FARGO 鈥� During spring and summer 鈥� in the absence of a shower, thunderstorm, cold front or some other sort of disturbance in the atmosphere 鈥� the air will often become wonderfully calm right around sunset. This happens because of a cooling of the air in the lowest 200 to 300 feet of the atmosphere. During a sunny afternoon, the ground gets very hot, heating air in this lowest layer of the atmosphere.
When the sun gets low in the sky, this air near the ground cools at a rapid pace, often becoming cooler than the air above. This is called a temperature inversion. Once an inversion forms, the air in this layer is separated from the forces that were producing the wind during the day, so the air becomes calm, helping to create a peaceful time at the end of the day.
The Trust Project
