WeatherNotions

Unsettled Eastern Forecast Plus Hail & Snow in Europe

WeatherNation — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:20:04 +0000

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Hello and happy Wednesday everyone, hope all is well! Tropical Storm Aletta continues in the Eastern Pacific, but will only pose a threat to ships and slow moving whales as she drifts west (away from the U.S.)

The image below comes from NOAA, see more info HERE:

“After officially becoming the first named storm of the 2012 Pacific Hurricane Season on May 15, 2012, Tropical Storm Aletta was observed by the nation’s newest weather satellite, the Suomi-NPP (a NOAA-NASA partnership), at around 8:30z. Seen here in 350 meter resolution VIIRS infrared imagery are the overshooting tops associated with the most intense areas of convention in the storm (colored dark orange). TS Aletta currently has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and is moving due west in the Eastern Pacific.”

A Newly Discovered Wettest Place in the U.S.?

That’s a lot of rain! Thanks to Weather Underground for this story, see more HERE:

“A team of scientists from the University of Hawai’i’-Manoa Geography Department has recently published a rainfall atlas to the state and may have discovered a new ‘wettest spot’ in the islands and thus for the entire United States. In 1992 they set up a rain gauge at a location known as the ‘Big Bog’ on the edge of Haleakala National Park on Maui Island. They had originally estimated the rainfall at this site to be on the order of 180” per annum, but the second year of data (1994) saw an amazing 560” of precipitation fall. The 30-year (1978-2007) average annual rainfall was 404? at Big Bog (estimated from 1992-2007 data) vs. 393? at Mt. Waialeale”

What the Hail?

Severe weather doesn’t just happen in the United States, here are two weather videos from Europe of hail storms.

London Hail – See Video HERE

Here’s Another One!

Belgium Hail

See the video HERE

Texas Drought Eases

“The most intense drought in Texas history lowered reservoir levels around the state, stirring widespread concern about water shortages. By April 2012 many had bounced back, particularly in Central and East Texas, after those areas saw an unusually rainy spring. But many West Texas levels remain very low.

Using data collected from the Texas Water Development Board’s reservoir status tracker, we have built a tool that visualizes the current levels of the state’s reservoirs. The map will be updated daily with fresh data. Each icon on the map represents an individual reservoir, color-coded based on how full it is currently.”

See the full story HERE

US Drought Monitor

This is the US Drought Monitor from last week, which shows SEVERE to EXCEPTIONAL drought still on spots through Texas and the Southeast. The good news is that with all the latest rain, we’ve seen some dramatic improvements since last summer!

See the Drought Monitor HERE (New Update on Thursday)

Drought Outlook

This is the drought outlook through the end of July released by NOAA, which shows areas across west Texas expected to continue drought conditions while locations in the Southeast will see some improvement.

Observed Precipitation Last 7 Days

This is a look at radar estimated rainfall over the last 7 days, note the heavier blobs over Texas and the Southeast where drought conditions more significant. Nice to see rain in these spots!

RRainfall Looking Ahead

The 5 day precipitation forecast shows a few pockets of heavier rain, but nothing significant. The heaviest will likely be across the coastal communities in the East and especially Florida. Another batch of rain and thunder will kick up measurable rain in the High Plains and the Upper Mississippi Valley by the weekend.

Severe Risk Today

The Storm Prediction Center has a SLIGHT RISK of severe weather across parts of the Northeast where hail and high winds are expected to top severe criteria (1″ diameter hail and 58mph winds)

See more from the SPC HERE:

Thanks for checking in on this Wednesday and have a great rest of your week!

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWNTV

Tropical Storm Aletta, Severe Storms in New England & Record Spring for Allergies.

WeatherNation — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:28:22 +0000

“As one of its major goals within the 10 years, the hurricane center hopes to generate six- and seven-day forecasts to give residents, businesses and the military more time to prepare….Currently, the center issues track forecasts out to five days, with an average error of about 275 miles.” – from a story at staugustine.com; details below.

“From February through April, pollen was at record high levels. This coincided with one of the driest and warmest winters on record.” – from a story at NJ.com – details below.

“Scientists say climate change might also be adding an extra kick to La Nina and El Nino because warmer oceans add more fuel to storms and weather patterns.” – from a Reuters article below.

First Tropical Storm of 2012: “Aletta”. A threat to ships and slow-moving whales, T.S. Aletta is pushing west, out into the colder waters of the Pacific Ocean, where it should slowly weaken – no threat to land. More from NASA’s Facebook site: “The eastern Pacific hurricane season starts today. Just slightly ahead of schedule tropical storm Aletta formed yesterday well to the southwest of the Mexican coast. Aletta will intensify a little more to 40 knots. After tomorrow, adverse atmospheric conditions will prompt weakening and dissipation as the cyclone continues to move just north of west. Max winds are near 35 knots, it is centered near 10.6 North and 109.6 West.”* image above: Naval Research Lab.
Wednesday Severe Threat. An eastbound cool front may spark enough convergence for a few severe storms from Albany to Worcester, Burlington and Montpelier, Vermont. Map: SPC.

Why Do El Nino And La Nina Trigger Weather Chaos? Reuters has an informative article; here’s an excerpt: “From record floods to crippling droughts and wildfires, a natural swing in Pacific Ocean temperatures can trigger climate chaos around the globe. The El Nino ocean-weather pattern is linked to droughts in Australia and floods in parts of South America, while its sibling La Nina causes the opposite, with the two phenomena occurring at irregular intervals. A powerful La Nina triggered record floods in eastern Australia in 2011 and has been blamed for the withering drought in Texas and severe dry spells in South America, hitting corn and soy crops.”

