108-448: Sassafras albidum † Sassafras ashleyi † Sassafras columbiana † Sassafras hesperia Sassafras randaiense Sassafras tzumu † Sassafras yabei Pseudosassafras Lecomte Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae , native to eastern North America and eastern Asia . The genus is distinguished by its aromatic properties, which have made
216-562: A carcinogenic effect. All parts of sassafras plants, including roots, stems, twig leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit, have been used for culinary, medicinal, and aromatic purposes, both in areas where they are endemic and in areas where they were imported, such as Europe. The wood of sassafras trees has been used as a material for building ships and furniture in China, Europe, and the United States, and sassafras played an important role in
324-423: A pH of 6–7, but will grow in any loose, moist soil . Seedlings will tolerate shade , but saplings and older trees demand full sunlight for good growth; in forests it typically regenerates in gaps created by windblow. Growth is rapid, particularly with root sprouts , which can reach 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in the first year and 4.5 m (15 ft) in four years. Root sprouts often result in dense thickets, and
432-400: A citrus-like scent when crushed. The tiny, yellow flowers are generally six-petaled; S. albidum and (the extinct) S. hesperia are dioecious , with male and female flowers on separate trees, while S. tzumu and S. randaiense have male and female flowers occurring on the same trees. The fruit is a drupe , blue-black when ripe. The largest known sassafras tree in
540-529: A field study published in 2021 by researchers at Stockholm University found that they are often transferred from water to air when waves reach land, are a significant source of air pollution , and eventually get into rain. The researchers concluded that pollution may impact large areas. In 2024, a worldwide study of 45,000 groundwater samples found that 31% of samples contained levels of PFAS that were harmful to human health; these samples were taken from areas not near any obvious source of contamination. Rain
648-490: A fungicide, dentifrice, rubefacient, diaphoretic, perfume, carminative and sudorific. Before the twentieth century, Sassafras enjoyed a great reputation in the medical literature, but became valued for its power to improve the flavor of other medicines. Sassafras root was an early export from North America, as early as 1609. Sassafras wood and oil were both used in dentistry. Early toothbrushes were crafted from sassafras twigs or wood because of its aromatic properties. Sassafras
756-483: A long duration. The final droplet size distribution is an exponential distribution . The number of droplets with diameter between d {\displaystyle d} and D + d D {\displaystyle D+dD} per unit volume of space is n ( d ) = n 0 e − d / ⟨ d ⟩ d D {\displaystyle n(d)=n_{0}e^{-d/\langle d\rangle }dD} . This
864-460: A particular air temperature. How much water vapor a parcel of air can contain before it becomes saturated (100% relative humidity) and forms into a cloud (a group of visible tiny water or ice particles suspended above the Earth's surface) depends on its temperature. Warmer air can contain more water vapor than cooler air before becoming saturated. Therefore, one way to saturate a parcel of air
972-410: A physical barrier such as a mountain ( orographic lift ). Conductive cooling occurs when the air comes into contact with a colder surface, usually by being blown from one surface to another, for example from a liquid water surface to colder land. Radiational cooling occurs due to the emission of infrared radiation , either by the air or by the surface underneath. Evaporative cooling occurs when moisture
1080-543: A point are estimated by using the value of reflectivity data at individual grid points. A radar equation is then used, which is Z = A R b , {\displaystyle Z=AR^{b},} where Z represents the radar reflectivity, R represents the rainfall rate, and A and b are constants. Satellite-derived rainfall estimates use passive microwave instruments aboard polar orbiting as well as geostationary weather satellites to indirectly measure rainfall rates. If one wants an accumulated rainfall over
1188-406: A rare rainfall event occurring on average once every 10 years. The rainfall will be greater and the flooding will be worse than the worst storm expected in any single year. A 100-year storm describes an extremely rare rainfall event occurring on average once in a century. The rainfall will be extreme and flooding worse than a 10-year event. The probability of an event in any year is the inverse of
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#17327975799991296-407: A result of this warming, monthly rainfall is about 28% greater between 32 and 64 km (20 and 40 mi) downwind of cities, compared with upwind. Some cities induce a total precipitation increase of 51%. Increasing temperatures tend to increase evaporation which can lead to more precipitation. Precipitation generally increased over land north of 30°N from 1900 through 2005 but has declined over
1404-428: A short, slender, slightly grooved petiole . They come in three different shapes, all of which can be on the same branch; three-lobed leaves, unlobed elliptical leaves, and two-lobed leaves; rarely, there can be more than three lobes. In fall, they turn to shades of yellow, tinged with red. The flowers are produced in loose, drooping, few-flowered racemes up to 5 cm (2 in) long in early spring shortly before
1512-410: A single seed , borne on a red fleshy club-shaped pedicel 2 cm (0.79 in) long; it is ripe in late summer, with the seeds dispersed by birds . The cotyledons are thick and fleshy. All parts of the plant are aromatic and spicy. The roots are thick and fleshy, and frequently produce root sprouts which can develop into new trees. S. albidum prefers rich, well-drained sandy loam with
1620-472: A single tree, if allowed to spread unrestrained, will soon be surrounded by a sizable clonal colony , as its roots extend in every direction and send up multitudes of shoots. S. albidum hosts the caterpillars of 37 species of butterflies and moths, including the eastern tiger swallowtail ( Papilio glaucus ) , spicebush swallowtail ( Papilio troilus ) , palamedes swallowtail ( Papilio palamedes ) and pale swallowtail ( Papilio eurymedon ) butterflies and
