Weather-Related Articles

Here's another weekly installment of weather-related articles.  The theme this week is water: lakes, pollution, rain, and, more generally, precipitation.

mPING Dislay

mPING is a mobile app that allows users to report precipitation type (snow, ice pellets, rain, hail, etc.) to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, which is located in Norman, OK.  The link above takes you to a display page where you can see what reports are coming in from around the country.

Why Bad Weather Is Good for Productivity (Blizzards Notwithstanding)

A recently-released study has found that rainy days tend to be more productive for office workers than sunny days.  The obvious reason is that rainy days make it less likely that office staff will sneak out for a walk, but is there more to it than that?

Water: The Next Great Technological Frontier

One of the greatest environmental challenges facing us over the coming decades will be our water supply.  Our freshwater supply is being tapped more and more for drinking and agriculture, and furthermore, this supply is endangered by pollution.  We will need to find ways to ensure that we all have access to plenty of safe drinking water.  This excellent article does a great job of putting the problem in perspective and looking at the way forward.

What's impacting Great Lakes water levels? 

This article goes hand-in-hand with the last article.  It focuses on the Great Lakes, which are lower than they have been in a long time.  What's behind the drop in water level?  Read the article to find out.  (Hint: many of the reasons are the same as in the last article!)

50 Old Time Weather Proverbs & Signs

This article is just a list of nifty old sayings about the weather...some more true than others.  Have you heard of any of them?  "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, a sailor's delight."  "If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb."  "Clear moon, frost soon."  Check out the article for more!