Loud & smoggy
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I had a couple of people ask me recently if different weather conditions can affect sound. The answer is yes!
The same temperature inversions that trap pollutants near the ground can refract or bend sound waves in the atmosphere. So that train you hear in the distance may sound closer when a temperature inversion is present several thousand feet above the ground.
Temperature inversions occur when a warm layer slides in over a cold layer near the ground. The atmosphere usually cools with height above ground level. Air of different temperature also has different density. As sound waves travel through the air, they move faster in the warmer air, bending them and allowing them to travel faster.
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A fresh northwest wind is cooling us off a bit, and also improving our air quality. Colder iar is moving in, but you have to go way north to near the Arctic Circle to find any really nasty sub-zero stuff.
A few flurries may fly this afternoon, and a clipper may bring 1 to 3 inches Thursday into Friday.
Look for the 30's to return this weekend!
PH