DC3: Chemistry of Thunderstorms. Flying planes into thunderstorms to gather more data? I suspect drinks are not served on these flights; here’s an excerpt of an eye-opening article at redorbit.com: “NASA researchers are about to fly off on a campaign that will take them into the heart of thunderstorm country. The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign will use an airport in Salina, Kan., as a base to explore the impact of large thunderstorms on the concentration of ozone and other substances in the upper troposphere. The campaign is being led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA. “Thunderstorms provide a mechanism for rapid lifting of air from the surface to higher altitudes in a matter of minutes to hours,” said James Crawford of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and a member of the mission’s scientific steering committee.”

Photo credit above: “NASA’s DC-8 Earth Science laboratory sports numerous probes for collecting atmospheric samples. The aircraft, based at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., is ready to participate in the DC3 campaign. Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida.”

NASA researchers are about to fly off on a campaign that will take them into the heart of thunderstorm country.
The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign will use an airport in Salina, Kan., as a base to explore the impact of large thunderstorms on the concentration of ozone and other substances in the upper troposphere. The campaign is being led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA.
“Thunderstorms provide a mechanism for rapid lifting of air from the surface to higher altitudes in a matter of minutes to hours,” said James Crawford of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and a member of the mission’s scientific steering committee.
“This allows molecules that are short-lived and more abundant near the surface to be transported to the upper troposphere in amounts that could not happen under normal atmospheric conditions,” he said.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1bhwC)

Hurricane Center To Develop 6 And 7 Day Forecasts. Details from staugustine.com: “FORT LAUDERDALE — For the first time, the National Hurricane Center plans to develop six- and seven-day track forecasts for an entire storm season. It also plans to do a better job keeping them secret, as they leaked out to the public last year, cutting the experiment short. “We weren’t able to button them up; people were finding them,” said James Franklin, the center’s top hurricane specialist. The long-range forecasts are one of four in-house experiments the hurricane center plans to conduct in the upcoming season, which officially starts June 1.”

Hurricane Center Testing Forecast Improvements. Here’s another perspective fromThe Boston Herald: “MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center plans to broaden its forecasting capabilities by conducting four in-house experiments in the upcoming season, including developing six- and seven-day track projections. The other tests include extending the tropical weather outlook from two to five days, developing advisories for disturbances before they become tropical systems and issuing watches and warnings if disturbances threaten land. At the same time, it will employ more sophisticated models to help with intensity predictions, an area where forecasters have struggled for decades.”

“Lessons From Hurricane Ike Prompts Action”. The story (and video clip) fromphys.org: “As teachers go, Hurricane Ike isn’t likely to win any popularity contests. But the 2008 storm, the third-costliest hurricane in U.S. history, taught severe-storm experts much about how to protect Houston and Galveston from the ravages of future storms. In the new book “Lessons from Hurricane Ike,” Rice University severe-storm expert Phil Bedient and more than 20 researchers from the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center give a 194-page accounting of all they have learned in more than two years of studying Ike, which caused nearly $25 billion damage and killed dozens.”

U.S. Government, Wireless Carriers, Launch Weather Emergency Alerts This Month. Text alerts should be part of your family’s severe weather action plan, along with TV, radio, web, e-mail, NOAA Weather Radio (and sirens). Details from mobileburn.com: “The U.S. Government and wireless carriers in the States are set to launch the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system this month. The WEA is a free service that uses text message alerts to inform cellular phone users of nearby weather emergencies. The alerts will warn users of weather emergencies and dangerous weather conditions such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, typhoons, blizzards, dust storms, extremely high winds, and ice storms. The system is location based, so users will only get alerts that apply to where they are currently located. The WEA system is supported by AT&T, Cellcom, Cricket, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless, which combined offer cellular service to about 97 percent of the users in the United States.”

Exposure To Natural Cold and Heat: Hypothermia and Hyperthermia Medicare Claims, 2004-2005. With a rapidly aging population, more baby boomers moving into their “golden years”, I found this research paper at medscape.com interesting. Here’s an excerpt: “Older adults (≥ 65 years) and persons with chronic diseases are at risk for heat- and coldrelated mortality and morbidity during extreme ambient temperatures. Even slight changes in temperature can adversely affect these populations because of their weakened physiological adaptability and socioeconomic factors. As the growing evidence of global climate change supports anticipated increases in the intensity and frequency of heat waves and extreme cold events, older adults and those with chronic diseases will be at an increased risk for hyperthermia and hypothermia. The US Census Bureau projects that the number of older adults will rapidly increase during the 2010 to 2030 period. Accordingly, it is projected that by 2030, the older population will be 2 times greater than in 2000, growing from 35 million to 72 million, or nearly 20% of the total US population.”

Data App: Track Texas Reservoir Levels. Although the drought has eased a bit over parts of Texas, water levels are still very low, especially from the Hill Country into the Texas Panhandle. The Texas Tribune has details of a new online resource for tracking reservoir water levels: “The most intense drought in Texas history lowered reservoir levels around the state, stirring widespread concern about water shortages. By April 2012 many had bounced back, particularly in Central and East Texas, after those areas saw an unusually rainy spring. But many West Texas levels remain very low. Using data collected from the Texas Water Development Board’s reservoir status tracker, we have built a tool that visualizes the current levels of the state’s reservoirs. The map will be updated daily with fresh data. Each icon on the map represents an individual reservoir, color-coded based on how full it is currently.”

Postcard-Perfect. Here’s a post from Glacier National Park, brought to you by Mark Zuckerberg. Hey, is Facebook going public? Here’s a hot tip: buy low, sell high. Good luck. “It is turning out to be another spectacular day in Glacier, and Avalanche Gorge never looked so good. At this location on the Trail of the Cedars, you can witness the power of water. From its sculpting and erosional action, to the nourishment it provides to plants and animals, and the emotional impact it has on us, water is very significant here.”

