What makes snow tires different from regular tires?

Snow tires have to meet regulations that are set by  the Rubber Manufacturer Association. It has to do with the the grooves in between the rubber. There needs to be at least a 25% section of area where there is groove between the rubber.  Basically the tire needs to get through the snow, and still be able to grip the road, thus giving you traction. For stability, it’s recommended that all four tires match.
For a review of Snow Tires, you can go to Consumer Research  and see their ratings.

How do you know the snow tire you select meets the requirements? It will have a symbol of a mountain with a snowflake in it!

You’ve seen clouds in the sky, but did you know you’ve also seen clouds on the ground? When moisture forms in the atmosphere, it forms a cloud. If the cloud is closer to the ground, it becomes fog.

Clouds are called fog, when they are at the earth’s surface, rather than in the sky.

Fog can be categoried in multiple ways:

Ice and freezing, in valleys, steam, radiation and ground fog are a few of the categories.

A snow crystal starts as a particle of ice that grows and changes shape as it falls through different temperatures. A great chart that shows their growth can be found here. Snow and ice are different forms, as snow starts from a cloud, while sleet freezes as it falls. Snowflakes generally have 6 arms and each one is known for being distinctly unique in shape. Most snowflakes are less than ½” across.

Snow is considered a good insulator because air is trapped between the snow flakes, causing a natural insulation due to the lessened ability of heat to move.

An interesting fact is that lightning and thunder can be associated with snow, though it’s not a common site. This information was found here.

Rochester, New York is considered the to be the large city that averages more snow than other large cities. They average 94 inches of snow a year! That information comes from the National Weather Service records. For a snowfall chart on different cities across the US, go here.

“The greatest snowfall officially reported at the Phoenix, Arizona National Weather Service Office was one inch. That occurred twice. The first time was January 20, 1933. It happened again four years later on the same date.”

Quoted from All About Snow

This week’s Weather Wise Wednesday, I’m going to discuss hypothermia, which is a condition that can set in due to the drop in body temperature. In future postings, I hope to highlight both actual weather properties as well as things that relate to the weather. And now…Hypothermia.

When your body temperature drops below a certain level, hypothermia can set in. As the temperature drops, the body starts to shiver and your hands may become numb. This is considered stage 1, and is the mildest form of hypothermia. At this stage, your body temperature has dropped 1-3 degrees.

The second stage of hypothermia is when the body temperature drops between 4-7 degrees below it’s normal temperature. Stage 2 can cause confusion and clumbsiness. While the subject’s skin may have a pale color, their lips and ears may have a bluest cast to it.

In the third stage, hypothermia presents itself with with much more severe symptoms. Subjects may lose the ability to think clearly, and may be unable to use their limbs. The bluest cast is more present and the skin may become swollen in appearance. At this point, the body temperature has dropped a full 8 degrees below it’s normal range of 98.6. Death can occur at this stage of hypothermia. 

If you’d like more information about how to handle hypothermia, you can go to hypothermia.org and learn about treatment hypothermia on land or in water.  

Welcome to “Weather Wise Wednesday”! Today I’m going to highlight blizzards. Many people associate a blizzard with a lot of snow, which is partially the case, but a blizzard also includes strong winds and a high pressure system that meets up with a low pressure system.

Limited visbility is another aspect of a blizzard, and this is one of the factors that separates it from merely being snow. The storm must have lasted for 3 or more hours to classify as a blizzard. Gusty winds of more than 35 miles per hour in the US, and 25 mph in Canada is another indicator of a blizzard.

One interesting fact found over at USSARTF.org mentions that heavy snowfall doesn’t have to be present, and it can be all ready fallen snow that is blown around with incredible force causing low visibility to be considered a blizzard. Remember these conditions must remain for more than 3 hours to be classified.

Thanks for joining us for Weather Wise Wednesday, as we learn about the weather and weather issues!

Do you see my new logo? This is a new series I’m going to start doing on Wednedays. I’m going to highlight things such as snow, rain, frost, tornados, lightning, sunburn, snowtires….all things weather related, and I hope to do it in a manner that is simple, to the point and put in context so that you have that “oh, I get it!” feeling. We’ll see how it goes! I’ll be starting this Wednesday coming up.

Keep your eyes open for the “Weather Wise Wednesday” logo!