7/31/12 Olympics: Cycling & the Weather

Heavy rain drenched the women's road cycling race Sunday along with strong winds. However, that didn’t keep the thousands of fans from coming out to support their athletes along the 87 mile course. Standing on the sidelines pales in comparison to what the riders themselves had to battle in order to maintain control of their bikes as they hovered across pools of rainwater.

"It was a fantastic atmosphere despite the rain,” said Simon Ashmore, who attended the women’s cycling race.

Weather dictates cycling. On everything from what they should wear, what they should eat/drink, what equipment to use, and what methods/maneuvers they should apply during the race.



Olympic Cycling competition Saturday
Courtesy: Wired

Rain: Not only do your hands slip and slide on the bars, but your tires do the exact same. Road bikes normally do not have much tread on the tires, and they are thinner than standard tires as well. Which means not only is it hard to get traction on straight roads that are wet, but riders have to use extra caution when going around tight corners as well.

Temperature: Obviously this is a major factor in what the cyclists wear, but that’s not the only thing the cyclists need to consider. Very cold temperatures could lead to a thin coat of ice or slush on the street – not exactly ideal road conditions. If it’s too hot, the pavement could weaken or buckle, which creates dangerous segments of the road.

Wind: This is probably the most uncertain and tricky aspect of weather for cycling since it comes and goes so quickly, and can have relatively strong bursts. Why? When racers encounter a strong gust of wind, it is usually impossible to find a refuge from the bursts of wind, so often they will seek shelter from side winds by riding in echelons (a type of alignment, similar to the formation of geese, or airplanes staggered a certain distance behind from the airplane ahead). Also, just because you may be able to maneuver through the winds, doesn’t mean the rider in front of you will, and thanks to the domino effect, you could still get knocked down. In these conditions riders need to be very tactically aware not to get left behind.



U.S. Road Racer Taylor Phinney on Sunday
Courtesy: ESPN



7/30/12 Olympics: Archery & the Weather

Thanks to the Hunger Games, archery is quickly becoming a very popular sport, even though it has been around for about 10,000 years. The object of archery is relatively simple, and similar to darts: have the arrows hit the bullseye of the target, or as close as you possibly can. However, Olympic Archery targets are a bit different from your typical darts board at a restaurant/bar. Not just because you have to throw them with a large bow, but also because you have to do it outside, which means Mother Nature often dictates how close you end up getting to that target.


Wind - this can make or break the event.  is an archer's worst enemy. British archer, Mike Peart, explains, "Even if I aim dead-centre, the arrow can drift, two, three, foot feet away and sometimes I can miss the target. Even though I have shot, the wind can take it totally off."


U.S. Mens Archery Team wins silver medal
Courtesy: AZ Central

Bombayla Devi Laishram, who is on the Indian Archery team, admitted wind affected their competition at the Olympics as well, "There was a little bit of wind - more than [Saturday], but I am confident for the individual round. I will try my best."

Rain - Often wind accompanies rain showers, and large rain drops can attach to the arrows and bows and weight the equipment down. In fact, the women's archery team quarterfinal between Denmark and South Korea was spoiled by heavy downpours. The athletes tend to use more of their time to try to wipe down the bows and arrows to calibrate them as best as they can.

Temperature - and also humidity heavily impact the equipment and used. As the humidity increases or decreases the arrows change stiffness and that affects everything from direction to distance. Older ones used to be made of wood, which would absorb more moisture in the air, but now most bows are made of carbon composites which aren't affected by humidity as much.


Miranda Leek, who is on the U.S. Archery team, experienced some weather related issues when she competed Friday.  “Considering the weather, the temperature of the day, the first match and all of that, I thought she shot well,” Scott Leek, Miranda's father and coach explains.


U.S. Archer Miranda Leek
Courtesy: Chicago Tribune



07/24/12 Do Fans Actually Cool You?

It’s a hot day and there is no air conditioning, the solution is a no-brainer right?  Grab an electric fan to cool yourself off! Well, new research from the non-profit medical group Cochrane Collaboration says there's actually no hard evidence that fans are either an effective or safe way to beat the heat.

Based on this evidence, the researchers concluded that electric fans could potentially do more harm than good at temperatures above 95 degrees.  95! We’ve already spent a dozen days this summer above 95, so that is a big concern. We’ve always known that fans don’t actually cool the air temperature, but they were thought to help regulate human body temperature by assisting with physiological mechanisms, such as sweating, which promotes heat loss.

And when used improperly, fans can have the opposite effect, causing heat gain rather than heat loss, leading people to perspire or sweat more, which could lead to dehydration or other health problems, affecting the proper function of everything from your heart to your nerves.

If you only have access to a fan, and not air conditioning, use a model with built-in misting, or spray your face with water to provide a wind-chill effect, since that is the only way electric fans may have the ability to promote body cooling.

07/19/12 New Urban Heat Island?

There have many studies done by NOAA on what impacts the Urban Heat Island really has, but after comparing that data to increasing urban populations, many scientists are taking a second look at what might be causing those warming temperatures.

If you can't take the heat, get out of the city is basically what it boils down to.  As the phrase implies, an Urban Heat Island is when a city turns into an island of heat, and unlike rural areas, it retains that heat well into the night, even after the sun has gone down.

As global temperatures go up, global warming is often to blame, but could the fact that more people are moving into urban areas be a factor? The big difference now is the population change.

Back in 1910 the U.S. urban population was 45.6% but in 2010 that number increased all the way to 80.7%

Georgia for example, had an urban population of 20.6% back in 1910, but that number skyrocketed to 52.9% in 2010.

The biggest concern with this is the number of heat-related deaths. According to NOAA, heat is the number one weather related killer , last year was an exception when tornado deaths finally surpassed heat deaths.

So as temperatures near all time record highs this weekend, please be safe out there!

7/4/2012 July 4th Forecasts

Happy Fourth of July!!!!

Here is the forecast for some very patriotic sounding town names across the country:

Washington DC: Mostly cloudy with occasional showers and thunderstorms. High of 98°

Independence, OH: Mostly sunny with scattered thundershowers. High of 97° with heat index of 102°

Freedom, CA: Decreasing clouds and breezy from West around 10-15mph. High around 72°

Flagstaff, AZ: Mostly cloudy skies with showers and thunderstorms. High will be around 75°

Patriot, IN:Sunny and hot with highs around 98° and a heat index of 105°

New Liberty, IA:  Sunny and hot with a high temperature of 97° and a heat index of 105°

Independence, KS: Sunny, hot, and breezy from south at 10-20mph. High temperature at 100°

Flagler, FL: Mostly sunny with just an isolated thundershower chance. High temperatures will be 91°

Capitol Heights, MD: Mostly cloudy with scattered thundershowers. High temperature of 98°

Liberty, MO:  Sunny, hot, and breezy from southwest around 10-20mph. High of 102°

Eagle, ID: Sunny and beautiful, definitely the best of the patriotic cities for weather! High of 86°

Freedom, PA: Mostly sunny with scattered thundershowers. High of 95° with a heat index of 100°