Cafe

As Hurricane Irma bears down on the East coast, Floridians may be wondering where all the hurricanes come from, and why they all follow a similar course. In fact, Irma, Harvey, and Jose were all born on the other side of the Atlantic, off the coast of Africa, and the Sahara desert may be to blame.

Tornadoes are the most violent storms on Earth, with wind velocities that can exceed 200 miles per hour. How do these terrifying cyclones form? Meteorologist James Spann sheds light on the lifespan of tornadoes as they go from supercell thunderstorms to terrible twisters before eventually dissolving back into thin air.

Ken Kawamoto, a software engineer by day and gadget inventor by night, likes to "break the barrier between the digital world and the real world ," and he has done just that with his latest invention - the Tempescope. This little box can create real raindrops and clouds and simulate lightning and sunlight to show you the weather forecast or real-time weather display. Photos

Peregrine Church creates street art that only shows up when it rains. Hidden when dry, these messages or images appear on sidewalks all over Seattle and are meant to brighten your day, even when it's gray and rainy!

You've felt cold before. Sometimes it's cold outside. But what if I told you that "cold" isn't real? There's no substance or quantity called "cold" in science. We can't measure the amount of "cold" in something. Instead it's about what's NOT there. In this week's video, learn the difference between heat and temperature, why a wind makes us feel colder, and what it's like to live as a mass of jiggling atoms. This is the physics of cold.

The worlds second-largest know tree, the president, in sequoia National Park is photographed by national geographic magazine photographer Michael "nick" Nichols.

Finally they slammed the deck, and sailors ran out to chock the wheels. The pilot spooled down the rotors, going through his post-flight checklist. The co-pilot, a swarthy, olive-skinned man, clapped the pilot on the back and said, "What took you so long?" The pilot's green eyes smiled. He checked the dial of his orange Doxa dive watch, and replied with an air of a man who'd just pulled a suburban cruiser into his driveway after a leisurely commute, "We're thirty minutes early, pal."

How wet do you get running in the rain appose to walking in the rain.

Video of a strong tornado crossing State Highway 4, just north of Langley, Kansas, southwest of Salina, Kansas on April 14, 2012. Tim Samaras is a National Geographic Explorer and severe storms researcher.