Get Rich U. Author Ken Auletta writes “there are no walls between Stanford and Silicon Valley. Should there be? Here is an excerpt of a thought-provoking article at The New Yorker: “Stanford University is so startlingly paradisial, so fragrant and sunny, it’s as if you could eat from the trees and live happily forever. Students ride their bikes through manicured quads, past blooming flowers and statues by Rodin, to buildings named for benefactors like Gates, Hewlett, and Packard. Everyone seems happy, though there is a well-known phenomenon called the “Stanford duck syndrome”: students seem cheerful, but all the while they are furiously paddling their legs to stay afloat. What they are generally paddling toward are careers of the sort that could get their names on those buildings. The campus has its jocks, stoners, and poets, but what it is famous for are budding entrepreneurs, engineers, and computer aces hoping to make their fortune in one crevasse or another of Silicon Valley.

Photo credit above: “Students at the Institute of Design at Stanford, or d.school, work this spring on an irrigation project for farmers in Burma. The work is part of the university’s focus on interdisciplinary education. Photograph by Aaron Huey.”

Climate Stories…

As Global Warming Advances, Risky Responses Gain A Following. Here’s an important article focused on geo-engineering, using technology to slow or reverse the effects of global warming. Good idea? What could possibly go wrong? Here’s an excerpt from MinnPost.com: “A British chemical engineer, Peter Davidson, presented a webinarearly this morning on his strategy to combat global warming: Fog Earth’s upper atmosphere with paint particles, streamed from giant balloons, to reflect sunlight away from Earth and offset the greenhouse effects of burning fossil fuel. Plan B, indeed. As the years roll by with essentially no meaningful progress on cutting carbon emissions, “geo-engineering” solutions like Davidson’s attract more attention and perhaps even faith from those inclined to believe that since technology got us into this mess, technology can somehow get us out.”Photo credit above: Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility. “A new paper proposes using large balloons to scatter sunlight and slow global warming.”

Climate Change Is Making Allergies Worse. NJ.com has the story; here’s an excerpt: “Spring is in full swing and swung into New Jersey earlier than ever this year. Extreme weather events and drastic changes in weather patterns are becoming a common occurrence. The effects of climate disruption on human health already are afflicting allergy and asthma sufferers along the East Coast and throughout the continental United States. May is “Asthma Awareness Month” and this spring’s pollen levels are making history. Unseasonably warm temperatures affect both air quality and pollen levels.”Photo credit above: “Photo courtesy of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyAirborne ragweed pollen is pictured in this file photo.”
Global Warming To Affect Fish Guts. Oh no – not fish guts! There may be aquatic winners and losers as lake, river and ocean water temperatures continue to rise, as reported in this excerpt of a story at New Zealand’s 3news.com: ”Global warming may cause some stocks of fish species to decline, while others may grow. The gastrointestinal system of fish is much more sensitive to rises in sea temperatures than previously thought, according to new research. The researchers found that the gut in fish is the most temperature-sensitive organ. “Our work is largely about trying to identify the physiological bottlenecks, in other words which parts of the body will fail first – whether the heart or the gut is the most sensitive part of the system,” said study researcher Albin Gräns, of the University of Gothenburg, in a statement.”
Climate Change In The American Mind: March, 2012. Here’s an excerpt from some recent polling conducted by The National Center For Science Education: ”… Asked about the cause of global warming, on the assumption that it is happening, 46% of respondents said that global warming is caused mostly by human activities — a slight decrease — while 37% said that it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment, 9% volunteered that it is caused by both human activities and natural changes, 5% opted for “none of the above because global warming isn’t happening,” 2% offered other views, and 1% volunteered that they did not know.”

Oil And Gas Industry Moving Aggressively To Silence Critics. Here’s an excerpt from a story at The Huffington Post: “At an industry public relations conference last year, Michael Kehs of Chesapeake Energy described a Wall Street Journal op-ed to gathered oil and gas officials, saying it pointed out the industry’s “credibility problem.” “And I’m sure some of it relates to defensiveness,” Kehs added. (MP3 Audio) Small wonder. For years, the oil and gas industry has adopted a war-like mentality towards its critics. When confronted with problems caused by drilling and fracking, instead of acknowledging them and working to prevent more, their approach has too often been to cover up the issues while attacking any critics who make problems known publicly. This pattern has sharply accelerated in recent months.”

New Push To Limit “Super Greenhouse” Gases. Meteorologist Andrew Freedman fromClimate Central has the story; here’s an excerpt: “United Nations climate change talks may be on a slow train to nowhere, but that doesn’t mean countries can’t try tackling global warming at the international level. Friday, the Federated States of Micronesia, a Pacific island nation, submitted a plan to amend the 1989 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer to phase down the production and use of so-called “super-greenhouse gases.” The Micronesian proposal, which has garnered the support of more than 100 parties to the ozone treaty, including the U.S. and the European Union, seeks to cut emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and fluorine. These substances are used as solvents, refrigerants, firefighting agents, and propellants. They were introduced as a substitute for the chloroflourocarbons, or CFCs, that scientists discovered were destroying the Earth’s protective ozone layer — thereby allowing greater amounts of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays to reach the Earth’s surface.”Photo credit above: “The Antarctic ozone hole as depicted by NASA satellite sensors in 2004. Credit: NASA.”

