Randy Cerveny is a climatologist at Arizona State University. He knows all about clouds and lots of other interesting weather stuff. Students always have lots of questions for the professor. He answers some of them here.
When you think about islands, you probably think about Hawaii or Jamaica. You probably don’t think about Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix has all the sand of a beachside resort, but it is not surrounded by water. Still, Phoenix is a type of island. Scientists call it an “urban heat island.”
The Earth isn’t well-behaved. For starters, our planet doesn’t stand up straight. It also doesn’t move in perfect circles. It tilts and wobbles. Sometimes it orbits the sun in an egg-shaped pattern. All this wiggling and wobbling has an effect on weather.
Air is all around you. It presses against your body all the time. That’s why we call it air pressure. Anyone can measure air pressure using a tool called a barometer. Barometers work because air has weight.
Randy Cerveny is a climatologist at Arizona State University. He knows all about clouds and lots of other interesting weather stuff. Students always have lots of questions for the professor. He answers some of them here.
How does a hurricane get its name?
Air is all around you. It presses against your body all the time. That’s why we call it air pressure. Anyone can measure air pressure using a tool called a barometer. Barometers work because air has weight.