Fall Weather Threats

11/13/2019 (Permalink)

Autumn is finally upon us, meaning pumpkin spice, football, and sweater weather.  While most fall days are some of the most pleasant weather days of the year, there are also significant opportunities for weather threats.  Some of these threats can be caused by cold, dry air and warm, humid air clashing causing air masses that can then turn into severe thunderstorms during the months of October and November.  A second threat that can come from fall weather is intense fog.  Fog can be severely dangerous for motorists and cause several traffic accidents.  The cause of fog increasing during the fall season is due to cooler, longer nights.  Fog usually develops during overnight hours and carries into early to mid-morning hours.  The third threat caused by fall weather is frost.  Frost occurs mostly in rural areas because there are more wide-open spaces.  A fourth occurrence of fall weather is snowstorms.  Now, we live in the south, so this is unlikely to happen here, but stranger things have happened.  As we all say, “That’s Mississippi weather for you!”  While most snow is light and powdery and perfect for skiing or snowboarding, fall weather can be mostly wet and heavy.  This is especially dangerous because snow accumulates of leaves that haven’t yet fallen.  This accumulation causes more weight and the trees are more likely to have broken branches or snap.  These branches or fallen trees could damage a home, car or cause power outages if they land on a power line.  Heavy and wet snow can also cause the roadways to become more slippery and slushy causing crashes.  The final threat caused by fall weather is hurricanes.  The peak of hurricane season is September, but the season doesn’t end until November 30.  Sea surfaces remain warm even during cooler times which can cause cyclones to occur.  Hurricane Matthew is the most recent late season hurricane to hit the US.