Wind-Generated Energy Is Working Well For Us In Iowa. Here’s an excerpt of a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal from Iowa Governor Branstad: “Your recent editorials on the federal wind-energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and renewable portfolio standard (RPS) (“Gouged by the Wind,” May 5 and “Windy Republicans,” May 7) are off the mark. The wind-power industry is an American success story that is helping us build our manufacturing base, create jobs, lower energy costs and strengthen our energy security. As a country, we should support energy diversity and development of all domestic resources, creating an “all of the above” energy strategy. To that end, our state and national energy plans have long relied on varying policies and incentives, such as the PTC and RPS, to deploy technologies that ensure a diverse domestic energy fleet.Iowa has long played a leadership role in developing wind power—a clean, domestic, affordable resource. During my first term as governor, I signed the first RPS in the country, and it continues to drive billions in private investment in Iowa, as well as helping electric consumers.”

Americans Would Pay More For Clean Energy. Would Congress? Here’s a snippet from The Washington Post: “Would Americans be willing to pay more for cleaner electricity? A new study finds that they would — $162 a year extra, on average. But there’s a catch: This “willingness to pay” isn’t evenly spread across the country, which may explain why Congress isn’t eager to pass a clean-electricity bill. Last year, a trio of researchers from Yale and Harvard conducted a national survey asking Americans a very simple question: Would they be interested in a law that required utilities to get 80 percent of their electricity from low-carbon sources such as wind, solar and nuclear by 2035? Different respondents were given different descriptions of the bill and different price tags. (After all, low-carbon energy often costs more.) The results were recently published in Nature Climate Change. And, on average, $162 a year extra was the breaking point. That’s what Americans would pay.”
Photo credit above: “Would you pay $162 for this? (Paul Sakuma – AP).”

Hawaii’s Beaches Are In Retreat, And Way Of Life May Follow. Here’s an excerpt fromThe New York Times: “Little by little, Hawaii’s iconic beaches are disappearing. Most beaches on the state’s three largest islands are eroding, and the erosion is likely to accelerate as sea levels rise, the United States Geological Survey is reporting. Though average erosion rates are relatively low — perhaps a few inches per year — they range up to several feet per year and are highly variable from island to island and within each island, agency scientists say. The report says that over the last century, about 9 percent of the sandy coast on the islands of Hawaii, Oahu and Maui has vanished. That’s almost 14 miles of beach.”

Photo credit above: Hawaii from space courtesy of universetoday.com.

Inhofe Staffer Asks Oil Lobbyist “Partners” For “Better Coordination and Communication”. Think Progress has the story: “Republicans are the default choice for oil and gas dollars, having received 88 percent of the industry’s political contributions in 2011. In return, House and Senate Republicans block regulations the industry deems a potential threat. In an April 23 e-mail acquired by National Journal, a staffer for Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) called on the industry to utilize their partnership to coordinate attacks on the White House: Senate Republicans, who led a successful fight this spring against Obama’s proposal to repeal billions of dollars in tax subsidies enjoyed by major oil companies, felt betrayed by the industry’s collaboration with the White House on fracking regulations.”

Earth’s Environment Getting Worse, Not Better, Ahead of Rio+ 20. The Guardian has the story – here’s a clip: “Twenty years on from the Rio Earth summit, the environment of the planet is getting worse not better, according to a report from WWF. Swellingpopulation, mass migration to cities, increasing energy use and soaring carbon dioxide emissions mean humanity is putting a greater squeeze on the planet’s resources then ever before. Particularly hard hit is the diversity of animals and plants, upon which many natural resources such as clean water are based. “The Rio+20 conference next month is an opportunity for the world to get serious about the need for development to become sustainable. Our report indicates that we haven’t yet done that since the last Rio summit,” said David Nussbaum, WWF-UK chief executive.”

Running From Climate Change May Trip Up Some Species, Study Says. Here’s an excerpt from The Boston Herald: “As climate change transforms their habitat, some animals are already on the move. But a new analysis from the University of Washington warns that many species won’t be able to run fast enough to survive a warming world. On average, about 9 percent of the Western Hemisphere’s mammals migrate too slowly to keep pace with the rapid climate shifts expected over the next century, says the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In some areas, including parts of the Appalachian Mountains and the Amazon basin, nearly 40 percent of mammals may be unable to reach safe haven in time.”

Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse Recorded In Octopus DNA. Here’s a fascinating story from Scientific American: “Octopuses have made themselves at home in most of the world’s oceans—from the warmest of tropical seas to the deep, dark reaches around hydrothermal vents. Antarctic species, such as Turquet’s octopuses (Pareledone turqueti), even live slow, quiet lives near the South Pole. But these retiring creatures offer a rare opportunity to help understand how this extreme part of the Earth has changed in recent geologic times—and what climate change might bring there in the near future.”

Chance Of Bangladesh Sinking Under Rising Sea Levels. Here’s an Op Ed from The Financial Express: “Science as a Contact Sport; inside the battle to save Earth’s climate” by Stephen Schneider is an illuminating book by a world renowned climate scientist and professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. In 2007, Schneider received the Nobel Peace Price on behalf of the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), along with Al Gore. His book is a recounting of his efforts over three decades to get the US government and the rest of the world to pay attention to climate change science. The basic question which climate science has tried to answer is: how serious is climate change? But communicating a scientific answer to this question has been impossible, Schneider says, as politicians, journalists and the average person on the street does not understand that scientific predictions and models of climate change can only predict probabilities of particular outcomes.” Photo above: NASA.

