Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Hazy Skies Make it Tough to See & Breathe

The 3 H's dominate our weather once again today. It will be hazy, hot, and humid. One nice thing about the thick soupy sky is that it helps create brilliant sunrises and sunsets. Take a look at this fine sunrise just sent in. Now that is waking up on the right side of the bed.


Courtesy of Zach Chafin (Greenhill, In)

Last night we also had reports of a moonrise with 3 different colors. Shades of pink, yellow, and orange lit up the sky. This same moon can even be called a blue moon on Thursday night. It will not be named after its color but because a blue moon is defined as the second full moon in the same month. This has not happened since 2004!

Our blog question today deals with what haze actually is and how it could actually pose a health risk. Let's take a look!



Haze can also be made up of water droplets. Haze tends to build up when we have quiet weather patterns. With no strong fronts to mix up the atmosphere this builds up plenty of dust and pollution particles. This can lead to poor air quality. In fact today it is the air quality is in the unhealthy range for those with respiratory ailments. You can go outside but just do not over do it. This haze is toughest on the very young and elderly.

Here are some things you can do to help improve our air quality when we are in a hot & hazy weather pattern:

1) Wait until 6 p.m. to fill up your gas tanks or mow the lawn
2) Avoid putting your car in idle (do not go through drive-thrus)
3) Turn up your air conditioner 2 degrees.
4) Carpool and combine errands

Tomorrow we will talk about our full blue moon on the way and I actually have a picture of a blue moon to show you that was taken in Texas. We will also take a look back at the anniversary of the Lafayette areas biggest tornado outbreak on record.

No comments: