Does Weather Affect Shortwave Reception?
This question was posed by someone on the rec.radio.shortwave internet newsgroup last year. He never got an answer to my recollection. The question started me thinking and doing some research. Now I can report the results of that work. Now without the slightest doubt or hesitation I can safely answer that question. Possibly. Sure we all know that lightning storms create static noise (QRN) which can obliterate weak SW signals. This month and next I’ll discuss some of the more subtle influences weather patterns may be having on shortwave propagation. There are two possible ways that weather could influence SW propagation. The first way is by causing unusual ionized clouds in the lower levels of the ionosphere causing reflections that can either interrupt or enhance reception. I’ll discuss this possibility this month. Next month our topic will be how tropospheric refraction caused by temperature anomalies associated with weather fronts can bend radio waves to cause unusual propagation con