Climate Change Believers Split From Heartland Institute. An update from slate.com: “On Friday, the libertarian, Chicago-based Heartland Institute made a routine-sounding announcement. It would “spin off its insurance research project effective May 31.” The D.C.-based Center on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate would break off; its director, Eli Lehrer, would found some new project. “We urge any individual, foundation, and corporation with an interest in insurance and related finance issues to contribute to Eli’s new organization once it is up and running,” said Heartland President Joseph Bast in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with Eli in the future.” Today, the spin-off — dubbed the R Street Institute — sent out a statement from its spokesman, R.J. Lehmann. Most of it was boilerplate about how the team of six Heartland refugees would keep working on “much the same portfolio of issues we already have been.”

On Climate Change, A Need For A Realistic Plan. Here’s a snippet from an Op Ed atThe Montreal Gazette: “Despite sustained misgivings within party and caucus ranks, the federal Conservative government has, however reluctantly, come around to acknowledging that human-generated greenhouse gases are a driving factor in global climate change that is becoming increasingly evident and undeniable. What is still lacking, however, is a comprehensive approach to the problem and adequate information to educate the Canadian public as to the scope of the effort required to cut those emissions to sustainable levels, and the costs involved. These failings were cast into sharp relief by this month’s report by the federal commissioner of the environment and sustainability, which challenged the government’s assurances that it has an effective climate-change plan in place with an achievable target for greenhouse-gas reduction.”

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ABOUT ME

Paul Douglas: Welcome to the WeatherNation blog. Every day I sift through hundreds of stories, maps, graphics and meteorological web sites, trying to capture some of the most interesting weather nuggets, the stories behind the forecast. I’ll link to stories and share some of the web sites I use. I’m still passionate about the weather, have been ever since Tropical Storm Agnes flooded my home in Lancaster, PA in 1972. I’ve started 5 weather-related companies. “EarthWatch” created the world’s first 3-D weather graphics for TV stations – Steven Spielberg used our software in “Jurassic Park” and “Twister”. My last company, “Digital Cyclone”, personalized weather for cell phones. “My-Cast” was launched in 2001 and is still going strong on iPhone, Android and Blackberry. I sold DCI to Garmin in 2007 so I could focus on my latest venture: WeatherNation. Twitter: @pdouglsweather

Steamy and Stormy Tuesday on Tap

WeatherNation — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:40:55 +0000

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Happy Tuesday everyone, hope all is well and you are enjoying you’re week so far. Thanks to my good friend, Sarah Frakes, from Duluth, MN who snapped this pictures yesterday on the St. Louis River, which dumps into Lake Superior. She was out boating on a lovely evening after an 80° day… the first 80° day of the year! To have an 80° day in Duluth in May is quite rare, hope you enjoyed it!

It’s Alive… It’s ALIVE… IT’S ALIVE!

After a deep winter slumber, the tropics are alive and earlier than usual. The official hurricane season doesn’t start until June 1st and the Eastern Pacific is alive with Tropical Storm Aletta. This is the first time 1996 that we’ve had a tropical storm form before the official start to hurricane season.

“On May 12, the NHC reported that a tropical disturbance formed, about 550 miles south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. The storm quickly moved northwest before stalling, and then began to strengthen rapidly.”

See more from Earth Snapshot HERE:

Keeping it Tropical

Thanks to the National Weather Service out of Miami for sharing this on their Facebook page. This was the scene from West Palm Beach earlier Tuesday. Look out! It’s a waterspout!

See more from Miami HERE:

Foggy Start in the East

After a few rounds of rain and calm winds overnight, several folks in the east woke up to patchy (dense) fog. This was the scene from the Shelby County Airport in Birmingham AL. Thanks to the National Weather Service in Birmingham for sharing this photo on their Facebook page.

See More HERE

Rain Continues in the Northeast

The forecast today calls for more (heavier) rain in the Northeast with precipitation forecast getting close to 1″ to 2″ in spots through today’s calendar date… don’t forget something waterproof.

Precipitation Forecast

Today’s precipitation forecast from the HPC (Hydrological Prediction Center) is suggesting the heaviest rainfall across the Northeast today.

Today’s Severe Threat

Today’s severe threat will be limited, but continues along the Eastern Seaboard with an isolated hail, high wind and tornado threat. There is an additional front that has the potential to kick out a few strong storms with wind and hail exceeding severe criteria. 1″ diameter hail (the size of a quarter) and 58mph winds or greater.

Beauty in Bayfield, WI

Thanks to another good friend of mine, Ryan Pauly, for this picture who woke up in Bayfield, WI to this! Looks very peaceful, Ryan.

Prehistoric Fish Caught

Thanks to my good friend, Joe Buckley, for sending me this shot from Ottertial Lake in western MN. He caught this 25lbs. sturgeon!

Heating Up Across Much of the USA (rain slowly tapers east)

WeatherNation — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:02:46 +0000

“Don’t look for your dreams to come true; look to become true to your dreams.” – Michael Beckwith

Tuesday Severe Threat. A weak clipper-like intrusion of Canadian air may spark a few strong to severe storms from Madison to Milwaukee, Rockford and Chicago later today. Map courtesy of SPC.

“Research at Texas Tech University and elsewhere has shown that only masonry or reinforced concrete walls can protect against lethal flying debris that might be encountered during a tornado with wind speeds up to 130 mph.” from a Houston Chronicle story below.

“The best guess now is that a worst-case rise of 2 feet is no longer in the cards. The likely increase in sea level by 2100 now stands at 3 feet, with worst-case scenarios going as high as 6 feet. Three feet would threaten many coastal cities around the world with frequent, powerful floods, as the mildest of storms could send water coursing through streets and into buildings. Six feet could make large parts of major cities — Miami, New Orleans, Shanghai, Bangkok and many more — essentially uninhabitable.” – from a Climate Central article; details below.

