RE: "the clouds have all day". Under what circumstances would they NOT have all day?


funny thing weather, we often think its the same every where, (and it is, in that it's always changing!)

but inland storms tend to be at the leading edge of fronts, (where the air pressure changes from high to low -- which is why a drop in barametric pressure is usually an indicator of a coming rain) and especially on the flat plains of North America (from texas to hudson bay!) these storms can be very fast moving...and very intense. it always seem that when they don't develop into tornado's, they instead dump huge amounts of rain, and cause flash floods.

but coastal areas, can get rain from off shore breezes, which carry moisture onto the land--and this rain, can come and go. I spent a week's vacation in Seattle, and it rained every day--and everyday was beautiful-- they rain rarely lasted more than a 1/2 hour, you ducked into a store, or better yet a starbucks, had a coffee, and when the rain stopped, you went on your way. an hour or two later, you need sunglasses, and sun screen... and then again, in the afternoon or evening, it was raining again...never very hard. just on and off showers..

Upstate NY (and parts of MI and other north east states) get this kind of weather all the time, and in the winter, they often get "lake effect snow". when the wind picks up, it speeds over the water, picking up moisture, and then as it hits land, it slows..the change in speed also causes a change in air pressure, and bingo, rain..(or snow).

which coast you are on also makes a difference, (since the jet stream tends move from the west to the east, (so the pacific north west has a rain forest, and New England just has forest) and mountains and other geographical features can also effect storms (and well as ocean currents like the gulf stream...)

I always think of there being 4 seasons, (spring, summer, autumn and winter) but many places have 2(wet and dry) and some have three (what they call the three seasons varries-sometimes wet,dry and winter, sometimes winter, mud and summer)




my other obsession