1728-649: A teardrop. The biggest raindrops on Earth were recorded over Brazil and the Marshall Islands in 2004 — some of them were as large as 10 mm (0.39 in). The large size is explained by condensation on large smoke particles or by collisions between drops in small regions with particularly high content of liquid water. Raindrops associated with melting hail tend to be larger than other raindrops. Intensity and duration of rainfall are usually inversely related, i.e., high-intensity storms are likely to be of short duration and low-intensity storms can have
1836-425: A tendency to break up at larger sizes. Smaller drops are called cloud droplets, and their shape is spherical. As a raindrop increases in size, its shape becomes more oblate, with its largest cross-section facing the oncoming airflow. Large rain drops become increasingly flattened on the bottom, like hamburger buns; very large ones are shaped like parachutes . Contrary to popular belief, their shape does not resemble
1944-470: A time period, one has to add up all the accumulations from each grid box within the images during that time. Rainfall intensity is classified according to the rate of precipitation, which depends on the considered time. The following categories are used to classify rainfall intensity: Terms used for a heavy or violent rain include gully washer, trash-mover and toad-strangler. The intensity can also be expressed by rainfall erosivity R-factor or in terms of
2052-659: A variety of soil types, attaining a maximum in southern and wetter areas of distribution. Sassafras albidum ranges from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa, and south to central Florida and eastern Texas, in North America. S. tzumu may be found in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang, China. S. randaiense is native to Taiwan. The leaves, bark, twigs, stems, and fruits are eaten by birds and mammals in small quantities. For most animals, sassafras
2160-541: Is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity . Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water for hydroelectric power plants , crop irrigation , and suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems . The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts . If enough moisture and upward motion
2268-472: Is a grassland biome located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes , with rainfall between 750 and 1,270 mm (30 and 50 in) a year. They are widespread on Africa, and are also found in India, the northern parts of South America, Malaysia , and Australia. The humid subtropical climate zone is where winter rainfall is associated with large storms that
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#17327975799992376-624: Is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall, with a canopy up to 12 m (39 ft) wide, with a trunk up to 60 cm (24 in) in diameter, and a crown with many slender sympodial branches. The bark on trunk of mature trees is thick, dark red-brown, and deeply furrowed. The shoots are bright yellow green at first with mucilaginous bark, turning reddish brown, and in two or three years begin to show shallow fissures. The leaves are alternate, green to yellow-green, ovate or obovate , 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad with
2484-431: Is a species of Sassafras native to eastern North America , from southern Maine and southern Ontario west to Iowa , and south to central Florida and eastern Texas . It occurs throughout the eastern deciduous forest habitat type, at altitudes of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. It formerly also occurred in southern Wisconsin , but is extirpated there as a native tree. Sassafras albidum
2592-511: Is a time when air quality improves, freshwater quality improves, and vegetation grows significantly. Tropical cyclones , a source of very heavy rainfall, consist of large air masses several hundred miles across with low pressure at the centre and with winds blowing inward towards the centre in either a clockwise direction (southern hemisphere) or counterclockwise (northern hemisphere). Although cyclones can take an enormous toll in lives and personal property, they may be important factors in
2700-654: Is accompanied by plentiful precipitation year-round. The Mediterranean climate regime resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin , parts of western North America, parts of Western and South Australia , in southwestern South Africa and in parts of central Chile . The climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. A steppe is a dry grassland . Subarctic climates are cold with continuous permafrost and little precipitation. In 2022, levels of at least four perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in rain water worldwide greatly exceeded
2808-718: Is added to the air through evaporation, which forces the air temperature to cool to its wet-bulb temperature , or until it reaches saturation. The main ways water vapor is added to the air are wind convergence into areas of upward motion, precipitation or virga falling from above, daytime heating evaporating water from the surface of oceans, water bodies or wet land, transpiration from plants, cool or dry air moving over warmer water, and lifting air over mountains. Water vapor normally begins to condense on condensation nuclei such as dust, ice, and salt in order to form clouds. Elevated portions of weather fronts (which are three-dimensional in nature) force broad areas of upward motion within
2916-563: Is also causing changes in the precipitation pattern, including wetter conditions across eastern North America and drier conditions in the tropics. Antarctica is the driest continent. The globally averaged annual precipitation over land is 715 mm (28.1 in), but over the whole Earth, it is much higher at 990 mm (39 in). Climate classification systems such as the Köppen classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Rainfall
3024-842: Is commonly referred to as the Marshall–Palmer law after the researchers who first characterized it. The parameters are somewhat temperature-dependent, and the slope also scales with the rate of rainfall ⟨ d ⟩ − 1 = 41 R − 0.21 {\displaystyle \langle d\rangle ^{-1}=41R^{-0.21}} (d in centimeters and R in millimeters per hour). Deviations can occur for small droplets and during different rainfall conditions. The distribution tends to fit averaged rainfall, while instantaneous size spectra often deviate and have been modeled as gamma distributions . The distribution has an upper limit due to droplet fragmentation. Raindrops impact at their terminal velocity , which
