In this final installment in background meteorology we look at various phenomena that have not been mentioned yet that can be seen from the backyard. Here are 10 other sights than can be seen: 1) Rainbow- results from sun being low enough on the horizon and shining through rain in order to produce an arcing spectrum of colors 2) Double Rainbow- a fainter second rainbow can sometimes be seen surrounding the primary rainbow 3) Thundersnow- Thunder that occurs at the same time snow is occurring. Often it is heavy snow when this occurs. Convection added to the lifting aids in thunder occurrence. 4) Sun dog- This can occur when the sun shines through thin cirrus clouds. It looks like a weaker sun located on each side of the real sun 5) Cold Air Funnel- A cold air funnel is a high based weak funnel circulation well above the Earth’s surface that occurs in a cool air mass. 6) Various cloud types- http://www.theweatherprediction.com/clouds/ 7) Mesocyclone- This is the cloud formation that can produce a strong tornado 8) Tornado- a violently rotating column of air in contact with the earth's land surface that originates from a thunderstorm. Shelter should be taken in the case of an approaching tornado or tornado warning. 9) Solar noon- can be approximated using a sun dial which gives a relative time of day and position of sun, solar noon is when sun angle is highest 10) Icicles- Form from freezing rain or water runoff that freezes on shady side of the roof |