Well we've been discussing the effect the coastal waters have on Long Island's weather in spring. One benefit the cooler waters provide is a bit of protection from severe thunderstorms.

As bad as the weather was on Long Island Saturday evening with heavy rain and 50 MPH wind gusts, it was worse in the midwest and southeast. There, tornadic thunderstorms wreaked havoc leaving miles of destruction. Fortunately for us, severe thunderstorms usually use warm, moist air as fuel. As those storms moved toward Long Island, they ran into the marine-cooled air and weakened.

Jimmy Buffett may have had it right when he came up with the name for his hit 1977 album called 'Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude.' A 2009 study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention rated the happiest states in America, and a huge contributing factor seems to be the sun. The top five happiest states are Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee, and Arizona. In comparison, our home region did not fair quite as well. New York ranked dead last and New Jersey ranked 47th.

One thing we can count on during spring on Long Island is changeable weather. This weekend will be no exception.

We are starting the weekend this Friday evening with a few patchy clouds and cool temperatures. But don't worry if you have Friday evening plans, you won't need anything more than a light jacket as we won't be experiencing any rain tonight.

Outdoor activities during the spring and summer time can be some of our most memorable moments. But the token spoiler..."Thunder & Lightning" can ruin everything! So it's probably not a bad idea to know a little bit about thunder and lightning. A common misconception is that thunder is a separate element than lightning. But this is not true. In fact, they are one and the same.