Least Polluted Cities In The U.S. Ranked In State Of The Air 2012. Duluth came in at #19. Way to represent! Here’s a story from Huffington Post: “Are you and your neighbors breathing healthy air? American Lung Association has released their State Of The Air 2012 report, detailing cities with the least and most air pollution in America. Each city is ranked by ozone pollution, short-term particle pollution, and year-long particle pollution. Below are the report’s “Top 25 Least Polluted Cities By Year-Round Particle Pollution.” Although many problem regions still exist, the report shows that all but three of the most ozone-polluted cities improved air quality, and over 50% of the worst smog-makers were having their best year thus far.”

Photo credit above: Flickr image courtesy of kla4067

Fun Weather Fact: The windiest place in the world is Port Martin, Antarctica, which has an average wind speed over a year of 64 km/h (40 mph). It experiences gale force 8 winds (39-46 mph) for over a hundred days a year! Credit: Facebook and the Marquette, Michigan office of The National Weather Service.

Must-See Tornado Video. This is definitely worth a couple minutes of your time: “Last week a waterspout came ashore in Grand Isle, Louisiana causing damage. CAPT. KEITH “HERK” BERGERON captured this amazing video. It gets extremely intense about 4:35 in. You actually see a house get blown apart. Thankfully, Capt. Bergeron wasn’t injured getting this footage. Click here to watch the video. ”

5 Deadliest Hurricanes Wreaked Havoc. Here’s a great hurricane history lesson fromKXLY.com: “Hurricane season starts June 1 of every year and ends on Nov 30 of every year, with an average of 5.9 hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean each year.Hurricanes that cause extreme destruction are rare, but when they do occur, they can cause significant property damage and/or thousands of fatalities. Below are the five deadliest known Atlantic hurricanes.”

Great Hurricane of 1780

“The deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record is the Great Hurricane of 1780. The storm passed through the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean between Oct. 10 and Oct. 16, 1780, killing more than 25,000 people. The hurricane struck Barbados with wind gusts that possibly exceeded 200 mph before it moved past Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Sint Eustatius; thousands of deaths were reported on each island.”

Photo Of The Day: “CBs”. Popular in the aviation community, the expression “CB” is slang for cumulonimbus, or thunderheads. Thanks to Edward Sklar for passing this one along – more at Facebook.

Chinese Space Station Transits The Sun. Here’s an excerpt from a story atspaceweather.com: “Solar photographers have grown accustomed to winged spaceships flying in front of the sun. For years, silhouettes of space shuttles and the International Space Station have flitted across the solar disk, producing photo-opsof rarebeauty. Now China’s space station, the Tiangong-1 (“Heavenly Palace 1″), is joining the show. On May 11th, perhaps for the first time, Thierry Legault of Paris, France, caught the newcomer transiting the sun.”

Scale Of The Universe. I’m feeling even smaller and more insignificant than usual. Nope, my wife didn’t call – I checked out this amazing web site that provides a sense of scale, from the micro to the macro, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Thanks and kudos to Michael and Cary Huang for sharing this at htwins.net.

Redefining Cute. How cool is this, courtesy of Denali National Park and Preserve: “Traffic is picking up on the park road this week. Yield to Denali’s newcomers as they learn their way around.”

______________________________________________________________

ABOUT ME

Paul Douglas: Welcome to the WeatherNation blog. Every day I sift through hundreds of stories, maps, graphics and meteorological web sites, trying to capture some of the most interesting weather nuggets, the stories behind the forecast. I’ll link to stories and share some of the web sites I use. I’m still passionate about the weather, have been ever since Tropical Storm Agnes flooded my home in Lancaster, PA in 1972. I’ve started 5 weather-related companies. “EarthWatch” created the world’s first 3-D weather graphics for TV stations – Steven Spielberg used our software in “Jurassic Park” and “Twister”. My last company, “Digital Cyclone”, personalized weather for cell phones. “My-Cast” was launched in 2001 and is still going strong on iPhone, Android and Blackberry. I sold DCI to Garmin in 2007 so I could focus on my latest venture: WeatherNation. Twitter name: @pdouglasweather

Hot and Mostly Quiet Week Ahead

WeatherNation — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:03:13 +0000

Monday, May 14th, 2012

Thanks to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park for sharing this picture on their Facebook page, see more HERE

“Our recent rain and warm temperatures has triggered many cactus blooms in some areas of the park. Come by and experience spring in the Guadalupe Mountains.”

See more about the Guadalupe Mountains National Park HERE

HOT HOT HOT

The National Weather Service has issued EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCHES/WARNINGS until Tuesday for locations highlighted below. Temperatures could soar to 110°!

Forecast Highs Today

Extended Heat

Why So Warm?

A large ridge of high pressure in the west is allowing record to near record heat to bubble as far north as Portland, OR. The forecast today calls for 88° and the record for today’s date is 86° set in 1973

Ridge Kills Severe Threat

The dominant ridge of high pressure out west is killing (for the most part) any severe weather chance across the Plains states. Isolated strong to severe storms may pop up across southwest Texas today.

Sunday afternoon a tornado touched down in the mountain village of Magdalena, New Mexico. Check out this incredible photo from Mark Ronchetti, Chief Meteorologist KRQE News 13 & KASA Fox 2 Albuquerque shared by the National Weather Service Southern Region HQ on Facebook.

Minor damage was reported after a tornado hit near Pensacola, Florida Saturday night.

This was taken by a friend of my sister down Old Gulf Beach Hwy in Pensacola. twitter.com/stephenbowersW…

— Stephen Bowers (@stephenbowersWX) May 13, 2012

Here’s another view before it came on land from @MegssStephens

Amazing Tornado Video

This is MUST SEE video! Not sure I would get this close to a tornado to get video, but stunning none the less!

