After a stormy start to October, things will quiet down and dry out for the rest of the week. The low pressure center which brought us all the action over the weekend is moving off to our southeast, and the farther it moves, the warmer we will become. Sunny skies will dominate our area for the next couple of days, and as temperatures warm from the upper 70s Tuesday into mid-80s by Friday, a few afternoon clouds will pop up each day, but it’s unlikely we will add to our impressive October rainfall total.

Last week we were speaking about analogies. I think that analogies are often very helpful in trying to explain scientific concepts, but some analogies teach bad science.

Here’s an example: You go to a class and you want to teach them about rain shadows. So you take a wet sponge (cloud), grab a kid (let’s say it is Kevin), and call him “Mt Kevin.” As you lift the sponge over his head, you squeeze the water out on his head, and then say after the sponge passes him, “All the water is wrung out of the clouds, and there’s none left to rain on the other side.” (I’ve actually see this done.) Visual? Sure! Memorable? Absolutely (especially if you don’t like Kevin.) A helpful analogy? I’ll tell you tomorrow.