factoids = new Array;
factoids[0] = new Array("ARE THE BIGGEST TORNADOES THE MOST VIOLENT?", "Not necessarily. The size of a tornado does not always correlate to its strength.  Some tornadoes nearly a mile wide have produced very little damage, while small, \"rope-like\" funnels have been known to obliterate everything in their path.", "SOURCE: Steve McCauley, WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[1] = new Array("NATURE'S LIGHT SHOW", "Lightning is a sparkling display of light produced by an electrical discharge of approximately 100 million volts.  It travels across the sky at 111,000 miles per second, about a million times faster than sound.  For every five seconds between a lightning flash and the accompanying thunder, a storm is one mile away.", "SOURCE:  Meteorology: The Atmosphere and the Science of Weather, Joseph Moran and Michael D. Morgan");

factoids[2] = new Array("THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER", "The eruption of Tambora on Sumbawa, Indonesia, in 1815 resulted in what is known in meteorological circles as the “year without a summer.” Frosts and snow were common in June, July and August of 1816. Heavy snow was recorded in New England in June, and the high temperature in Savannah, Ga. on July 4 was a chilly 46 degrees. There were also reports of major crop failure in the eastern United States, Canada and in Western Europe.", "SOURCES: NASA, The Handy Weather Answer Book, Dr. Walter A. Lyons, American Meteorologist Society, Accord Publishing, Ltd.");

factoids[3] = new Array("THE COLOR OF RAIN", "Colored precipitation is not unusual. It is associated with storms that ingest dust from distant desert storms. Red, yellow and brown rain has been known to fall in different parts of the globe. Every droplet of rain forms from condensation of water vapor onto something, often a speck of dirt or salt. The spec remains with the rainwater until it reaches the ground, imparting color to raindrops.", "SOURCE: The Handy Weather Answer Book, Dr. Walter A. Lyons, American Meteorologist Society, Accord Publishing, Ltd.");

factoids[4] = new Array("GUSTY WINDS SOMETIMES DRIVEN BY THE SUN", "Winds aloft tend to be stronger than surface breezes because friction with trees and the ground slows down the air.  But when the sun is high, these upper-level winds sometimes mix down to the ground, creating gusty conditions during the warmth of the afternoon. When the sun sets, this mixing process stops, and the winds calm down.", "SOURCE: Steve McCauley, WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[5] = new Array("CLOUDS ACT MORE LIKE MIRRORS", "We often hear that clouds act like a blanket and keep temperatures warmer at night than if it were clear.  But in reality, the clouds act more like mirrors. Blankets keep us warm by not allowing warm air to rise very far from our bodies.  But a deck of clouds doesn’t prevent heat from rising, it simply intercepts this energy and reflects it back to the earth.  This is why frost is much more likely when it’s clear rather than cloudy.", "SOURCE:  Steve McCauley, WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[6] = new Array("JUST WHAT IS BAROMETRIC PRESSURE?", "Gravity pulling the air toward the earth causes it to exert a pressure that is measured by a barometer.  If the barometer is rising, the air is exerting higher pressure on the ground, which implies it is sinking, clearing out the clouds.  If the barometer falls, the air exerts less pressure, which can imply it is rising, leading to cloud formation and precipitation.", "SOURCE:  Steve McCauley, WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[7] = new Array("A TRACE OF RAIN?", "What constitutes this wisp of a measurement when it comes to rain? National Weather Service rain gauge standards resolve rainfall to increments of 0.01 inches. Therefore a \"trace\" denotes total rainfall in a 24-hour period measuring less than 0.005 inches.", "SOURCE: Meteorology: The Atmosphere and the Science of Weather, Joseph Moran and Michael D. Morgan");

factoids[8] = new Array("WHEN THE JET STREAM SPLITS", "Severe thunderstorms with flooding rains pounded Central Texas last week. Those storms were created by the jet stream that split over the region.  When high winds aloft go in different directions, air from the surface must shoot straight up to replace the vacating air.  This can create towering thunderclouds, which can evolve into powerful storms that bring torrential rain, hail, high winds, and tornadoes.", "SOURCE:  Steve McCauley, WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[9] = new Array("FAHRENHEIT VS. CELSIUS", "Air and water temperatures are generally measured by two distinctly different systems: Fahrenheit and Celsius.  Both were developed in the 1700s and named in honor of their respective inventors.  The United States uses Fahrenheit measurements. Most of the rest of the world uses the Celsius scale.", "SOURCE: Meteorology: The Atmosphere and the Science of Weather, Joseph Moran and Michael D. Morgan; WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[10] = new Array("HURRICANE FORCE WINDS", "A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when sustained winds reach 74 mph or higher. Winds in powerful hurricanes may top 155 mph. The most destructive part of a hurricane is normally near the eye on the side where the wind blows in the same direction as the storm’s forward motion.  On that side, winds are added to the steering current, producing the storm’s strongest surface winds.", "SOURCE: Meteorology: The Atmosphere and the Science of Weather, Joseph Moran and Michael D. Morgan; WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[11] = new Array("TYPES OF LIGHTNING", "Depending on its appearance, many terms are applied to lightning. Here are some examples:<br>- Ball Lightning: Resembles a fiery, radiant ball that appears to float or move through the air.<br>- Bead Lightning: Appears as a brilliant series of beads on a string. Seems to have intense points of bright light along the lightning channel.<br>- Heat Lightning: Lightning that appears as a glowing flash on the horizon. It is actually lightning occurring in distant thunderstorms that are too far away for thunder to be heard.<br>- Sheet Lightning: Stunning cloud-to-cloud discharges that can seem bright white.<br>- Streak Lightning: Cloud-to-ground lightning that is concentrated in a single, relatively straight channel.", "SOURCE: Meteorology: The Atmosphere and the Science of Weather, Joseph Moran and Michael D. Morgan; WFAA-TV (Channel 8)");

factoids[12] = new Array("FACTS ON FLASH FLOODING", "Swollen rivers may grab the headlines, but flash flooding - the quick rising of water in streams and on streets - is deadlier. Flash floods, such as those caused by Thursday’s storm in San Antonio, can develop in a few seconds. They kill about 100 people a year in the United States. Nearly half of the fatalities are people caught in cars attempting to cross flooded streets.", "SOURCE: John Cox, Weather For Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide");

factoids[13] = new Array("TEXAS HURRICANES", "Once a hurricane has caused major damage, its name is retired. Here are the biggest storms to hit Texas since the practice of naming storms began. Each of these names has been retired by the National Weather Service.<br>Storms<br>1. Alicia, 1983 in San Luis Pass<br>2. Allen, 1980 in Port Mansfield<br>3. Audrey, 1957 in Sabine Pass<br>4. Beulah, 1967 in Brownsville<br>5. Carla, 1961 in Port O’Connor<br>6. Celia, 1970 in Corpus Christi<br>NOTES: <br>- The remnants of Hurricane Gilbert, which hit northern Mexico in 1988, caused major damage in Texas as it tracked northward after making landfall. <br>- Texas dodged a bullet in 1999 as Hurricane Bret came ashore in the sparsely populated area between Corpus Christi and Brownsville.", "SOURCES: National Weather Service; Texas Department of Insurance");

var now = new Date()
var sec = now.getSeconds()
var whichfact = sec % factoids.length;