Last week a waterspout came ashore in Grand Isle, Louisiana causing damage. CAPT. KEITH “HERK” BERGERON captured this amazing video. It gets extremely intense about 4:35 in. You actually see a house get blown apart. Thankfully, Capt. Bergeron wasn’t injured getting this footage. Click here to watch the video.

Arizona Fire

“CROWN KING, Ariz. – Crews spent the weekend fighting several wildfires, including a 4½ square-mile blaze in northern Arizona that prompted evacuations in a historic mining community.”

Read more HERE

Thanks for checking in on this Monday, don’t forget to share your photos with us on website

Check us out on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter!

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWNTV

-Meteorologist Todd Nelson-

Hot Temps Out West & Minimal Severe Weather Nationwide

WeatherNation — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:59:48 +0000

Larger Than Life

Thanks to Beautiful Planet for sharing this picture on their facebook page. Quiet an amazing shot!

See more HERE:

Rocky Mountain National Park

Thanks to the Rocky Mountain National Park for sharing this on their Facebook page, see more HERE:

“SNOW in MAY? A mountain bluebird, male, ponders the precipitation. (photo by VIP Hahn) 5/11“

Mother’s Day Sunshine

WOW! What a weekend!! Can’t believe we actually managed to sneak a keeper weekend after having nearly a months worth of crummy ones. This was the satellite over the Upper Midwest Sunday afternoon.

Heating Up

Temperatures in the western half of the nation will be heating up through the week, some of which will be spilling out into the Plains through the week. Get ready for a slow and steady climb in those heat and humidity values. I predict that some close to home will probably start using the A/C very soon. Below are several forecast snapshots of temperatures a few thousand feet off the ground throughout the week. Note how the bubble of warmth gets warmer and expands through mid May.

Monday 850mb Temps

Wednesday 850mb Temps

Friday 850mb Temps

Excessive Heat in the Desert Southwest

Temperatures in the Desert Southwest are expected to warm into the triple digits through the early week. The National Weather Service is warning residents of the upcoming heat.

May Stays Hot Out West

The extended GFS Forecast is suggesting that the end of the month could be even hotter over a larger number of locations out west. Some of that heat will likely spill out into the Plains… stay tuned!

Temps Next Tuesday

Severe Threat Monday

A few strong to severe storms may bubble up across Texas, but no widespread or organized areas of severe storms are expected across the nation anytime soon.

4 to 8 Day Severe Outlook

Thanks to the large ridge of high pressure (large bubble of heat) out west, the severe threat over the next several days is expected to be very minimal through the week.

5 Day Precipitation Outlook

The Hydrological Prediction Center precipitation forecat shows heavier rain across the Eastern Seaboard early this week with another smaller blob of moisture across Texas. Other than that, things are looking pretty dry this week… you might have to start watering soon!

Mother’s Day Weather

WeatherNation — Sun, 13 May 2012 10:01:18 +0000

A wide variety of weather conditions around the nation for this Mother’s Day. Several cities held the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure this past weekend. Participants in the upper Midwest were treated to a beautiful day. Thousands of runners and walkers gathered in Minneapolis, MN. With temperatures climbing to the low 70s this afternoon, it was comfortable without being too hot.

Some photos from morning:

Minneapolis, MN

Picture by: @Hand2DaHairline

Minneapolis, MN

Picture by: @shannolan

Plenty of pink in Pittsburg, PA as well this morning. The weather here wasn’t quite as cooperative as it was in Minneapolis with a few more clouds and cooler conditions. The rain did hold off though until the later morning hours.

Pittsburg, PA

Picture by: @loveyoubeee

Elsewhere around the country, persistent and prolonged periods of rain continue to impact the Ohio Valley and the Southeast. Mother’s Day festivities will be moving indoors in these areas! Some stronger storms reported off the pan handle of Florida this morning. Several waterspouts were seen off the coast from this system.

The rest of the region won’t have to deal with severe storms, but most places won’t escape the rain today.

There was a report of a brief touchdown of a tornado in Escambia County, Florida this morning. No reports of any injuries or serious damage.

Turbulent skies over Florida as well.

St. Petersburg, FL

Picture by: Greg Harper

On the opposite side of the nation, temperatures continue to rise. It was a hot day yesterday and today will be even warmer and into early next week.

Phoenix will be one of the hot spots with high temperatures climbing over 100 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a Excessive Heat Watch for the area for Tuesday afternoon. That will be the warmest day of the week ahead with a projected high of 104°.

View of the city this morning from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Just in case you might be disappointed about weather in your area (too hot or too rainy), here is something to lift your spirits. All the way up in Barrow, AK it is cold (as usual) and it has been cold for quite some time (as usual). The air temperature in Barrow has remained below freezing since last fall (Oct. 9 to be specific). And there is still over a foot of snow on the ground!

The view over Barrow this morning:

http://seaice.alaska.edu/gi/observatories/barrow_webcam

This camera is pointing north and, according to the website, there is a period during the summer when the coast is ice-free. It sure doesn’t seem like that will be anytime soon! Temperature at the time this image was captured on the webcam was 24°.

Now a little bit rain doesn’t sound so bad!

Happy Mother’s Day!

A Rare Sunny Day!

WeatherNation — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:31:00 +0000

The sun came out in full force today across the western US. A notoriously cloudy place is Forks, WA. (Recently most famous for the setting of the Twilight series of books and movies). It is, in fact, one of the cloudiest places in the entire country. The author of this series chose the setting of Forks because of its cloudy reputation. For the folks not familiar with Forks, it is located in the northwest corner of Olympic National Park:

But no clouds in sight today:

Now for the numbers from the State Climatology office in Washington. The folks in Forks endure more rain each year than any other city in the state.