3132-410: Is derived from natural sources such as volcanoes, and wetlands (sulfate-reducing bacteria); and anthropogenic sources such as the combustion of fossil fuels , and mining where H 2 S is present. Nitric acid is produced by natural sources such as lightning, soil bacteria, and natural fires; while also produced anthropogenically by the combustion of fossil fuels and from power plants. In the past 20 years,
3240-487: Is equally distributed through the year. Some areas with pronounced rainy seasons will see a break in rainfall mid-season when the Intertropical Convergence Zone or monsoon trough move poleward of their location during the middle of the warm season. When the wet season occurs during the warm season, or summer , rain falls mainly during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The wet season
3348-498: Is greater for larger drops due to their larger mass-to-drag ratio. At sea level and without wind, 0.5 mm (0.020 in) drizzle impacts at 2 m/s (6.6 ft/s) or 7.2 km/h (4.5 mph), while large 5 mm (0.20 in) drops impact at around 9 m/s (30 ft/s) or 32 km/h (20 mph). Rain falling on loosely packed material such as newly fallen ash can produce dimples that can be fossilized, called raindrop impressions . The air density dependence of
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3456-497: Is measured in units of length per unit time, typically in millimeters per hour, or in countries where imperial units are more common, inches per hour. The "length", or more accurately, "depth" being measured is the depth of rain water that would accumulate on a flat, horizontal and impermeable surface during a given amount of time, typically an hour. One millimeter of rainfall is the equivalent of one liter of water per square meter. The standard way of measuring rainfall or snowfall
3564-408: Is measured using rain gauges . Rainfall amounts can be estimated by weather radar . Air contains water vapor, and the amount of water in a given mass of dry air, known as the mixing ratio , is measured in grams of water per kilogram of dry air (g/kg). The amount of moisture in the air is also commonly reported as relative humidity ; which is the percentage of the total water vapor air can hold at
3672-573: Is monitored internationally. Safrole is a List I precursor chemical according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration . The wood is dull orange brown, hard, and durable in contact with the soil; it was used in the past for posts and rails, small boats and ox-yokes, though scarcity and small size limits current use. Some is still used for making furniture . Europeans were first introduced to sassafras, along with other plants such as cranberries , tobacco , and American ginseng , when they arrived in North America. The aromatic smell of sassafras
3780-402: Is no longer used in commercially produced root beer and is sometimes substituted with artificial flavors, natural extracts with the safrole distilled and removed are available. Most commercial root beers have replaced the sassafras extract with methyl salicylate , the ester found in wintergreen and black birch ( Betula lenta ) bark. Sassafras tea was also banned in the U.S. in 1977, but
3888-839: Is not consumed in large enough quantities to be important, although it is an important deer food in some areas. Carey and Gill rate its value to wildlife as fair, their lowest rating. Sassafras leaves and twigs are consumed by white-tailed deer and porcupines . Other sassafras leaf browsers include groundhogs , marsh rabbits , and American black bears . Rabbits eat sassafras bark in winter. American beavers will cut sassafras stems. Sassafras fruits are eaten by many species of birds, including bobwhite quail , eastern kingbirds , great crested flycatchers , phoebes , wild turkeys , gray catbirds , northern flickers , pileated woodpeckers , downy woodpeckers , thrushes , vireos , and northern mockingbirds . Some small mammals also consume sassafras fruits. Sassafras oil contains safrole , which may have
3996-420: Is present, precipitation falls from convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands . In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation which forces moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall along the sides of mountains. On
4104-424: Is referred to as banded structure. Rainbands in advance of warm occluded fronts and warm fronts are associated with weak upward motion, and tend to be wide and stratiform in nature. Rainbands spawned near and ahead of cold fronts can be squall lines which are able to produce tornadoes . Rainbands associated with cold fronts can be warped by mountain barriers perpendicular to the front's orientation due to
4212-422: Is susceptible to laurel wilt and capable of supporting broods of X. glabratus . Underground transmission of the pathogen through roots and stolons of Sassafras without evidence of X. glabratus attack is suggested. Studies examining the insect's cold tolerance showed that X. glabratus may be able to move to colder northern areas where sassafras would be the main host. The exotic Asian insect spread
4320-561: Is the expected amount of liquid precipitation accumulated over a specified time period over a specified area. A QPF will be specified when a measurable precipitation type reaching a minimum threshold is forecast for any hour during a QPF valid period. Precipitation forecasts tend to be bound by synoptic hours such as 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 GMT . Terrain is considered in QPFs by use of topography or based upon climatological precipitation patterns from observations with fine detail. Starting in
4428-411: Is the presence of a thick layer of air aloft which is above the melting point of water, which melts the frozen precipitation well before it reaches the ground. If there is a shallow near-surface layer that is below freezing, freezing rain (rain which freezes on contact with surfaces in subfreezing environments) will result. Hail becomes an increasingly infrequent occurrence when the freezing level within
