 Photo: Credit to The Lung Association. DISCUSSION: In a previous article, I explained how inhaling cold, dry air constricts airways and makes it harder to breathe. The same can be said for hot, humid air. The sticky, stuffy air can make everything from breathing to sleeping a challenge.
Your body is always using energy just to breathe and working to maintain a normal body temperature. Being exposed to extreme heat and humidity causes your body to use extra energy to remain cool. People with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease notice these negative effects the most. Extreme heat can cause the air to become stagnant which traps pollutants in the air. The moisture in the air helps with the absorption of oxygen. Warm, moist air is also the perfect environment for mold to spread and dust mites to grow and multiply. All of these factorsmake it hard to breathe. Respiratory issues or not, here are some tipsto project your lungs on hot, humid days in the final days of summer:
Humans are not the only mammals that get overheated and find breathing a challenge on hot and humid days. Actually, animals have their own techniques to beat the heat. If you find your pets being sluggish or acting different on hot, muggy days, make sure they are doing these things:
For more education on various weather-related topics, click here. © 2018 Meteorologist Amber Liggett
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 When the National Weather Service (NWS) issues a heat warning, it’s something to take seriously. There are four types of warnings that could be given within a period of consecutive hot days. But before explaining what each warning means, some terms need to be defined. Temperature is “the degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or object.” Humidity is “the state or quality of being humid. It’s a quantity representing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere or gas.” If we put both the temperature and humidity together, we get what is called the heat index. The heat index “the apparent temperature” or “what the temperature feels like to the human body” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). This number is calculated by knowing the air temperature and relative humidity. It’s easy to figure out what the heat index is by using a chart that the NWS made. But, for example, if it is 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and the relative humidity is 65%, then the heat index would be 103 degrees.
So it all begins with an excessive heat outlook. These are issued when the next 3-7 days are forecasted to be upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing people to get prepared for the intense heat wave that is coming through. The next step the NWS would take is to issue an excessive heat watch. Watches are different from outlooks because it means that the weather is favorable for that event within the next 24-72 hours. The wide range in the 24-72 is because the exact timing of the heat or heat wave is uncertain at that point of time of forecasting, but confident enough that it will hit during the 24-72 hour period. You want to take action when a heat advisory is issued. This type of warning is released within 12 hours of the hot weather that could be potentially dangerous. In most parts of the United States, hot weather that is potentially hazardous consists of at least two days with the heat index temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and at night where the temperature doesn’t drop below 75 degrees. The NWS adds that “these criteria vary across the country, especially for areas that are not used to dangerous heat conditions.” This type of warning is sent out for people to take actions and plan accordingly so that they don’t become ill during this period of heat. The most severe heat warning issued is called an excessive heat warning. This is basically the same thing as a heat advisory, but the main difference is that heat index temperatures are expected to be upwards of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with nighttime temperatures not dropping below 75 degrees. This again, varies for different locations across the US, as explained before. It’s essential to watch and understand all of these warnings issued by the NWS because they could impact your health. When outside, make sure that you’re staying hydrated and taking breaks from any work you could be doing. Make sure never to leave any kids or pets unattended in cars, and always check up on those who are elderly, sick, or without air conditioning. To learn more about other important education stories in atmospheric and oceanic science, be sure to click here! © 2018 Weather Forecaster Allison Finch  It’s a beautiful, hot day and you and your friends decide to head to the beach, so you pack up the car and head out. Your car is telling you that it is 85˚F outside then suddenly the temperature drops to 79˚F. What happened? Did your car’s thermometer break? Unlikely. More likely, you crossed what meteorologists call a sea-breeze front which leads to cooling near the coastline of the ocean or sea. Similarly, a lake-breeze front can occur near a large lake. On the left side of the photo above, the blue line with triangles represents the sea-breeze or lake-breeze front.
But why does this occur? Simply, it is the result of uneven heating between the land and water. Land changes temperature faster than water does. Therefore, as the sun shines and begins to heat the Earth’s surface, the land’s temperature increases faster than the water’s temperature. This leads to a temperature difference between the land and the water. The temperature difference causes the winds in the area to blow from the cold water to the warm land. The greater the difference in temperature, the faster the winds will blow. Therefore, as daytime heating increases, the temperature difference increases. This in turn leads to windspeeds increasing. As the winds increase, they begin to move the colder air that was over the water onto the shore. This causes the temperature to drop near the coast. The leading edge of the change in temperature is the sea-breeze or lake-breeze front. As the day progresses, the front moves further inland and around late afternoon is usually at its furthest point inland. Once the sun beings to set and the temperature begins to fall, the front begins to weaken and eventually disappears. Just as the land warms faster than the water, it also cools faster. Therefore, once the sun goes down, cooler temperatures are seen over the land than over the water. This results in the opposite of a sea-breeze or lake-breeze with winds blowing from the cooler land to the warmer water. When this occurs, it is referred to as a land-breeze. The land-breeze front is located where the temperature change is located. This can be seen on the right side of the above image. However, the temperature difference at night is often weaker than it is during the day. Therefore, the winds and front are also weaker. Along the fronts, clouds and thunderstorms can develop. However, thunderstorms are more likely to develop along a sea-breeze or lake-breeze front than they are along a land-breeze front. Due to a sea-breeze or lake-breeze front, the shore is usually cloudy despite the rest of the area being sunny. Another interesting meteorological phenomenon that can occur is when there are multiple sea-breeze or land-breeze fronts. Sometimes, as the individual fronts move inland, they collide with one another. As a result, strong thunderstorms and rain showers seemingly appear out of nowhere. Such a situation often occurs over the Florida peninsula. Sea-breeze fronts develop on both the east and west coast of the state and move inland. They then collide with each other over the middle of the state, resulting in afternoon thunderstorms. This is why it often storms in the middle of the afternoon when you are visiting the amusement parks in Orlando. For more information on Sea- and Lake-breezes refer to: Ahrens, D. C., 2013: Meteorology Today An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the Environment. 10th ed. Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 241-243. UCAR Comet Module: Thermally-forced Circulation I: Sea Breezes. http://meted.ucar.edu/mesoprim/seabreez/print.htm North Carolina Climate Center climate.ncsu.edu/edu/Breezes To learn more about other important education stories in atmospheric and oceanic science, be sure to click here! © 2018 Meteorologist Sarah Trojniak |
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