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Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
16 Questions About Earth’s Atmosphere and Weather Answered
  • Introduction
  • What is air made of?
  • Why is the ozone layer important to Earth?
  • Is it true that at one time there was no oxygen?
  • Why is the sky blue?
  • How do we see wind?
  • Where is the windiest place on Earth?
  • What are clouds made of?
  • How do clouds float?
  • Why do jet airplanes leave white trails in the sky?
  • Why are rain clouds gray?
  • What causes a rainbow?
  • How thick is a lightning bolt?
  • How far away is thunder and lightning?
  • Why are hurricanes called monster storms?
  • Why are tornadoes so dangerous?
  • How far can a tornado lift and carry items?
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Lightning over Oradea, Romania A large tornado touches down in a grassy field under dark clouds, with a National Severe Storms Laboratory field command vehicle parked on the roadside in the foreground. Illustration showing ten cloud types at different altitudes above the ground: cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus at high elevations; altocumulus and altostratus at mid-levels; nimbostratus, stratocumulus, stratus, cumulus, and the towering cumulonimbus clouds at lower to very high elevations, with a plane for scale. Contrail of a four-engined jet airliner rainbow Two-part diagram explaining how to estimate lightning distance by timing thunder, and how thunder is heard differently based on location. The top section shows sound waves from a lightning flash reaching an observer, with a scale indicating that thunder is heard about three seconds after the flash for each kilometer, or five seconds for each mile, up to five kilometers or three miles. The bottom section depicts two people in cars at different distances from the main lightning channel and a branc Satellite view of Hurricane Hugo, showing a large, swirling white cloud mass with a distinct eye approaching the South Carolina coast near Charleston.

16 Questions About Earth’s Atmosphere and Weather Answered: References & Edit History

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