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4536-440: Is the standard rain gauge, which can be found in 100-mm (4-in) plastic and 200-mm (8-in) metal varieties. The inner cylinder is filled by 25 mm (0.98 in) of rain, with overflow flowing into the outer cylinder. Plastic gauges have markings on the inner cylinder down to 0.25 mm (0.0098 in) resolution, while metal gauges require use of a stick designed with the appropriate 0.25 mm (0.0098 in) markings. After
4644-399: Is to cool it. The dew point is the temperature to which a parcel must be cooled in order to become saturated. There are four main mechanisms for cooling the air to its dew point: adiabatic cooling, conductive cooling, radiational cooling, and evaporative cooling. Adiabatic cooling occurs when air rises and expands. The air can rise due to convection , large-scale atmospheric motions, or
4752-428: Is used in filé powder , a common thickening and flavoring agent in gumbo . Methods of cooking with sassafras combine this ingredient native to America with traditional North American, as well as European, culinary techniques, to create a unique blend of Creole cuisine, and are thought by some to be heavily influenced by a blend of cultures. Sassafras is no longer used in commercially produced root beer since sassafras oil
4860-529: Is used primarily in the United States as the key ingredient in home brewed root beer and as a thickener and flavouring in traditional Louisiana Creole gumbo . Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, for its use in making gumbo, is a spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the sassafras tree. It was traditionally used by Native Americans in the Southern United States, and was adopted into Louisiana Creole cuisine. Use of filé powder by
4968-589: The Great Basin and Mojave Deserts . The wet, or rainy, season is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region falls. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics . Savanna climates and areas with monsoon regimes have wet summers and dry winters. Tropical rainforests technically do not have dry or wet seasons, since their rainfall
5076-472: The Timuca . Some Native American tribes used the leaves of sassafras to treat wounds by rubbing the leaves directly into a wound, and used different parts of the plant for many medicinal purposes such as treating acne, urinary disorders, and sicknesses that increased body temperature, such as high fevers. They also used the bark as a dye, and as a flavoring. Sassafras wood was also used by Native Americans in
5184-526: The cecropia ( Hyalophora cecropia ) , promethea ( Callosamia promethea ) , polyphemus ( Antheraea polyphemus ) , imperial ( Eacles imperialis ) , and io ( Automeris io ) moths. Laurel wilt is a highly destructive disease initiated when the invasive flying redbay ambrosia beetle ( Xyleborus glabratus ) introduces its highly virulent fungal symbiont Raffaelea lauricola into the sapwood of Lauraceae shrubs or trees. Sassafras's volatile terpenoids may attract X. glabratus . Sassafras
5292-776: The epidemic from the Everglades through the Carolinas in perhaps less than 15 years by the end of 2014. All parts of the Sassafras albidum plant have been used for human purposes, including stems, leaves, bark, wood, roots, fruit, and flowers. Sassafras albidum , while native to North America , is significant to the economic, medical, and cultural history of both Europe and North America. In North America, it has particular culinary significance, being featured in distinct national foods such as traditional root beer , filé powder , and Louisiana Cajun cuisine . Sassafras albidum
5400-404: The leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by downslope flow which causes heating and drying of the air mass . The movement of the monsoon trough , or Intertropical Convergence Zone , brings rainy seasons to savannah climes . The urban heat island effect leads to increased rainfall, both in amounts and intensity, downwind of cities. Global warming
5508-409: The tropics appears to be convective; however, it has been suggested that stratiform precipitation also occurs. Graupel and hail indicate convection. In mid-latitudes, convective precipitation is intermittent and often associated with baroclinic boundaries such as cold fronts , squall lines , and warm fronts. Orographic precipitation occurs on the windward side of mountains and is caused by
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#17327975799995616-455: The westerlies steer from west to east. Most summer rainfall occurs during thunderstorms and from occasional tropical cyclones. Humid subtropical climates lie on the east side continents, roughly between latitudes 20° and 40° degrees away from the equator. An oceanic (or maritime) climate is typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, bordering cool oceans, as well as southeastern Australia, and
5724-715: The 16th and 17th centuries, in Florida , Virginia , and parts of the Northeast . Sassafras albidum was a well-used plant by Native Americans in what is now the Southeastern United States prior to the European colonization. The Choctaw word for sassafras is "Kvfi," and it was used by them principally as a soup thickener. It was known as "Winauk" in Delaware and Virginia and is called "Pauame" by
5832-910: The Choctaw in the Southern United States in cooking is linked to the development of gumbo, the signature dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine that features ground sassafras leaves. The leaves and root bark can be pulverized to flavor soup, gravy, and meat. Sassafras roots are used to make traditional root beer, although they were banned for commercially mass-produced foods and drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960. Laboratory animals that were given oral doses of sassafras tea or sassafras oil that contained large doses of safrole developed permanent liver damage or various types of cancer . In humans, liver damage can take years to develop and it may not have obvious signs. Along with commercially available sarsaparilla , sassafras remains an ingredient in use among hobby or microbrew enthusiasts. While sassafras
5940-461: The EPA's lifetime drinking water health advisories as well as comparable Danish, Dutch, and European Union safety standards, leading to the conclusion that "the global spread of these four PFAAs in the atmosphere has led to the planetary boundary for chemical pollution being exceeded". It had been thought that PFAAs would eventually end up in the oceans, where they would be diluted over decades, but
