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Social Media: Science
#NWSCitizenScience #CitizenScience

 

Please help the NWS spread these messages on social media! Everyone is welcome to use the text and images provided below to help the NWS build a Weather-Ready Nation.

 

Speed of Wildfires

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There are a lot of factors that determine the speed of wildfires. Check out the infographic below to learn a little wildfire science, and visit weather.gov/safety/wildfire for the latest safety tips.

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There are a lot of factors that determine the speed of wildfires. Check out the infographic below to learn a little #WildfireScience, and visit weather.gov/safety/wildfire for the latest safety tips. #WeatherReady

The Speed of Wildfires: Weather Conditions Wind speed has a huge effect on fire intensity and how fast fires travel. Wind pushes the flame forward and closer to the unburned fuel in front of the fire. Temperature, humidity, and precipitation are also important due to their strong influence on fuel moisture content. Spotting Wind and thermals can carry sparks and firebrands downwind of fires, greatly increasing spread rates. Fuel Type The type of vegetation along with the fuel moisture content, physical properties, and chemical properties play a role in fire behavior and how fast fires spread. Topography Slope steepness affects fire behavior in a similar way as wind by changing the flame angle. Elevation and aspect are also important in determining how fires spread.

 

Weird Weather (Video)

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Haboob. Funny name, dangerous weather phenomenon. Learn about them and other examples of weird weather in this short video: youtu.be/vuk6gvq7Nwk #wxscience

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Haboob. Funny name, dangerous weather phenomenon. Learn about them and other examples of weird weather in this short video: youtu.be/vuk6gvq7Nwk #wxscience

 

What is a 500-year flood? (video)

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The term 500-year flood doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s only going to happen one time every 500 years. Rather, it’s a reference to the probability of occurrence. youtu.be/eQFyaXDH42U #FloodScience

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The term 500-year flood doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s only going to happen one time every 500 years. Rather, it’s a reference to the probability of occurrence. youtu.be/eQFyaXDH42U #FloodScience

 

Science of River Flooding

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Water is essential for life on Earth. But in large enough quantities, the very substance we drink and use to grow crops can destroy homes, businesses, and cause fatalities. Learn all about the science of river flooding in the infographic below, and visit weather.gov/safety/flood for flood safety tips. #FloodScience

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Learn all about the science of river flooding with this graphic, and visit weather.gov/safety/flood for flood safety tips. #FloodScience

SCIENCE OF RIVER FLOODING - Water is essential for life on Earth. But in large enough quantities, the very substance we drink and use to grow crops can destroy homes, businesses and cause fatalities. River flooding occurs when river levels rise & overflow their banks or the edges of their main channel and inundate normally dry areas. River flooding can be caused by heavy rainfall, dam failures, rapid snowmelt and ice jams. Six Steps to Create a River Model Hydrologic Cycle: Hydrologists try to understand and simulate the natural hydrologic cycle, which is the intricate combination of many processes such as evaporation, transpiration, precipitation, infiltration, interflow, groundwater storage, and runoff. Precipitation: Precipitation is the primary input to basin hydrologic processes and serves as the primary driver of hydrologic models. Accurate representation of precipitation input is an important intial step. Small river channel systems are very sensitive to rainfall. Runoff: The next step is to compute the amount of precipitation that appears in surface water within a relatively short time from the onset of a storm event. This is runoff. Runoff consists of 3 components: overland flow, rain falling directly on surface water bodies, and interflow. Unit Hydrograph: After computing basin runoff, the next step is to calculate a forecast hydrograph in units of discharge. A hydrograph is a plot of the change of stage or discharge with respect to time. Discharge is the volume of water flowing past a location per unit time and is usually expressed in cubic feet per second (cfs). Streamflow Data: Scientists use streamflow measurements to capture the vital relationship between discharge (volume flow rate) and stage (height) for a given location. This can only be done by taking streamflow measurements at different river levels and noting the corresponding stages. This relation is called a rating curve. Routing: Hydrologists analyze and interpret how the water moves once it’s in the river and how a flood wave is modified due to the effects of storage and friction as it moves downstream. So, what happens upstream affects the entire downstream community. 

 

Aurora Colors

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The aurora borealis is usually green in color, although it can also appear to be a range of other colors, including red, blue, pink and purple. The color of the aurora is determined by the altitude in which it appears. Different atmosphere compounds (such as Nitrogen and Oxygen) are found at different altitudes. When charged particles from the Sun enter our atmosphere, they interact with those compounds, and the aurora is the visible result. Depending on which compounds are being excited by the Sun’s charged particles, different colors will result. Learn more at pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/telecons/archive/PR_E-PO/Aurora_flyer/aurora-flyer_p2.doc.pdf

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Changing colors of the aurora? It’s elemental, my dear Watson!! pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/telecons/archive/PR_E-PO/Aurora_flyer/aurora-flyer_p2.doc.pdf #SpaceWeather

Why does the aurora change colors? The aurora is usually green, but it can be other colors too. The color is determined by the altitude of the aurora. Atmospheric compounds influence the color.

