December 2012 – March 2013<\/p>\n
How many times have you had a conversation about the weather with a complete stranger? The weather is a subject that brings us together because it affects our daily lives in so many ways. More than just causing the annoyance of a hot and humid day or a slippery drive in to work, however, weather patterns impact our country\u2019s agriculture, ecosystems, civil infrastructure, tourism industry, transportation networks, and energy costs, to name just a few. And yet, it is a force that few understand and many spend their lives researching.<\/p>\n
In honor of the National Weather Service\u2019s annual \u201cSevere Weather Preparedness Week,\u201d this exhibit explores some of the main sources of weather woe\/severe weather in the Midwest. Those of us who live here have no doubt experienced some of the most wicked weather our region has to offer\u2014tornadoes, super-cell thunderstorms, floods, and drought are just a few of the major events that have impacted Iowa in the past few years.\u00a0 While the power of these storms can be awe-inspiring, severe weather can pose one of the largest dangers to humans and can rack up billions of dollars in damage. For example, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2012 alone 5 different billion-dollar events affected the Midwest.1<\/sup> As these events prove, wicked weather strikes close to home. This exhibit aims to teach us more not only about the types of severe weather that affect us, but also about safety and preparedness measures all of us can take in order to be ready when the next storm strikes.<\/p>\n Over hundreds of years the weather has inspired folklore, old wives\u2019 tales, legends, and superstitions. Perhaps surprisingly, many of these contain a hint of truth or scientific evidence. Here are a few examples: 2<\/sup><\/p>\n CRICKETS CHIRP FASTER WHEN IT\u2019S WARM AND SLOWER WHEN IT\u2019S COLD.<\/b><\/p>\n Crickets can indeed serve as thermometers. Tradition says that if you count the cricket\u2019s chirps for 14 seconds and then add 40, you will obtain the temperature in Fahrenheit at the cricket\u2019s location.<\/p>\n WHEN WINDOWS WON\u2019T OPEN, AND THE SALT CLOGS THE SHAKER, THE WEATHER WILL FAVOR THE UMBRELLA MAKER!<\/b><\/p>\n Windows with wood frames tend to stick when the air is full of moisture. The moisture swells the wood, making windows and doors more difficult to budge. By the same token, salt is very effective at absorbing moisture, so it clumps together rather than pouring out. As moisture collects in the air, there is a greater likelihood of precipitation.<\/p>\n LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES THE SAME PLACE TWICE.<\/b><\/p>\n This is one of the most famous weather sayings \u2013 and it\u2019s wrong. Lightning not only can strike the same place twice, but it seems to prefer high locations. New York City\u2019s Empire State Building, for example, is struck about 25 times every year.<\/p>\n 1 http:\/\/www.ncdc.noaa.gov\/billions\/events<\/a> Acknowledgements<\/p>\n Exhibition Planning<\/strong> Production and Installation Assistance<\/strong> Graphic design<\/strong> The Wicked Weather Around Us: Severe Weather in the Midwest December 2012 – March 2013 How many times have you had a conversation about the weather with a complete stranger? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"parent":77,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"pagetpl-exhibits.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/931\/revisions\/932"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/77"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lib.uiowa.edu\/exhibits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2 http:\/\/www.erh.noaa.gov\/rnk\/Newsletter\/Fall_2010\/folklore.html<\/a><\/p>\n
\nKari Kozak, Pam Kacena, Chris Childs<\/p>\n
\nBill Voss<\/p>\n
\nIMU Marketing + Design<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"