Douglas: We should all thank Christian Doppler

Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, I did not invent Doppler. Christian Doppler (1803-1853) was the first person to describe how the relative motion of a source and detector affects the observed frequency of sound and light waves. It’s why the pitch of a train whistle changes as it passes.

Meteorologists use the “Doppler effect” with radar to determine if a raindrop is moving toward or away from the radar site. It can see the “couplets” of rapidly swirling air within a storm leading up to a tornado or straight-line winds.

The local office of the National Weather Service often issues a “Doppler-indicated” tornado warning, erring on the side of caution, even if a funnel hasn’t been spotted. Such was the case Thursday, with confirmed tornadoes in Anoka and Isanti counties. Man, am I fun at parties.

There is nothing more to say: sunny, comfortable weather into Thursday with highs mostly in the 70s. Temps in the 60s the second week of September? Where’s that sweatshirt I’ve been ignoring since April? I know it’s here somewhere ...