Q| I have been keeping track of the sunrise and sunset times since the shortest day. Is there a rule about how the time progresses? I notice that last week we gained several minutes more than we did the first week. How do they get the actual time? We can't stand at sea level and if we are up a hill we see the sun at the different time from if we are in a valley. Also, is there a correlation between our times of sunrise and sunset and those down south? Thanks

A| Everything related to the altitude of the sun above the horizon is a mathematically calculated term - exact and precise (unlike the weather!) and very well explained on the following web site:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/

This is the best web site for sun rise/set tables, and is sponsored by the US Navy. Here, you'll find virtually everything sun and moon related that you might ever want to know: sunrise, sunset, twilight, moon rise, moon set, transit times, moon phase, altitude and azimuth during a complete day cycle at intervals you select, equinox, solstice, perihelion, aphelion, Easter date, and a host of other wonderful calculators. Better still, you can obtain data for a single day, or for a month at a time. You may need to know the Long/Lat and Time Zone data for international locations.

You will also notice that allowances are made for mountainous terrains etc that alter the view of the correct horizon.

Posted February 7, 2008 01:48 PM

Q| Hello, Claire-

I use the Vancouver area weather forecasts and reports because they are more accurate for where I live than the nearest US forecasts, in Seattle.

I have been thinking that there are far more tornadoes that usual in the US this winter, and that it is colder and wetter here than it has been for some time. I wondered if this might be due to the current La Nina in the Pacific, so I went the the ENSO website, which presents information about the LA Nina and El Nino phenomena. There it says that there have been twice as many tornadoes this year than in the previous high year, several years ago. The writers of a press release on the website believe that La Nina could be causing this by causing the air mass in the southern US to be warmer than usual, and the air mass over Canada to be cooler than usual. Where the masses collide, severe storms result.

Thanks for your cheery presence on the CBC!

A| Great question. The local weather effects from the occurrence of El Nino/La Nina are already known to be of a much higher "resonance" on the daily and seasonal weather front, than global warming. Here's my analogy.. global warming is like sitting in a warm bath...after a while you get used to the heat from the warm water surrounding you and you're no longer consciously aware of the warm.

If however you turn on either the hot or cold taps, you'll feel the heat change down by your feet immediately. That's what the El Nino/La Nina affect "feels like" to the average person - a direct change in the season, regardless of how the overall environment is working.

Posted February 7, 2008 09:48 AM

Q| Hi, Claire! Can you tell me why Environment Canada doesn't put out freezing levels for mountain areas, especially for coastal regions? Such data would be very useful for planning winter trips. www.snow-forecast.com does publish this kind of information for a number of specific ski resorts, but more general coverage that is also more widely available ( e.g. on TV and radio ) would be greatly appreciated by the cross country skiing and snowshoeing crowd, among others.

A| Actually Environment Canada does put out Alpine forecasts for the mountain areas. If you go to web sites for the individual ski hills - you will often find the text product published there.

For example - go to Mount Seymour's web site and you can read the Alpine Forecast in its entirety. On the TV, we talk about freezing levels generally when they change dramatically or coming up to a weekend, when a lot of folks may be hitting the hills.

Posted February 7, 2008 09:38 AM

Q| Why does Enviroment Canada list four Victoria locations for conditions and forecasts (CBC list two) but only list one (YVR) for Vancouver? Why no downtown Vancouver location, and no Surrey location - or Coquitlam, etc?

A| Environment Canada has over the years degraded it's weather observation network, to such an extent that we really only have two "local" manned sites - the International Airport (YVR) and Abbotsford. They have not put in automatic weather stations in the "outlying" towns.

When I asked Environment Canada about your question it said:

"Conditions and forecast sites correspond to where we have weather stations.EC does not have weather stations in Coquitlam or Surrey, for example.

We do have stations in West Van and in Coal Harbor, and the station data is available at:

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/forecast/canada/summary_e.html?BC

I'm not sure why the Harbour and West Van are not available elsewhere, possibly because their future operation is not assured.

Note that there is only one forecast for Victoria: all the stations carry the same forecast."

Posted February 6, 2008 01:38 PM

Q| When oh when are you coming back to Edmonton. We miss you so much. We like your sense of humour, something that is surely lacking now.

A| Sometimes with the non-stop rain, it is tempting to go back!

