John Wheeler: That delightful calm period at sunset

John Wheeler: That delightful calm period at sunset

FARGO — During spring and summer — in the absence of a shower, thunderstorm, cold front or some other sort of disturbance in the atmosphere — 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 ne…