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Hello, I have a question about the weather. I do not live in SLC, but very much am wanting to know the answer to this question. No one will believe me!
I live in Maine. I know you don't have much humidity out there but I wondered if you could answer a question about it anyway. I have been trying to find meteorologists who might be able to help me figure this out.
I have a lot of trouble with the humidity. I have trouble breathing, walking, thinking. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest, and it feels like the pressure is going to make my head explode. No one has any idea what I mean when I describe this and I think many think I am making it up. I do not have asthma that I know of; I do not wheeze or gasp or cough; my actual breathing might be intact but the pressure kills me.
First, do you have any idea why this happens to me, do you know of it happening to other people? Does it have somethign to do with air pressure rather than humidity (are they the same thing?)
Secondly, do you know of any place that has records on weather conditions year by year? I want to prove to my family that it has been much more humid in Maine this summer, they don't believe me.
Thank you so much for any help you can provide!
Sending you a big hello from the East Coast.
Kate G. Standish, Maine
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Wow, our web page is reaching and helping people all over the US, that's pretty neat!
Kate, your question is actually a common one. First of all there's a whole field of people who study this, it's called Biometeorology, all about weather and how it affects your health.
Patients with a few different kinds of problems claim that pressure changes or humdity changes affect them. You asked if it could either. Most likely, it is the pressure changes that makes a bigger impact than a change in humdity or moisture in the air.
Frequently the humidity can increase when a storm is approaching, thus, the pressure is also dropping at the same time. Such as stormy weather and clouds and rain heading your way, it could be an area of low pressure, the pressure is falling and gives some people some real health problems.
Patients with Fibromyalgia and with Rheumatoid Arthritis claim to have problems with the barometer drops. I'm not a doctor so I can't offer you any sort of medical advice but I'll pass on what I have learned about this so far. The fluid in your body expands when the pressure drops, this puts pressure on the joints and causes people to be uncomfortable, some people say they even get head aches.
There's some truth in when some people say they can 'feel' when the weather is going to change in their bones, they may feel more pressure on their joints, and have a harder time moving around. Near or at term pregnant women have been known to give birth when a large area of low pressure moves in.
It sounds like you definitely need to talk to a specialist about your pain, perhaps someone that deals with joints like a Rheumatologist. Again, I am not a doctor so I can't give you medical advice, but just passing along what people have told me that have issues with pressure changes.
To answer your second Q, check out weatherunderground.com for weather history. Type in your zip code and when you get to the forecast page, scroll down to the history and almanac section, that should get you some of the data you need.
Answered by KSL Meteorologist Dina Freedman.