Posted February 6, 2008 01:13 PM

Q| I grew up here in the 1950s and 1960s and it is my impression that we had much more and much thicker fog then than now. Is this so?

Also, some have related that the "fog" of those days was partially smog/smoke from mills that were plentiful then. Any truth to this? Thanks

A| Eric, I love these types of questions!
First off - let me give you the place to go for "climate" details, or historical weather information:
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/Welcome_e.html

It is very hard for me to comment on the fog issue specifically however, as that would require me going through years worth of daily weather observations, however I agree that in an enclosed (IE surrounded by mountains) marine environment, such as Vancouver, low levels of particulate often do get trapped.

The presence years ago, of these mills would have most definitely contributed to an excess of low level particulate. The question as to whether we had "less wind" back then to flush this out, is hard to say. I think though generally these mills would have contributed to poorer air quality than what we see nowadays.

Posted February 6, 2008 09:22 AM

Q| I have three questions. Why do you assume this winter is "stranger than usual"? Why would you ask "is this climate change"? Don't you think your questions are loaded with bias?

A| Great questions.. this winter is absolutely not "stranger than usual" at the moment. And we can only make statements about the possibility of climate change once the winter is over.

Posted February 5, 2008 11:30 AM

Q| I'm a teacher with a question. The students are keeping a chart of weather each day for a month. They are recording the daily high, low, wind and barometer. How do we get the weather forecast for a day missed? For example, today's Feb 4 but we missed getting Feb 2 and 3 weather as they were on the weekend.

Thank you! Teresa

A| Hmm.. getting "old" forecasts are the hardest pieces of information to find in hindsight! I would suggest giving Environment Canada a call - they may keep "old forecasts". If however you are after old daytime high/low numbers, you can get them on the web at the following:
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/Welcome_e.html

Posted February 4, 2008 05:18 AM

Q| Hi Claire,

My question is about the weather in an indirect way.I am a Grade 4 teacher in Coquitlam. Ever since you started doing weather reports on CBC TV and Radio in Vancouver, I have been thinking of asking you if there is any chance you could come out to our school and speak to my Grade 4 class of 30 kids about weather reporting, forecasting and data collection.

Weather is part of the Grade 4 Science curriculum, which pleases me greatly, since I have been a weather addict ever since becoming a sea kayak instructor several years ago.

Every year in September, my class starts studying weather by building barometers and checking the air pressure daily. Then we go on to recording temperature and precipitation. We have just finished building our own rain gauges (out of large pop bottles), and started recording the rain and snow that falls on our school grounds. There has been lots of that lately!

I'm sure you are aware of the Environment Canada "Sky Watchers" program. Students in my class, on a rotating basis, are involved in that program, recording and reporting data five days per week to the Sky Watchers website.

I thought my students would be thrilled to have you come and speak to them about the work of a professional meteorologist, particularly one who has been chosen the "Best Weather Presenter in the World" twice over!

I will await your answer with hopes as high as the air pressure we have been experiencing this week-end (Feb. 2-3), although the low pressure area off the Washington coast should be bringing us rain and/or snow, not brilliantly blue skies! I'm not complaining, mind you!

Sincerely,
Clark Perry-Bater

A|Hi there Clark,
Thanks for the request.
At the moment we're trying to work out how we can set up some formal school presentations in the future - probably at an alternative venue like the Science Center.

Unfortunately - because of the timing of my shift at the CBC and the sheer volume of forecasting that I have to do on a daily basis - I can not get to individual schools, but I used to run a school weather segment in Alberta, and I'm hoping we can mimic it here soon.

In the meantime - great reading material for you and the class is a book I helped proof read called "The Weather Book" by Jack Williams.

Thanks for the complimentary e-mail, in the meantime!
Yours
Claire Martin

Posted February 2, 2008 08:42 PM

Q| Hi Claire. What is the difference between a meteorologist and a climatologist? Or a paleoclimatologist? (well, I presume you won't see a winsome paleoclimatologist on the National any time soon, do you?)

A| A climatologist looks at the history of the weather and the changes that have occurred over a "long" period of time. Meteorologists look at the weather over the next few hours through to the next 4 days. A common phrase amongst weather-folk is that "climate is what you want to get, but weather is what you actually get"!
The following web site gives more details:
http://meteorologyclimatology.suite101.com/article.cfm/meteorology_vs_climatology

Posted February 1, 2008 10:42 PM