Nathan's Weather Center

I am Nathan and I am currently a Sophmore in high school . I created this weather center on January 1st 2014 . Based in Winston Salem, NC

Welcome to Nathan's Weather Center! I have always enjoyed studying the weather, and I hope to learn even more through using this page. I hope that I can help you better understand the weather, and I hope that I can help keep you safe. This is a community page about the weather, so I welcome any feedback, but keep in mind that I am not a professional. Please share this page and help me to grow and expand so that I can become a better meteorologist! Thank you, and have a great day! Stay safe!
***READ BELOW***



Do you ever wonder what all these crazy weather terms mean? Well, it's been long enough! Below are some down to earth and basic definitions of key weather terms that you need to know!



Severe Thunderstorm/Tornado WATCH:
~ One of these are issued when weather conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms or tornadoes. It does not always mean that a storm will absolutely hit your house, but areas around should be aware that it is very possible, and no one is 100% safe.


Severe Thunderstorm/Tornado WARNING:
~ One of these should be taken more seriously. If you hear or see this, it means that either in your county, or one nearby; professionals have spotted or experienced a severe thunderstorm. The criteria for a severe thunderstorm are:

- at least 1 inch sized hail.
- winds 58 mph or greater
- or if it produces a tornado (in which the Severe Thunderstorm Warning would then be replaced with a tornado warning.

~ In a Tornado Warning, either the radar has indicated a tornado, or someone has witnessed a funnel cloud. If your area if in the path of the storm, then seek shelter on the lowest level of your home, (preferably a basement) or if that's not possible, then put as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible.

~ In a Tornado EMERGENCY, it means that a violent tornado is expected to hit a populated area. These are rare, (not in 2011!) but they MUST be taken very seriously.



**The same things apply to FLOOD, HURRICANE, TROPICAL STORM, HEAT, WIND, WINTER STORM, and DENSE FOG Warnings, Watches, and Advisories.**

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The DIFFERENCE between ISOLATED and SCATTERED thunderstorms!

*Essentially, ISOLATED and SCATTERED are just terms to describe the amount of your area that will be seeing rain. ISOLATED usually doesn't mean that the storms won't move... that's very rare. These numbers below were taken from the National Weather Service... as you can see, "ISOLATED" refers to only a lower percentage of thunderstorms in your viewing area (the area your local news station covers).

Isolated = Less than 15% areal coverage.
Widely Scattered = 15-24% areal coverage.
Scattered = 25-54% areal coverage.
Numerous = 55% or greater areal coverage.
Widespread = 55% or greater areal coverage.
No qualifying remark = 75% or greater areal coverage.

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That's really the only two most confused things... if I could copy the whole NWS page, I would, but if you have any other confusions, I'm sure this page will help you out!

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pdt/forecast/fireWeatherGlossary.php

*NEW* The 4 scales of weather! Scroll down!



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TORNADOES = Enhanced Fujita Scale:

EF0 ~ 65-85 mph winds. = Light damage.
EF1 ~ 86-110 mph winds. = Moderate damage.
EF2 ~ 111-135 mph winds. = Significant damage.
EF3 ~ 136-165 mph winds. = Severe damage.
EF4 ~ 166-200 mph winds. = Devastating damage.
EF5 ~ >200 mph winds. = Incredible damage.

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HURRICANES = Saffir-Simpson Scale:

Category 5 ~ 156+ mph winds/18+ ft storm surge. = Catastrophic damage.
Category 4 ~ 131-155 mph winds/13-18 ft storm surge. = Extreme damage.
Category 3 ~ 111-130 mph winds/9-12 ft storm surge. = Extensive damage.
Category 2 ~ 96-110 mph winds/6-8 ft storm surge. = Moderate damage.
Category 1 ~ 74-95 mph winds/4-5 ft storm surge. = Minimal damage.
Tropical Storm ~ 39-73 mph winds/0-3ft storm surge. = N/A
Tropical Depression ~ 0-38 mph winds/no storm surge. = N/A

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WIND = Beaufort Scale:

Ex: Beaufort #, Description, Wind Speed, Damage.

0, Calm, <1 mph, Calm/smoke rises vertically.

1, Light Air, 1-3 mph, Smoke drift in direction of wind.

2, Light Breeze, 4-7 mph, Wind felt on exposed skin/leaves rustle.

3, Gentle Breeze, 8-12 mph, Leaves and small twigs constantly moving/light flags extended.

4, Moderate Breeze, 13-17 mph, Dust and loose paper raised/small branches moved.

5, Fresh Breeze, 18-24 mph, Branches of a moderate size move/small trees move.

6 Strong Breeze, 25-30 mph, Large branches in motion/whistling heard in overhead wires/umbrella use becomes difficult/empty plastic garbage cans tip over.

7, High Wind/Moderate Gale/Near Gale, 31-38 mph, whole trees in motion/effort needed to walk against wind.

8, Gale/Fresh Gale, 39-46 mph, Some twigs are broken off trees/cars veer on road/very difficult to walk against wind.

9, Strong Gale, 47-54 mph, Some branches break off trees/some small trees blow over/temporary signs are blown over.

10, Storm/Whole Gale, 55-63 mph, Trees are broken off or uprooted/poorly attached asphalt shingles peel off.

11, Violent Storm, 64-73 mph, Widespread damage to vegetation/many roofing surfaces are damaged/some asphalt tiles may break away completely.

12, Hurricane, 74+ mph, Very widespread damage to vegetation/some windows may break/mobile homes and poorly constructed sheds and barns are damaged/debris may be hurled about.

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EARTHQUAKES = Richter Magnitude Scale:

Ex: Magnitude, Description, Earthquake Effects, Frequency of occurence.

~ Less than 2.0, Micro, Not felt, About 8,000 per day.

~ 2.0-2.9, Minor, Generally not felt, but recorded, About 1,000 per day.

~ 3.0-3.9, Minor, Often felt, but cause no damage, About 49,000 per year.

~ 4.0-4.9, Light, Noticeable shaking of indoor items/rattling items/significant damage unlikely, About 6,200 a year.

~ 5.0-5.9, Moderate, Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions/at most slight damage to well-designed buildings, 800 per year.

~ 6.0-6.9, Strong, Can be destructive in areas up to about 100 miles across in populated areas, 120 per year.

~ 7.0-7.9, Major, Can cause serious damage over larger areas, 18 per year.

~ 8.0-8.9, Great, Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across, 1 per year.

~ 9.0-9.9, Great, Devastating in areas several thousand miles across, 1 per 20 years.

~ 10.0+, Massive, Never recorded/widespread devastation across very large areas, Extremely rare (unknown)



These are all the scales! Hope you learned something, and I hope you can reference to them!

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