Jasmine: My name is Jasmine.
Chrissy: And I'm Chrissy.
Jasmine: We're from NIU STEAM and...
Chrissy: This is The Sound of Science on WNIJ. If you live or work in Northern Illinois, you may have seen the white plumes that come from the cooling towers belonging to the Byron Nuclear Generating Station. If you didn't know better, you might think that there was a cloud factory on the horizon, especially on the cold winter mornings we've experienced recently.
Jasmine: Nuclear reactors split atoms to produce massive amounts of heat. This heat is then used to convert water to high pressure steam, which spins massive turbines, generating electricity that is sent to the power grid.
Chrissy: After passing through the turbines, steam is either recirculated or sent to a cooling tower to revert back to liquid water for reuse. Some water escapes as vapor during the
process and condenses in the surrounding environment.
Jasmine: In some cases, the plumes can affect weather patterns on a very local scale. During warm, humid weather they can influence the formation of precipitation around the power plant with the amount of moisture they inject into the atmosphere, but the most interesting weather phenomenon occurs during this time of year.
Chrissy: When temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and there are cold, light winds alongside high moisture output from cooling towers, snow can form downwind. This phenomenon, known as "steam-induced snow," is very localized and typically results in only a dusting to a few inches. During the morning and afternoon hours of February 6, 2014, Northern llinois experienced no apparent cloud cover, yet DeKalb-Taylor Airport
reported light snowfall. Upon reviewing satellite imagery, meteorologists discovered a plume trail emanating from the Byron cooling towers and inferred that this was the source of the snow.
Jasmine: You have been listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day.