WEATHER WORDS: Finally, a rational explanation about our weather
woes!

Fred Richter writes, “I am quite sure that any meteorologist,
high school earth and space science teacher or McKean County farmer
could explain much better than I the reasons for our varied and
sometimes, extreme weather.”

“Obviously, the primary causes for the weather in northern
McKean County are our physical location and the physical forces of
nature. I hope the following order of these forces make some
sense.

“1. Most of our weather is influenced by the air masses to our
west. These are the continental polar air mass out of central
Canada, and continental tropical air mass out of the Gulf of
Mexico. We live at a junction where these air masses tend to
collide.

“2. Most of the land to our west is at a lower elevation and the
‘flat’land has very few physical structures to buffer these air
masses. In addition, the troughs formed by the Great Lakes
(Michigan, Huron and Erie) and the Mississippi River Valley tend to
funnel these air masses toward us. In a simple example, look out
West Washington Street toward Kinzua Dam. This is a trough leading
to the ‘Bradford Bowl.’

“3. As these air masses travel along these ‘troughs’ they
collect moisture from the waterways and cool as the winds rise to
our location. This is called adiabatic cooling, which increases 1
degree for every 1,000 feet of elevation that the air rises.

“4. The air masses can only hold so much water; and with the
cooling effect of our mountains, the water is released in the form
of snow or rain. Lower valleys like Bradford and Kushequa tend to
hold these pockets of air. This is the reason for the morning fog
in Bradford; and Kushequa, being at a higher elevation, being
colder than Bradford.

“5. The highest point in McKean County is behind the Roman
Catholic Church in Mount Jewett. By the time the air masses have
reached this point, most of the water-snow has been released, the
air is moving off the Allegheny Plateau and is warming as it goes
to lower elevations. They call this the ‘Chinook Effect’ on the
east side of the Rocky Mountains.

“Note: The highest spot east of the Mississippi River is on
Interstate 80 between Penfield and Clearfield. Weatherwise, those
to our East and South benefit from our beautiful mountains.”