6048-404: The Earth's atmosphere which form clouds decks such as altostratus or cirrostratus . Stratus is a stable cloud deck which tends to form when a cool, stable air mass is trapped underneath a warm air mass. It can also form due to the lifting of advection fog during breezy conditions. Coalescence occurs when water droplets fuse to create larger water droplets. Air resistance typically causes
6156-678: The Internet, such as CoCoRAHS or GLOBE. If a network is not available in the area where one lives, the nearest local weather or met office will likely be interested in the measurement. One of the main uses of weather radar is to be able to assess the amount of precipitations fallen over large basins for hydrological purposes. For instance, river flood control , sewer management and dam construction are all areas where planners use rainfall accumulation data. Radar-derived rainfall estimates complement surface station data which can be used for calibration. To produce radar accumulations, rain rates over
6264-889: The Northeast and Midwest, which in the past decade, have seen 31 and 16 percent more heavy downpours compared to the 1950s. Rhode Island is the state with the largest increase, 104%. McAllen, Texas is the city with the largest increase, 700%. Heavy downpour in the analysis are the days where total precipitation exceeded the top one percent of all rain and snow days during the years 1950–2014. The most successful attempts at influencing weather involve cloud seeding , which include techniques used to increase winter precipitation over mountains and suppress hail . Rainbands are cloud and precipitation areas which are significantly elongated. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective , and are generated by differences in temperature. When noted on weather radar imagery, this precipitation elongation
6372-587: The Southeastern United States as a fire-starter because of the flammability of its natural oils. In cooking, sassafras was used by some Native Americans to flavor bear fat , and to cure meats. Sassafras is still used today to cure meats. Use of filé powder by the Choctaw in the Southern United States in cooking is linked to the development of gumbo, a signature dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine . Sassafras albidum
6480-635: The United States in the 16th and 17th centuries, see the article on the extant North American species of sassafras, Sassafras albidum . In modern times, the sassafras plant has been grown and harvested for the extraction of sassafras oil. It is used in a variety of commercial products or their syntheses, such as the insecticide synergistic compound piperonyl butoxide . These plants are primarily harvested for commercial purposes in Asia and Brazil. Sassafras albidum Sassafras albidum ( sassafras , white sassafras , red sassafras , or silky sassafras )
6588-545: The aromatic safrole oil, commercially valuable sassafras could only be gathered from each tree once. This meant that as significant amounts of sassafras bark were gathered, supplies quickly diminished and sassafras become more difficult to find. For example, while one of the earliest shipments of sassafras in 1602 weighed as much as a ton, by 1626, English colonists failed to meet their 30-pound quota. The gathering of sassafras bark brought European settlers and Native Americans into contact sometimes dangerous to both groups. Sassafras
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#17327975799996696-658: The arrival of the English on the Eastern coast of North America, sassafras trees were reported as plentiful. Sassafras was sold in England and in continental Europe, where it was sold as a dark beverage called "saloop" that had medicinal qualities and used as a medicinal cure for a variety of ailments. The discovery of sassafras occurred at the same time as a severe syphilis outbreak in Europe, when little about this terrible disease
6804-405: The atmosphere exceeds 3,400 m (11,000 ft) above ground level. Convective rain , or showery precipitation, occurs from convective clouds (e.g., cumulonimbus or cumulus congestus ). It falls as showers with rapidly changing intensity. Convective precipitation falls over a certain area for a relatively short time, as convective clouds have limited horizontal extent. Most precipitation in
6912-507: The ban was lifted with the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994. Safrole can be obtained fairly easily from the root bark of Sassafras albidum via steam distillation. It has been used as a natural insect or pest deterrent. Godfrey's Cordial , as well as other tonics given to children that consisted of opiates , used sassafras to disguise other strong smells and odours associated with
7020-517: The concentrations of nitric and sulfuric acid has decreased in presence of rainwater, which may be due to the significant increase in ammonium (most likely as ammonia from livestock production), which acts as a buffer in acid rain and raises the pH. The Köppen classification depends on average monthly values of temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used form of the Köppen classification has five primary types labeled A through E. Specifically,
7128-612: The contiguous United States, total annual precipitation increased at an average rate of 6.1 percent since 1900, with the greatest increases within the East North Central climate region (11.6 percent per century) and the South (11.1 percent). Hawaii was the only region to show a decrease (−9.25 percent). Analysis of 65 years of United States of America rainfall records show the lower 48 states have an increase in heavy downpours since 1950. The largest increases are in
7236-647: The course of the week, the likelihood of rain increases: it peaks by Saturday, after five days of weekday pollution has been built up. In heavily populated areas that are near the coast, such as the United States' Eastern Seaboard , the effect can be dramatic: there is a 22% higher chance of rain on Saturdays than on Mondays. The urban heat island effect warms cities 0.6 to 5.6 °C (33.1 to 42.1 °F) above surrounding suburbs and rural areas. This extra heat leads to greater upward motion, which can induce additional shower and thunderstorm activity. Rainfall rates downwind of cities are increased between 48% and 116%. Partly as
