Danielle: AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BRING YOU MORE UPDATES
ON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE PLANES...
WAIT A MINUTE.
IS THAT A GIANT CAT BEHIND ME?
I'VE HAD IT.
♪ MUSIC ♪
WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF FAST FORWARD LAUNCHPAD.
TODAY WE'RE JUST OUTSIDE OF ATLANTA,
VISITING ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES
THE WEATHER CHANNEL.
YOU SEE NOBODY LOVES WEATHER MORE THAN ME
EXCEPT MAYBE THESE GUYS.
Woman 1: I LOVE CLOUDS.
Man 1: I LOVE SEEING THUNDERSTORMS BUBBLE ON THE HORIZON.
Danielle: MY NAME'S DANIELLE,
AND I'M A CLOUDAHOLIC.
YUP. THESE GUYS ARE REALLY INTO WEATHER.
SO LET'S START WITH THE TOUGH QUESTIONS.
WE'VE ALL SEEN MOVIES WITH TORNADOS.
CAN A TORNADO REALLY MAKE A COW FLY?
Woman 1: YES, A TORNADO CAN MAKE A COW FLY,
AND UNFORTUNATELY IT'S HAPPENED.
KIND OF LIKE COW TIPPING TAKEN TO THE EXTREME?
ALLRIGHT ENOUGH WITH THE FOOLING AROUND.
LET'S JUST LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THIS PLACE.
AND BY THE WAY,
YOU'RE ABOUT TO HEAR THE WORD METEOROLOGIST A LOT,
WHICH IS JUST A FANCY WAY OF SAYING WEATHERMAN.
Woman 1: I AM ONE OF ABOUT TWO HUNDRED METEOROLOGISTS
HERE AT THE WEATHER CHANNEL.
WHAT DID I TELL YOU?
Woman 1: BUT I'M REALLY ONLY ABOUT ONE OF A COUPLE DOZEN
METEOROLOGISTS THAT GO ON CAMERA.
THE OTHER HUNDRED AND SOME CHANGE METEOROLOGISTS
ARE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES.
THEY'RE CREATING OUR WEATHER FORECASTS.
THEY'RE WORKING ON DEVELOPING OUR WEATHER FORECASTS,
GRAPHICS THAT GO ON AIR AT THE WEATHER CHANNEL
SOME ARE CREATED BY METEOROLOGISTS.
THEN WE HAVE ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE TOTAL
THAT WORK AT THE WEATHER CHANNEL
PEOPLE WHO WORK IN ADVERTISING,
IN MARKETING,
IN GRAPHIC DESIGN,
IN TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT,
IN FINANCE.
SO YOU NEED PEOPLE OF ALL DIFFERENT EXPERTISE
TO PULL TOGETHER A COMPANY LIKE THIS.
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING I FORGOT TO ASK.
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING,
WHAT IS WEATHER?
Man 3: WELL WHAT CREATES WEATHER IS ESSENTIALLY
THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THAT THE SUN HEATS DIFFERENT REGIONS
OF THE EARTH.
YOU GUYS REALLY KNOW YOUR STUFF.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NIFTY METEOROLOGY TRICKS?
Woman 1: BELIEVE IT OR NOT YOU CAN USE HUMAN HAIR
TO FIGURE OUT HOW HUMID IT IS OUTSIDE.
BECAUSE WHEN IT'S REALLY HUMID
THE HAIRS IS GOING TO SHRINK UP.
AND ON DAYS WHEN IT'S NOT QUITE AS HUMID OUT,
WHEN THE DEWPOINT IS LOWER,
THE HAIR LENGTHENS.
GOOD TO KNOW THERE'S ACTUALLY SCIENCE BEHIND BAD HAIR DAYS.
I JUST WISH THERE WAS AN EXCUSE FOR BEDHEAD.
SO WHILE WE HAVE ALL THESE EXPERTS AROUND,
LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE WE CAN LEARN ABOUT WEATHER.
DOES ANYONE WANT TO TALK ABOUT CLOUDS?
Woman 1: I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT CLOUDS!
PERFECT.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?
Danielle: SO WHAT CLOUDS ARE,
ARE A VISIBLE IMAGE OF LIQUID DROPLETS
OR WATER SUSPENDED WITHIN THE ATMOSPHERE.
Woman 1: WHEN YOU SEE THE PUFFY CLOUDS,
THE COTTON BALL LIKE CLOUDS,
THOSE ARE CUMULOUS CLOUDS.
IF THE CUMULOUS CLOUDS BUILD REALLY HIGH IN THE SKY,
THOSE ARE THE THUNDERSTORM CLOUDS.
AND THEN WHEN YOU HAVE THE CLOUDS
THAT ARE SORT OF LIKE A COTTON BALL
THAT JUST GETS STRETCHED OUT REALLY THIN,
KIND OF LIKE GAUZE,
WELL THOSE ARE STRATUS CLOUDS.
THEY'RE NIMBO STRATUS CLOUDS.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT BRING RAIN.
GOOD STUFF.
NOW LET'S GO TO THE LIGHTNING ROUND.
NO SERIOUSLY. THIS IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT LIGHTNING.
WHAT IS IT?
Woman 1: WHAT IS LIGHTNING?
Man 3: LIGHTNING.
IT'S A DISCHARGE OF ELECTRICITY BETWEEN CLOUD AND GROUND
OR FROM CLOUD TO CLOUD.
IT OCCURS WHEN ICE CRYSTALS COLLIDE INSIDE OF CLOUDS.
ICE MAKES LIGHTNING?
SHOCKING.
I'VE HEARD HEAT LIGHTNING ISN'T DANGEROUS THOUGH.
Woman 1: YOUR MOM SAYS, AW... IT'S JUST HEAT LIGHTNING.
THAT'S AN OLD WIVES TALE.
DID SHE JUST CALL MY MOM AN OLD WIFE?
Man 3: HEAT LIGHTNING IS BASICALLY
LIGHTNING THAT'S FAR AWAY.
Woman 1: HEAT LIGHTNING IS THE REAL DEAL.
ANY LIGHTNING IS THE REAL DEAL.
AND IF YOU CAN SEE LIGHTNING
OR IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER GO INSIDE.
WHEN THUNDER ROARS,
GO INDOORS.
CATCHY.
I MIGHT EVEN REMEMBER THAT,
IF I CAN GET MY HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS
AND WE'LL SEE YOU
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF FAST FORWARD LAUNCH PAD.
♪ MUSIC ♪