Horizon Elementary

Question: What Motivated you to become a weatherman.

Answer: From Chief Meteorologist Bill Kelly:  When I took my first geography class in college I was fascinated by the way the atmosphere moved.  One day we were learning about cold fronts and warm fronts.  The professor said that the cold front moved faster than the warm front.  After class I asked, "If the cold front moves faster, than it must catch the warm front, right??"  He replied, "Yes.  It's called an occluded front and it's next week's lesson".  In that moment I knew what I wanted to do.  My motivation is the love for the science of weather.

---

Wyandot Elementary

Question: How does the Earth's Spin affect Weather?

Answer: Because the Earth spins west to east, the weather moves in the same way, so typically our storms come from the west.  You can replicate this at home by using a snow globe.  Spin it around a few times, then set it down.  The particles inside will continue to move in the same way you spin the globe.

---

Licking Heights South

Question: How many different cloud types are there?

Answer: 2 Main, Stratus & Cumulus... which branches into 10 main types: Cirrus, Cirrostratus, Cirrocumulus, Altostratus, Altocumulus, Stratus, Cumulus, Stratocumulus, Nimbostratus, Cumulonimbus.

---

Indian Run Elementary

Question: Why is it wet on the grass in the morning?

Answer: The Dewpoint is the temperature at which "dew" (water) forms.  Most of the time our low temperature occurs during the morning, thus allowing it to reach the dewpoint.  This is why you see dew on the grass in the morning.

---

Wiggin St. Elementary

Question: How does the Green Screen work?

Answer: The Camera "sees" all colors except Green.  Instead, they director can replace the color green with the computer maps.  So... wherever there is green you see a weather map.  If I wore a green suit I'd be invisible :)

---

Mansion Dayschool - Columbus

Question: Why do they call it the "Beaver Moon" in November?

Answer: This dates back to the Native Americans.  They would name each full moon to keep track of the year.  The Full moon in November is called the "Beaver Moon" because it was the time to set the beaver traps before the swamps froze.  This ensured a supply of warm furs for the upcoming winter season.

---

Hanby Elementary

Question: What College did you go to?

Answer: I (Bill Kelly) received my B.A. in Communications from California State University, Sacramento... my Meteorology credentials from Mississippi State University... and my certification for Broadcast Meteorology from the National Weather Association (NWA).

---

Monroe Elementary, London

Question: How do you know what the weather is going to be?

Answer: We look at 3 things... the current sky cover (sometimes offers clues about the next day), we look at what is going on upstream (the weather west of us), and we look at computer model forecast charts.

---

Maybury Elementary

Question: How are Tornadoes formed?

Answer: Winds inside the severe thunderstorm are "twisted" by a veering (shifting) of the winds aloft.  This shift causes a spinning motion, which triggers the tornado.

---

Gables Elementary

Question: How is Rain Made?

Answer: When Cloud droplets become too large they become too heavy and fall to the earth.  That is what we feel as rain!

---

Cherrington Elementary, Westerville

Question: What is your Favorite kind of weather to cover?

Answer: For me (Bill Kelly) that's easy... SNOW!!  Besides the fact that I like snow, as for forecasting it's the easiest to measure, plus it affects everyone!!

---

Windsor STEM Academy

Question: How cold does it have to be for a hail storm?

Answer: In the Cloud, 32... but it doesn't necessarily matter at the surface, Hail is formed by cycling throughout the cloud and falls to the ground as a ball of ice.

---