7344-412: The crystal and neighboring water droplets. This process is temperature dependent, as supercooled water droplets only exist in a cloud that is below freezing. In addition, because of the great temperature difference between cloud and ground level, these ice crystals may melt as they fall and become rain. Raindrops have sizes ranging from 0.1 to 9 mm (0.0039 to 0.3543 in) mean diameter but develop
7452-559: The descending and generally warming, leeward side where a rain shadow is observed. In Hawaii , Mount Waiʻaleʻale , on the island of Kauai, is notable for its extreme rainfall, as it is amongst the places in the world with the highest levels of rainfall, with 9,500 mm (373 in). Systems known as Kona storms affect the state with heavy rains between October and April. Local climates vary considerably on each island due to their topography, divisible into windward ( Koʻolau ) and leeward ( Kona ) regions based upon location relative to
7560-725: The family Saxifragaceae . Early European colonists reported that the plant was called winauk by Native Americans in Delaware and Virginia and pauane by the Timucua . Native Americans distinguished between white sassafras and red sassafras, terms which referred to different parts of the same plant but with distinct colors and uses. Sassafras was known as fennel wood (German Fenchelholz ) due to its distinctive aroma. The genus Sassafras includes four species, three extant and one extinct. Sassafras plants are endemic to North America and East Asia, with two species in each region that are distinguished by some important characteristics, including
7668-511: The formation of a low-level barrier jet . Bands of thunderstorms can form with sea breeze and land breeze boundaries if enough moisture is present. If sea breeze rainbands become active enough just ahead of a cold front, they can mask the location of the cold front itself. Once a cyclone occludes an occluded front (a trough of warm air aloft) will be caused by strong southerly winds on its eastern periphery rotating aloft around its northeast, and ultimately northwestern, periphery (also termed
7776-549: The frequency of three-lobed leaves (more frequent in East Asian species) and aspects of their sexual reproduction (North American species being dioecious). Taiwanese sassafras, Taiwan , is treated by some botanists in a distinct genus as Yushunia randaiensis (Hayata) Kamikoti, though this is not supported by recent genetic evidence, which shows Sassafras to be monophyletic . Many Lauraceae are aromatic, evergreen trees or shrubs adapted to high rainfall and humidity, but
7884-482: The front is unstable enough for convection. Banding within the comma head precipitation pattern of an extratropical cyclone can yield significant amounts of rain. Behind extratropical cyclones during fall and winter, rainbands can form downwind of relative warm bodies of water such as the Great Lakes . Downwind of islands, bands of showers and thunderstorms can develop due to low-level wind convergence downwind of
7992-414: The genus Sassafras is deciduous . Deciduous sassafras trees lose all of their leaves for part of the year, depending on variations in rainfall . In deciduous tropical Lauraceae, leaf loss coincides with the dry season in tropical, subtropical and arid regions. Sassafras is commonly found in open woods, along fences, or in fields. It grows well in moist, well-drained, or sandy loam soils and tolerates
8100-400: The ground. This is termed virga and is more often seen in hot and dry climates. Stratiform (a broad shield of precipitation with a relatively similar intensity) and dynamic precipitation (convective precipitation which is showery in nature with large changes in intensity over short distances) occur as a consequence of slow ascent of air in synoptic systems (on the order of cm/s), such as in
8208-489: The higher mountains. Windward sides face the east to northeast trade winds and receive much more rainfall; leeward sides are drier and sunnier, with less rain and less cloud cover. In South America, the Andes mountain range blocks Pacific moisture that arrives in that continent, resulting in a desert-like climate just downwind across western Argentina. The Sierra Nevada range creates the same effect in North America forming
8316-632: The history of the European colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sassafras twigs have been used as toothbrushes and fire starters. Sassafras albidum is an important ingredient in some distinct foods of the US. It is the main ingredient in traditional root beer and sassafras root tea, and ground leaves of sassafras are a distinctive additive in Louisiana Cajun cuisine . It
8424-438: The inner cylinder is filled, the amount inside it is discarded, then filled with the remaining rainfall in the outer cylinder until all the fluid in the outer cylinder is gone, adding to the overall total until the outer cylinder is empty. Other types of gauges include the popular wedge gauge (the cheapest rain gauge and most fragile), the tipping bucket rain gauge, and the weighing rain gauge. For those looking to measure rainfall
8532-422: The island edges. Offshore California , this has been noted in the wake of cold fronts. Rainbands within tropical cyclones are curved in orientation. Tropical cyclone rainbands contain showers and thunderstorms that, together with the eyewall and the eye, constitute a hurricane or tropical storm . The extent of rainbands around a tropical cyclone can help determine the cyclone's intensity. The phrase acid rain
8640-405: The leaves appear; they are yellow to greenish-yellow, with five or six tepals . It is usually dioecious , with male and female flowers on separate trees; male flowers have nine stamens , female flowers with six staminodes (aborted stamens) and a 2–3 mm style on a superior ovary . Pollination is by insects . The fruit is a dark blue-black drupe 1 cm (0.39 in) long containing
8748-427: The maximum raindrop diameter together with fossil raindrop imprints has been used to constrain the density of the air 2.7 billion years ago. The sound of raindrops hitting water is caused by bubbles of air oscillating underwater . The METAR code for rain is RA, while the coding for rain showers is SHRA. In certain conditions, precipitation may fall from a cloud but then evaporate or sublime before reaching
