Let’s Talk About Cold Fronts
This article will be a simpler one than the previous weeks, but something that I bet all of you have been wondering; Where do cold fronts come from? As I informed y’all in a previous article the movement of fronts is just the way the atmosphere tries to equalize pressure in the atmosphere. There cannot be a cold front without there also being a warm front in the area. As of the publishing of this article, we are in a warm front, even if it does not feel so warm, so that the cold front on Wednesday night can give us some cooler weather. This upcoming cold front is coming from northwest Canada and is being moved down here by the upper air movement of the jet stream. The jet stream is high in the upper atmosphere around 6-12 miles above the ground that moves at speeds of 150 mph. The Jet Stream moves the lower atmosphere the same way that if you run your hand through tall grass. If you hit the top of the grass the top moves drastically, but as you go farther and farther down the blade of grass right near the bottom it barely moves compared to the top of the blade of grass. This is a good example as the grass is connected from top to bottom as one blade of grass and the atmosphere is connected by the friction between the air molecules. So the upper atmosphere is moving very fast but at the ground it’s just a fraction of the speed of the upper atmosphere.
On another note I am now back at college and need your suggestions or questions more than ever to keep making these articles. You can contact the paper and I will get those messages forwarded to me or you can contact me directly with this email address tomy3290@gmail.com. Any topics are greatly appreciated as the semester is in full swing. Now onto your local weather.
As we head into this Christmas week the will see the temps rise and fall to make a perfect day for Christmas. Temps will rise to a high around 75 on Wednesday and later that night a cold front will blow through, though not cold enough to freeze. It will make it a little chilly for Christmas Eve and have Christmas day, around a cool 65 degrees. The highest chance for rain is going to be on Wednesday night with about a 40% chance of some showers when the front comes in. I hope y’all were able to see the Christmas star at its peak brightness yesterday, but if you missed it you can still see it, as there are no other astronomical events to note. Thanks and Gig’em!
Thomas Borgstedte is studying meteorology at Texas A&M.