Dear Tom,
I heard a radio show host state with certainty that the Gulf oil slick will result in oily rain that will kill the corn crop. (His words, not mine.) Is this so? Is it possible to have oily rain here in Chicago?
---Linda Sue Johnson
Dear Linda,
When asked if oil from the ongoing Gulf spill will contaminate rain, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials categorically state, "No." That is true for any rain that originates from moisture from the Gulf. Oil in the Gulf water is not chemically bound to water molecules, and only pure water evaporates into the air as water vapor. (Salt is also left behind, and that's why rain is not salty.) Airborne water vapor condenses to form clouds in hurricanes and in other rain-producing weather systems, and rain is produced in those oil-free clouds.
I heard a radio show host state with certainty that the Gulf oil slick will result in oily rain that will kill the corn crop. (His words, not mine.) Is this so? Is it possible to have oily rain here in Chicago?
---Linda Sue Johnson
Dear Linda,
When asked if oil from the ongoing Gulf spill will contaminate rain, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials categorically state, "No." That is true for any rain that originates from moisture from the Gulf. Oil in the Gulf water is not chemically bound to water molecules, and only pure water evaporates into the air as water vapor. (Salt is also left behind, and that's why rain is not salty.) Airborne water vapor condenses to form clouds in hurricanes and in other rain-producing weather systems, and rain is produced in those oil-free clouds.