8856-428: The most inexpensively, a can that is cylindrical with straight sides will act as a rain gauge if left out in the open, but its accuracy will depend on what ruler is used to measure the rain with. Any of the above rain gauges can be made at home, with enough know-how. When a precipitation measurement is made, various networks exist across the United States and elsewhere where rainfall measurements can be submitted through
8964-462: The number of heavy precipitation events over many areas during the past century, as well as an increase since the 1970s in the prevalence of droughts—especially in the tropics and subtropics. Changes in precipitation and evaporation over the oceans are suggested by the decreased salinity of mid- and high-latitude waters (implying more precipitation), along with increased salinity in lower latitudes (implying less precipitation and/or more evaporation). Over
9072-400: The oil, roots and bark of sassafras have analgesic and antiseptic properties. Different parts of the sassafras plant (including the leaves and stems, the bark, and the roots) have been used to treat scurvy , skin sores, kidney problems, toothaches, rheumatism , swelling, menstrual disorders, sexually transmitted diseases , bronchitis , hypertension , and dysentery . It is also used as
9180-497: The opium-based Godfrey's Cordial ), and in homemade liquor to mask strong or unpleasant smells. Sassafras oil has also been added to soap and other toiletries. It is banned in the United States for use in commercially mass-produced foods and drugs by the FDA as a potential carcinogen . For a more detailed description of uses by indigenous peoples of North America, and a history of the commercial use of Sassafras albidum by Europeans in
9288-612: The plant can be peeled, dried and boiled to make tea. Numerous Native American tribes used the leaves of sassafras to treat wounds by rubbing the leaves directly into a wound and used different parts of the plant for many medicinal purposes such as treating acne, urinary disorders, and sicknesses that increased body temperature, such as high fevers. East Asian types of sassafras such as S. tzumu (chu mu) and S. randaiense (chu shu) are used in Chinese medicine to treat rheumatism and trauma . Some modern researchers conclude that
9396-593: The plant). Sassafras wood was also used by Native Americans in the southeastern United States as a fire-starter because of the flammability of its natural oils found within the wood and the leaves. Steam distillation of dried root bark produces an essential oil which has a high safrole content, as well as significant amounts of varying other chemicals such as camphor , eugenol (including 5-methoxyeugenol), asarone , and various sesquiterpenes . Many other trees contain similarly high percentages and their extracted oils are sometimes referred to as sassafras oil, which once
9504-478: The precipitation regimes of places they impact, as they may bring much-needed precipitation to otherwise dry regions. Areas in their path can receive a year's worth of rainfall from a tropical cyclone passage. The fine particulate matter produced by car exhaust and other human sources of pollution forms cloud condensation nuclei leads to the production of clouds and increases the likelihood of rain. As commuters and commercial traffic cause pollution to build up over
9612-579: The primary types are A, tropical; B, dry; C, mild mid-latitude; D, cold mid-latitude; and E, polar. The five primary classifications can be further divided into secondary classifications such as rain forest , monsoon , tropical savanna , humid subtropical , humid continental , oceanic climate , Mediterranean climate , steppe , subarctic climate , tundra , polar ice cap , and desert . Rain forests are characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1,750 and 2,000 mm (69 and 79 in). A tropical savanna
9720-399: The rainfall time-structure n-index . The average time between occurrences of an event with a specified intensity and duration is called the return period . The intensity of a storm can be predicted for any return period and storm duration, from charts based on historic data for the location. The return period is often expressed as an n -year event. For instance, a 10-year storm describes
9828-428: The return period (assuming the probability remains the same for each year). For instance, a 10-year storm has a probability of occurring of 10 percent in any given year, and a 100-year storm occurs with a 1 percent probability in a year. As with all probability events, it is possible, though improbable, to have multiple 100-year storms in a single year. The Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (abbreviated QPF)
9936-442: The rising air motion of a large-scale flow of moist air across the mountain ridge, resulting in adiabatic cooling and condensation. In mountainous parts of the world subjected to relatively consistent winds (for example, the trade winds ), a more moist climate usually prevails on the windward side of a mountain than on the leeward or downwind side. Moisture is removed by orographic lift, leaving drier air (see katabatic wind ) on
10044-532: The tonics. It was also used as an additional flavouring to mask the strong odours of homemade liquor in the United States. Commercial "sassafras oil," which contains safrole, is generally a byproduct of camphor production in Asia or comes from related trees in Brazil . Safrole is a precursor for the manufacture of the drug MDMA , as well as the drug MDA (3-4 methylenedioxyamphetamine) and as such, its transport
10152-711: The tree useful to humans. Sassafras trees grow from 9–35 metres (30–115 feet) tall with many slender sympodial branches and smooth, orange-brown bark or yellow bark. All parts of the plants are fragrant. The species are unusual in having three distinct leaf patterns on the same plant: unlobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three-pronged); the leaves are hardly ever five-lobed. Three-lobed leaves are more common in Sassafras tzumu and S. randaiense than in their North American counterparts, although three-lobed leaves often occur on S. albidum . The young leaves and twigs are quite mucilaginous and produce
10260-492: The tropics since the 1970s. Globally there has been no statistically significant overall trend in precipitation over the past century, although trends have varied widely by region and over time. Eastern portions of North and South America, northern Europe, and northern and central Asia have become wetter. The Sahel, the Mediterranean, southern Africa and parts of southern Asia have become drier. There has been an increase in
