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Now, in a truly interesting study, Daniel Rosenfeld and Thomas Bell, a seemingly odd paring when you consider that Rosenfeld is with the Institute of Earth Sciences in Israel, while Bell is with NASA, have found that the phenomenon is apparently real, though it’s clearly not because of an otherworldly presence. As they describe in their paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, it has far more to do with more down to earth human activities.
Rosenfeld and Bell limited their study area to a specific region of the American Southeast, an area that receives a number of thunderstorms and tornados every summer, and has been seen over the years as being particularly sensitive to the weekend weather syndrome.
Because prior research by other groups showed that there were indeed more serious type storms in the area during the week, the two suspected it had something to do with air pollution. Using data (1995 to 2009) obtained from the EPA, which monitors air quality, they found that during the three summer months of June, July and August, there was a clear correlation between certain days of the week and the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere. As an example, they found that aerosols hit peak concentrations on Tuesdays, while bottoming out on weekends; evidence of the human work week, which causes much less particulate matter to be spewed when people are home relaxing on weekends.
phys.org
Rosenfeld and Bell limited their study area to a specific region of the American Southeast, an area that receives a number of thunderstorms and tornados every summer, and has been seen over the years as being particularly sensitive to the weekend weather syndrome.
Because prior research by other groups showed that there were indeed more serious type storms in the area during the week, the two suspected it had something to do with air pollution. Using data (1995 to 2009) obtained from the EPA, which monitors air quality, they found that during the three summer months of June, July and August, there was a clear correlation between certain days of the week and the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere. As an example, they found that aerosols hit peak concentrations on Tuesdays, while bottoming out on weekends; evidence of the human work week, which causes much less particulate matter to be spewed when people are home relaxing on weekends.
New research may explain why serious thunderstorms and tornados are less prevalent on the weekends
(PhysOrg.com) -- For much of the last century, people in parts of the United States have come to notice that just as they got the weekends off to relax, so too did it seem, did serious weather. Big booming thunderstorms that produced large hail and/or tornados, seemed to strike at will during...
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