Now is the time to take a ride to the country to see the best and most beautiful autumn foliage. The leaves are in the process of changing colors in many areas of the country. You can give thanks to the decent weather conditions that have made the colors so vibrant this year in many locations. Find out which types of weather make the best conditions for good fall colors.

Did you know that some weather records, despite the often crazy localized weather, have not been broken in nearly a century? From the highest temperature to the lowest air pressure, a committee of people preside over the merits of potential new weather records. Unfortunately, many of these are shot down as record-breakers in the United States after a lengthy verification process. But...one record was broken this year...Can you guess which weather record was broken in 2010?

Have you ever wondered why people say it is raining cats and dogs during a hard rain? Though the origin of this bit of weather folklore is unclear, this article explains some of the possible origins of the saying - It's Raining Cats and Dogs.

If you are looking for some excellent weather lesson plans, you should definitely check out the Student Activities in Meteorology (SAM) lesson plans from NOAA. These lessons are complete, intuitive, and easily understood by students. Teachers will find the directions and answer keys to be easy to follow and execute. If you have implemented these lessons in your classroom, please comment or send me an email. I would love to publish your responses.

Weather is a great topic for students in the back-to-school season. Now that many portions of the southern and eastern seaboards have been soaked by numerous thunderstorms, a lightning simulation may be the perfect topic for students. This lightning simulation lesson plan uses the National Science Standards to address cloud-to-cloud lightning, thunderstorm formation, and lightning charge differentials, all with an easy approach designed for an elementary or middle school student. You may also want to check out the other weather lesson plans for various grade levels. There is also another large list of weather animations and simulations available.

You can get a hurricane web widget for your website just like the one below. Click for more details.

Not everyone can be in front of a computer or watching television when they need weather updates from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Several resources are available for anyone wishing to get the latest hurricane updates in real time as shown below:

• The National Hurricane Center RSS feed
• Get access on the move with the NHC mobile phone page
• If you have a website, you can get a free web widget here.
• Use a tropical cyclone and marine email list

Again, like the bug story from a few days ago, more strange news is popping up on my site. This time, the connection is a little more obvious...Well, maybe...

Cows burp. We know this. But did you know that these belching bovine are a leading contributor to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Cows release methane gas when they belch, contributing to the overall increase in greenhouse gases. Surprisingly, the cure is more than a little strange...

The cure? According to a new study by Penn State, farmers should feed their cows oregano. A supplement for cows, which is an oregano-based feed source, has been shown to reduce methane production in cattle by as much as 40%. Another side benefit? Increased milk production.

Can the news get any more strange than that? I suppose with increasing global temperatures, there will be even more of these stories in the future. We will soon see...

A keynote address, marking the 40th anniversary of the EPA's Clean Air Act will be delivered by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in front of members of Congress, state and local officials, and other important leaders. The Clean Air Act, which helped to significantly reduce smog and other air pollutants in the last 40 years, is an important landmark in the attempt to make the air we breathe of the best quality possible. The event will be webcast live at 11:45 Eastern, September 14, 2010.

Though not an immediate threat, Hurricane Igor is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean gathering strength. The storm has the potential to develop into a major hurricane due to warm ocean temperatures and an environment with low wind shear.