10368-543: The vicinity of cold fronts and near and poleward of surface warm fronts . Similar ascent is seen around tropical cyclones outside the eyewall , and in comma-head precipitation patterns around mid-latitude cyclones . A wide variety of weather can be found along an occluded front, with thunderstorms possible, but usually, their passage is associated with a drying of the air mass. Occluded fronts usually form around mature low-pressure areas. What separates rainfall from other precipitation types, such as ice pellets and snow,
10476-408: The warm conveyor belt), forcing a surface trough to continue into the cold sector on a similar curve to the occluded front. The front creates the portion of an occluded cyclone known as its comma head , due to the comma -like shape of the mid-tropospheric cloudiness that accompanies the feature. It can also be the focus of locally heavy precipitation, with thunderstorms possible if the atmosphere along
10584-555: The water droplets in a cloud to remain stationary. When air turbulence occurs, water droplets collide, producing larger droplets. As these larger water droplets descend, coalescence continues, so that drops become heavy enough to overcome air resistance and fall as rain. Coalescence generally happens most often in clouds above freezing (in their top) and is also known as the warm rain process. In clouds below freezing, when ice crystals gain enough mass they begin to fall. This generally requires more mass than coalescence when occurring between
10692-727: The world is in Owensboro, Kentucky , and is over 30 m (100 ft) high and 6.4 m (21 ft) in circumference. The genus Sassafras was first described by the Bohemian botanist Jan Presl in 1825. The name "sassafras", applied by the botanist Nicolas Monardes in 1569, comes from the French sassafras . Some sources claim it originates from the Latin saxifraga or saxifragus : "stone-breaking"; saxum "rock" + frangere "to break"). Sassafras trees are not within
10800-480: Was also used as an early dental anesthetic and disinfectant. Sassafras albidum is often grown as an ornamental tree for its unusual leaves and aromatic scent. Outside of its native area, it is occasionally cultivated in Europe and elsewhere. The durable and beautiful wood of sassafras plants has been used in shipbuilding and furniture-making in North America, in Asia, and in Europe (once Europeans were introduced to
10908-435: Was an important plant to many Native Americans of the southeastern United States and was used for many purposes, including culinary and medicinal purposes, before the European colonization of North America. Its significance for Native Americans is also magnified, as the European quest for sassafras as a commodity for export brought Europeans into closer contact with Native Americans during the early years of European settlement in
11016-474: Was banned for use in commercially mass-produced foods and drugs by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1960 due to health concerns about the carcinogenicity of safrole, a major constituent of sassafras oil, in animal studies. Sassafras leaves and flowers have also been used in salads, and to flavor fats or cure meats. The young twigs can also be eaten fresh or dried. Additionally, the subterranean portion of
11124-590: Was described by early European settlers arriving in North America. According to one legend, Christopher Columbus found North America because he could smell the scent of sassafras. As early as the 1560s, French visitors to North America discovered the medicinal qualities of sassafras, which was also exploited by the Spanish who arrived in Florida. English settlers at Roanoke reported surviving on boiled sassafras leaves and dog meat during times of starvation. Upon
11232-425: Was extensively used as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps, food and for aromatherapy . Safrole is a precursor for the clandestine manufacture of the drugs MDA and MDMA , and as such, sales and import of sassafras oil (as a safrole-containing mixture of above-threshold concentration) are heavily restricted in the US. Sassafras oil has also been used as a natural insect or pest deterrent, and in liqueurs (such as
11340-558: Was first used by Scottish chemist Robert Augus Smith in 1852. The pH of rain varies, especially due to its origin. On America's East Coast, rain that is derived from the Atlantic Ocean typically has a pH of 5.0–5.6; rain that comes across the continental from the west has a pH of 3.8–4.8; and local thunderstorms can have a pH as low as 2.0. Rain becomes acidic primarily due to the presence of two strong acids, sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) and nitric acid (HNO 3 ). Sulfuric acid
11448-677: Was such a desired commodity in England that the Colony of Virginia sought to reach profitability with trade monopolies in sassafras and tobacco. Through modern times the sassafras plant, both wild and cultivated, has been harvested for the extraction of safrole, which is used in a variety of commercial products as well as in the manufacture of illegal drugs like MDMA; yet, sassafras plants in China and Brazil are more commonly used for these purposes than North American Sassafras albidum . Rain Rain
11556-543: Was the catalyst for the 1603 commercial expedition from Bristol of Captain Martin Pring to the coasts of present-day Maine , New Hampshire , and Massachusetts . During a brief period in the early 17th century, sassafras was the second-largest export from the British colonies in North America behind tobacco . Since the bark was the most commercially valued part of the sassafras plant due to large concentrations of
11664-502: Was understood, and sassafras was touted as a cure. Sir Francis Drake was one of the earliest to bring sassafras to England in 1586, and Sir Walter Raleigh was the first to export sassafras as a commodity in 1602. Sassafras became a major export commodity to England and other areas of Europe, as a medicinal root used to treat ague (fevers) and sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea , and as wood prized for its beauty and durability. Exploration for sassafras
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