He looks forward to expanding your weather horizons and along the way is likely to be heard muttering “I did not know that”.

Latest Episodes:

What Weather Does COVID Like? May 01, 2020

Show notes

What Weather Does COVID Like?

Weathering Time? Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

Weathering Time?

What Do You Do At 100? May 25, 2018

Show notes

What Is It About The Weather? turns 100!

On with the episode …

When Doesn’t Weather Change History? May 18, 2018

Show notes

Certainly weather has shaped history on a global scale, but weather impacts lives every single day. Are there examples of cases where the impacts have been important for a local area or region such that it shaped the future?

Some useful links:

Great Storm of 1900 brought winds of change
- https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/history/article/Great-Storm-of-1900-brought-winds-of-change-7724171.php
One legacy of the devastating 1953 Waco tornado: advanced storm preparedness systems
- http://www.wacotrib.com/news/weather/one-legacy-of-the-devastating-waco-tornado-advanced-storm-preparedness/article_88b77126-e2a9-11e5-bbc3-132cd0bddca0.html
Weather Bureau Statements Concerning Tornado Forecasting
- http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/memo1950.pdf

And now for the episode …

Do You Prefer Your Turf With A Touch Of Rain? May 11, 2018

Show notes

Weather certainly impacts just about anything we do outdoors including sports, sometimes in positive ways and other times creating chaos. Soccer is not only dominate the world over, but it is clearly linked to the world of weather. But do you really understand the connections? In this episode we look at how important weather is in the soccer played around the globe.

Some useful links:

Titleist R&D on temperature and golf ball performance
- https://www.titleist.com/teamtitleist/b/tourblog/archive/2016/01/19/titleist-golf-ball-r-amp-d-on-temperature-and-golf-ball-performance
WeatherSTEM – Weather and Soccer
- https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/82/index.html
What effect does weather have on soccer betting?
- https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-articles/Soccer/the-effect-of-weather-on-soccer-betting/7MY2VMUVP98SNPC8
OUR GAME: The cold, wet truth about weather and soccer
- https://goalwa.wordpress.com/2013/09/28/the-cold-wet-truth-about-weather-and-soccer/
NASA – Aerodynamics of Soccer
- https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/soccer.html

Now for the episode …

How Do Plants Ride Out The Weather? May 04, 2018

Show notes

What would you do to survive weather extremes if you could not move? Plants don’t have the luxury of seeking shelter when bad weather comes, so how do they survive those extremes?

Some useful links:

How Trees Survive Extreme Cold (Or Not)
- https://www.howplantswork.com/2014/01/29/how-trees-survive-extreme-cold-or-not/
Do Plants Change the Weather?
- https://www.howplantswork.com/2016/06/01/wip-do-plants-change-the-weather/
How Cacti Survive: Surprising Strategies Quench Thirst
- https://www.livescience.com/4188-cacti-survive-surprising-strategies-quench-thirst.html
Submerged Water Plants – Choosing And Planting Oxygenating Pond Plants
- https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/water-plants/wgen/oxygenating-pond-plants.htm

And now for the episode …

How Finicky Is That Produce? Apr 27, 2018

Show notes

How sensitive is agriculture to small changes in weather? For a long time we have understood the idea of microclimates, but did you know that it plays a meaningful role in the foods and beverages we consume?

Some useful links:

The ‘micro-climate’ that turned Monticello into an agricultural sweet spot
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/05/18/the-micro-climate-that-turned-monticello-into-an-agricultural-sweet-spot/
Microclimate – ScienceDirect
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/microclimate
Microclimate modification to improve productivity of ‘Carmen® -Hass’ avocado orchards using shadenet under subtropical conditions of Limpopo province, South Africa
- https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10413/15043/Malapana_Clarance_K_2016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

And now for the episode …

Can We Beat Weather? Apr 20, 2018

Show notes

Can we overcome weather? Or can we at least push back a little? In this episode we explore some areas where we use our brains to at least keep weather at bay when needed.

Here are some useful links:

Living Snow Fences: Functions and Benefits
- http://www.extension.umn.edu/environment/agroforestry/components/UMN-Extension-LivingSnowFences.pdf
StormSmart Properties Fact Sheet 6: Sand Fencing
- http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/stormsmart-coasts/stormsmart-properties/fs-6-fencing.html
Skin Cancer Prevention
- https://www.skincancer.org/prevention
The Science of Sunscreen & How it Protects Your Skin
- http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/06/05/sunscreenchemicals/
Skywarn
- https://www.skywarn.org/
How does one prepare for adverse weather events? Depends on your past experiences
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180416121526.htm

And now for the episode …

Would You Trade Earth’s Weather? Apr 13, 2018

Show notes

Earth weather can be hostile and deadly, but is it really all that bad? Would you trade earth weather for that on another planet or moon in our solar system? We discuss what your options might be in this episode.

Here are some links you might want to flip through:

List of Solar System objects by size
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size
Diamond Rain May Fill Skies of Jupiter and Saturn
- https://www.space.com/23135-diamond-rain-jupiter-saturn.html
Bizarre Giant Hexagon on Saturn May Finally Be Explained
- https://www.space.com/30608-mysterious-saturn-hexagon-explained.html
Which Moons Have Atmospheres?
- https://futurism.com/the-atmospheres-on-our-moons/
The Most Extreme Weather In the Solar System
- http://www.iflscience.com/space/most-extreme-weather-solar-system/
The Strange, Ferocious Extreme Weather of Our Solar System’s Planets
- https://weather.com/science/space/news/weather-cyclone-planets
Juno image gallery
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/images/index.html
Astronomy Cast
- http://www.astronomycast.com/

And now for the episode …

Can We Cheat Weather? Apr 06, 2018

Show notes

We have spent much time and effort in our attempts to modify ourselves and things around us to minimize weather impacts. We have also worked for decades to modify the weather with as many failures as successes. How about cheating weather? Can we be a bit more sneaky … and successful, in surprising weather?

Some useful links:

SafeSpaceSelfie
- https://www.weather.gov/wrn/safeplaceselfie
Note to azaleas: Chill
- https://www.chron.com/life/gardening/article/Note-to-azaleas-Chill-1679974.php
Debunking the Masters ice myth
- http://www.augusta.com/masters/story/blog/debunking-masters-ice-myth
Ice on Azaleas at Masters Golf Tournament – Not True
- http://www.walterreeves.com/tools-and-chemicals/ice-on-azaleas-at-masters-golf-tournament-not-true/

And now for the episode …

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