 

Science of Frost Formation (Video)

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Frost can be annoying to scrape off your car, but did you ever think about how it got there? Watch this video for a little frost science: youtu.be/HBn1oSWu2nE

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Frost can be annoying to scrape off your car, but did you ever think about how it got there? Watch this video for a little #FrostScience: youtu.be/HBn1oSWu2nE

 

Science of Valley Fog

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Do you know how valley fog is created? First, air at higher elevations cools down, which then drains downslope into the valley. From there, a cool, stable layer forms near the ground, which limits turbulent mixing and traps the cool, moist air. Finally, the air near the ground continues to cool until water vapor molecules are changed into small droplets of liquid water. weather.gov/safety/fog-mountain-valley

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Looking down on the clouds? Do you know how valley fog is created? weather.gov/safety/fog-mountain-valley #FogScience

1. Air cools at higher elevations as the ground radiates heat into the atmosphere and space. 2. Cooler air drains downslope into the valley. 3. A cool, stable layer forms the ground, which limits turbulent mixing and traps the cool, moist air. 4. The air near the ground continues to cool until water vapor moleculesd are changed into small droplets of liquid water.

 

Science of Fog Formation (video)

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Fog limits visibility, delays air travel, brings danger to the roads, and makes things generally spooky. But, how does it form? Watch this short video: youtu.be/QkRqjcO1ROk

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Fog limits visibility, delays air travel, brings danger to the roads, and makes things generally spooky. But, how does it form? Watch this short video: youtu.be/QkRqjcO1ROk #FogScience

 

Science of Wind (Video)

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Wind is a part of weather we experience all the time, but why does it actually happen? This video covers the basics: youtu.be/kb9oRYUzlwQ

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A gentle breeze or a roaring gale, wind is a part of weather we experience all the time, but why does it actually happen? This video covers the basics: youtu.be/kb9oRYUzlwQ #WindScience

 

Science of Wind Chill

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Extremely cold air comes every winter in at least part of the country and affects millions of people across the United States. The arctic air, together with brisk winds, can lead to dangerously cold wind chill values. weather.gov/safety/cold-wind-chill-chart

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Arctic air, together with brisk winds, can lead to dangerously cold wind chill values. weather.gov/safety/cold-wind-chill-chart #WinterScience

Infographic - The Science of Wind Chill. The average temperature of the human body is 98.6 degrees fahrenheit. Under calm conditions, the body radiates heat, creating a layer of warmth between or skin and the cold surroundings. But when it's windy, the moving air breaks up this insulating layer. It speeds up heat loss by whisking away the warmth from our skin. Hypothermia begins when our body temperature drops two to four degrees.

 

Science of Santa Ana Winds

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Santa Ana winds are strong downslope winds that blow through the mountain passes in Southern California. They are created over the Great Basin region from high-pressure air masses, which then blow down towards sea level. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 miles per hour (18 m/s), are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions. For more info, visit earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=10727.

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Santa Ana winds are notorious for creating dangerous fire conditions. Learn how here: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=10727 #WindScience

What are Santa Ana Winds? Strong downslope winds. Created over the Great Basin from high-pressure air masses. They are warm, dry, and can worsen forest fires.

 

What is a Tsunami?

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What is a tsunami? A tsunami is not just one wave, but a series of extremely long waves caused by a large and sudden displacement of the ocean. Most tsunamis are caused by undersea earthquakes. There is no season for tsunamis. A tsunami can strike at any time along any coast and can be very dangerous to life and property. Learn more at weather.gov/safety/tsunami-about. #TsunamiPrep

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What is a #tsunami? A series of extremely long waves that can strike any coast, any time, and can be very dangerous to life and property. weather.gov/safety/tsunami-about #TsunamiPrep

How a tsunami works: Most tsunamis are caused by large earthquakes below or near the ocean floor. 1) A plate shifts abruptly, causing an earthquake, and displacing water. 2) Waves are generated and move out in all directions across the ocean, some traveling as fast as 600 mph. 3) As waves enter shallow water, they compress, their speed slows, and they build in height. 4) The wave height increases, and associated currents intensify, becoming a threat to life and property.

 

Skywarn

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Do you know what to watch for when severe weather threatens? Check out NWS Skywarn. Help keep your community safe by volunteering to become a trained storm spotter for NOAA's National Weather Service. Potential volunteers should visit nws.noaa.gov/skywarn/ and contact their local NWS office. #CitizenScience

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Let’s learn about #NWSCitizenScience opportunities! Become a trained Skywarn storm spotter and help keep your community safe! nws.noaa.gov/skywarn/ #CitizenScience

NWS Skywarn: National Weather Service Citizen Science

 

CoCoRaHS

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Ever wanted to take rain or snow measurements? Join CoCoRaHS or Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network. This volunteer network of observers measures precipitation from their backyards. Any age can volunteer. Data is used by NWS meteorologists to help with forecasts. www.cocorahs.org

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Ever wanted to take rain or snow measurements? Learn more about #NWSCitizenScience and join CoCoRaHS today! Cocorahs.org #CitizenScience

CoCoRaHS: National Weather Service Citizen Science

 

COOP

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The NWS Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is truly the nation's weather and climate observing network of, by, and for the people. With over 8,700 volunteer observers, this program has existed since 1890 and is one of the few programs that measures snowfall and its water equivalent. Help #NWSCitizenScience and become a COOP! You can help support warnings, forecasts, and build a climatological database! For more information, visit weather.gov/coop/Overview

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Join NWS COOP! The NWS Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is truly the nation's weather and climate observing network of, by, and for the people. Help support warnings, forecasts & build a climatological database! weather.gov/coop/Overview #NWSCitizenScience

NWS Cooperative Observer: National Weather Service Citizen Science