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Answer: It was actually of a more earthly origin. At 8:50 p.m. that evening, a Titan IV launch vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and took a northeasterly track that made it visible to many people along the eastern seaboard as the rocket separated into stages and then released its payload. For much more about that launch, see www.spaceflightnow.com/titan/b30/status.html.
(2008-07-19)

Answer: While there are sources that attempt to assign a single statewide maximum and minimum average temperature for the state as a whole, a more realistic account of average temperatures is given by contour maps that show how they vary across the state for each month. You can find links to these on the State Climate Office of North Carolina web site, at www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/cronos/normals.php.
(2008-07-18)

Answer: The wind chill formula used by the National Weather Service, and a calculator that applies it, can be found online at www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml. However, the formula assumes that wind speed is measured at about 33 feet above the ground. If your handheld readings are taken at about 5 feet off the ground, you should multiply your wind speed by 1.5 before using the NWS formula.
(2008-07-17)

Answer: Unfortunately, there isn't any way to predict with great confidence the exact beginning and end points of the pine pollen season in our area. Usually, the heaviest pollen load occurs over about three to five weeks somewhere in the period from late March to mid May, so we should see the amounts of pine pollen, the largest and most noticeable variety, taper off during the next week or two.
(2008-07-16)

Answer: "Heat Lightning" is a term that describes regular lightning seen from too far away to discern the individual lightning bolt. Instead, all that is seen is a reflection of the flash off of clouds, or light from the distant flash scattered by air molecules and haze. Usually, the storm producing the lightning is more than ten miles away, roughly the distance at which thunder is no longer audible.
(2008-07-15)

Answer: Not just possible, but very likely. A powerful coronal mass ejection from the sun produced an intense geomagnetic storm on the night of November 7-8, and auroral displays were seen as far south as Alabama and California. Several sightings were reported in North Carolina as well, and you can see a couple of nice photos taken from our state at www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01nov04.htm.
(2008-07-14)

Answer: Some studies have indicated a tendency for positive flashes to dominate in the early stages of some tornadic supercell thunderstorms, with tornadoes observed at about the time the number of strikes diminishes and reverses in dominant polarity. This behavior remains rather poorly understood, but may be related to vertical wind shear that tilts the positive charge area aloft out over open ground.
(2008-07-13)

Answer: We recently passed through the vernal equinox, which is the time of year at which the sun's apparent elevation in the sky, and our resulting length of day, is increasing at its most rapid pace. The sun's northward progress slows as we approach the summer solstice, and in fact changes rather slowly for a few weeks surrounding the solstice, before reversing to accelerate southward through the Fall.
(2008-07-12)

Answer: Beyond temperature and precipitation averages, comprehensive climate data for that specific area is difficult to come by. Your best option is probably to visit the State Climate Office web site at www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/cronos/normals.php, and click on the map for more complete climate summaries for Asheville and Greensboro, where you'll find monthly normals for dewpoint and relative humidity.
(2008-07-11)

Answer: Climate records for your area indicate that the average date for the last freezing temperature of Spring is April 12th, while the chance of additinal freezing temperatures drops below 30% after April 18th. Given this, it might be reasonable to have the turtles emerge around the second or third week of April, and just keep an eye on forecasts so that you can shelter them if a late freeze occurs.
(2008-07-10)

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