Does the space shuttle effect the weather?

I have noticed for sever years now that every time the space shuttle takes off or lands, approx. 3 to 5 days there is very strong storms here and high winds. I am in the south so not sure if its just here or if its all over the country or maybe the world.
I have no real concrete proof but it happens every time almost like clock work. for example, last summer i remember altanta was in a major drought and the main source of water was drying up. it had not rained in some while(months). when the space shuttle returned from its mission in the summer of 2007 they changed flight plans to come in across the us directly over alabama. well in 3 days it rained in atlanta,strong winds and heavy rain. thats just one example.
the other day it returned and now there are major storms here and flooding and big storms in central us.
has anyone else noticed this???

Even if there were a realtionship it's highly unlikely to be causal. Considering that the shuttle requires clear weather to land or take off it makes sense that landings and launches often occur just before or just after bad weather.

It's actually my fault for trying to observe the mission with my telescope. The clouds always conspire against me to ruin any opportunity I would have to track the shuttle and/or space station during or immediately after a mission.

[edit on 2-4-2008 by ngchunter]

I am in the northeast, and have noticed it for years. I don't know about the rest of the country but up here after the Challenger disaster the weather was messed up for about a year, then normal until the next one went up. Now every time it goes up we have stormy weather.

ngchunter, you may be correct. All I know is that here, it is 'common knowledge' that the space shuttle launches and landings coincide with rain (and usually with storms). I have wondered for some time what could be causing this, since it is much too coincidental and long-term to be chance.

I hope someone comes up with something on this phenomenon.

TheRedneck

reply to post by bamaoutlaw


I have a relative living his whole life in the Southeast, swears this has been happening since day one of Shuttles.

So I paid attention for a few years, and it sure does seem to correlate.

[edit on 9/8/08 by Misfit]

reply to post by TheRedneck

Washing my car and planning picnics seem to coincide with rainy weather (at least for me).

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass; I'm just saying that if you look hard enough you'kll always find some coincidental causality between events. The fact is that rainy weather seems to coincide with Space Shuttle launches and landings because the Shuttle is launched from a tropical location, and tropical loccations often have rainy afternoons -- just ask anyone living in Florida who tries to schedule a golf tee-off time after work at 5:00 pm.

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People

That's a good concept for someone living in the launch region, but my experience was 600 linear miles from there. Within just a few days of a launch, it would storm/rain, even in the dry seasons, every time ...... not every time you plan a picnic will it rain.

reply to post by Misfit

Does it not rain during the times that the shuttle is not launched?

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People
I have the same argument Misfit already stated. I do not live near Cape Canaveral.

Sure, I have already admitted the possibility that it might be coincidental or casual, but my experience is that it always rains within 2 days of a launch or landing. This has gone on since before the shuttle started, as it worked with rockets as well.

Now if continuous observation for several years is not worthy of investigation, I have to ask... what is?

TheRedneck
P.S.: Washing the pickup usually works for me too. But the shuttle always works.