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14 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2020 By Mel Zeldin One way or another, weather affects all of us. Whether it's changes in air pressure, humidity, cold days or hot days that may affect your health; or rainy days that may affect your planned walks; or foggy days that may affect travel; or windy days that can blow your trash cans around -- weather is part of our daily lives. This article is the first of a recurring series to help explain in simple terms (as much as possible), the many weather phenomena we encounter here in Beaumont; why we have a bit different weather than our city neighbors in San Bernardino and Riverside to the west, as well as the Coachella Valley cities to our east; and the underlying meteorological conditions that cause these phenomena. This series will also delve into some of the "mystique" surrounding weather forecasting, so you can make better sense of what you hear on the radio, TV, Internet, as well as what you read in the daily newspaper. By way of background, I am a retired professional meteorologist living here in Four Seasons Beaumont. After graduating UCLA with a degree in meteorology, I spent four years as a weather officer at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino in the late 1960s, after which I transitioned to air pollution meteorology, being the first meteorologist hired by San Bernardino County. Much of my career was spent with the South Coast Air Quality Management District, although I did have a stint with the Research and Development Department at Southern California Edison, where I helped to provide daily electrical load forecasts based in large part on weather forecasts. Over the course of my career, I have heard just about every cussing phrase there is about the "weatherman." Believe me, we get used to it; though, I must say that forecasts are much more accurate than they were 30 years ago. We'll come back to forecasting in more detail in a later article, but for now, let's get down to some basics. Did you know that we live at the bottom of an ocean? That's right – an ocean of air which we call the atmosphere. The atmosphere is comprised of many molecules, mostly nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent) and a few other trace gases including "greenhouse gases" that contribute to climate change. These molecules have weight, and being at the bottom of that ocean, the standard weight of the air at sea level is 14.7 pounds per square inch. That's a lot of weight. It may give you a new appreciation of the expression "lighter than air." But, just like fish that live near the bottom of the ocean, we have evolved to survive that weight. The weight of air is typically expressed as atmospheric pressure, and standard at sea level is 29.92 inches of mercury. That means there is enough pressure being applied to counterbalance the weight of that much mercury. As one ascends into the mountains, the column of air decreases, and the standard pressure for that height also decreases. As one goes below sea level, such as in the Coachella Valley, the column of air increases very slightly, and the standard atmospheric pressure increases accordingly. Pressure is measured by an instrument known as a barometer. If you happen to have a barometer hanging on your wall, take it with you next time you go up in the mountains, and you'll see the pressure fall. In this series, I'll try to answer some basic questions, such as: • Why does it rain and snow? • Why do we have clouds? • Why is it often windy in Beaumont? • Why do we typically have a lot of low clouds and fog in mid- spring? • What causes thunderstorms? • Why do we not have tornadoes like we hear about in the midwest? • Why was it so rainy this past March and April? So, enjoy the weather, cloudy or clear, windy or calm, drizzling or pouring — for Beaumont's weather is never boring. Retired Meteorologist Explains The Weather

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