Wettest (annual): Forks (119.7″)
Wettest (month): Baring (average November precipitation: 18.94″).

Not only does that region get more than their share of rain, it also very cloudy compared to elsewhere around the nation. Each month only features a few completely clear days, on average:

Month	Avg. Cloud Cover	Days Clear	Days Partly Cloudy	Days Cloudy
1	6.4	4.1	5.0	22.0
2	6.3	3.9	5.3	19.3
3	6.2	3.5	8.1	19.4
4	6.1	3.6	8.1	18.3
5	6.1	3.1	10.0	18.0
6	6.1	3.3	9.1	17.6
7	5.5	5.3	11.0	14.7
8	5.2	6.1	10.9	13.9
9	4.8	8.0	10.2	11.8
10	5.7	5.1	9.6	16.3
11	6.4	3.1	6.6	20.3
12	6.4	4.2	5.7	21.0

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the sunniest place in the country is (you probably guessed it) in the Southwest. No surprise here. Sunshine abounds in this region today as well. Yuma, AZ is the sunniest city in the country with the average of sunny days out of the year at 90%. The Grand Canyon will be heating up today as highs approach the low 80s. Hikers will need to stay hydrated!

Ranking	City	% of Sunny Days
1	YUMA, AZ	90%
2	REDDING, CA	88%
3	LAS VEGAS, NV	85%
4	PHOENIX, AZ	85%
5	TUCSON, AZ	85%
6	EL PASO, TX	84%

Data from the NCDC.

Today will be no exception to this pattern as the southwest will be feeling the heat. The National Weather Service has already issued Excessive Heat Warning for Yuma and surrounding areas.

Even outside of the warned area, temperatures will soar into the 90s.

Moms – find a shady spot and enjoy this Mother’s Day weekend!

Continue to check back here from more weather updates.

Storms Batter Texas and Looking at Mothers Day

WeatherNation — Sat, 12 May 2012 06:52:10 +0000

Friday Storm Reports. Strong to severe T-storms swept across Texas yesterday, as many as 4 tornado touchdowns reported in the Brownsville area, hail up to 2″ in diameter north of Dallas. Click here for an interactive map, courtesy of NOAA and Ham Weather. The threat of severe storms lingers in the Houston area through the morning hours today.

Meteorological Miracle. Yesterday’s blustery cool front is pushing east, plenty of sun for the Upper Midwest today and Mother’s Day. The northeast warms up, the next chance of showers late Sunday into Tuesday for much of the eastern seaboard. Meanwhile record heat settles over the Pacific Northwest over the weekend with the warmest temperatures of the year so far. NAM model data courtesy of NOAA.

Record Rainfalls For Some in Minnesota To Start Early May. Here’s an excerpt of the latest WeatherTalk entry from Dr. Mark Seeley: “According to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center over the first 7 days of May, Minnesota weather observers reported 62 new daily rainfall records, an exceptionally large quantity of records for such a short period of time. Some examples of the record amounts of rainfall include:

May 1st: 1.73 inches at St Cloud Airport
May 2nd: 2.05 inches at Windom and 2.10 inches at Elk River
May 3rd: 2.21 inches at Zumbrota and Wabasha
May 4th: 1.70 inches at Amboy
May 5th: 2.41 inches at Winnebago and 2.33 inches at Sherburn
May 6th: 2.78 inches at Marshall, 2.86 inches at Hawley, 3.06 inches at Redwood Falls, 3.50 inches at Hastings, and 3.62 inches at Pipestone

The 3.62 inches of rainfall reported at Pipestone on May 6th was a new state record for the date, beating the 3.48 inches that fell at Minneota on May 6, 1983.

Chicago Weather Trivia. Here’s a Friday tweet from WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling – another (very) warm month shaping up for The Windy City

April Warming Trends. Here’s an interesting nugget (and YouTube animation) from NOAA: “After a decade of warmer than average Aprils in the U.S., few highest monthly maximum temperature records for April remain from the 20th Century. This image plots the decade in which the highest average April temperature record was set for different regions of the country, starting in 1911 (i.e., 1911-1920) and running through 2010, using data from the NOAA National Climatic Center’s detailed archives. The records broken in 2011 and 2012 are shown separately. Most of the pixel colors are associated with the 2001-2010, 2011 and 2012 time periods. Gray indicates no data (records) are associated with that area of the country.“

Stunning Waterspout Images From Louisiana. I can’t recall the last time I saw 4 waterspouts in the same photo. Climate Central has a terrific article about the recent rash of waterspouts (tornadoes over water) off the coast of Louisiana; here’s an excerpt: “Severe weather affected Louisiana on Wednesday, with a damaging tornado in Grand Isle, and simultaneous occurrences of multiple waterspouts over the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The waterspouts — technically tornadoes over water — were caught on camera by a National Weather Service employee and many others. For background info on waterspouts, check out this video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”

Upper left photo credit: “Twin waterspouts seen off the coast of Grand Isle, La., on May 9. Click on image for a larger version. Credit: Capt. Danny Wray, via NWS/Facebook.”

Upper right photo credit: “Four waterspouts seen at once off the La. coast on May 9. Credit: WRAL Mike Maze via Facebook.”

Waterspout, Haboobs And More. Here’s a great article (and waterspout explanation) from meteorologist Jason Samenow at The Washington Post: “Waterspouts are defined as tornadoes over water but can form under different circumstances – either in fair weather or in tornadic thunderstorms. NOAA explains: The tornadic waterspouts may often begin as tornadoes over land and then move over water. They also form in severe thunderstorms over a body of water. They can wreak havoc with high winds, hail, and dangerous lightning.

Photo credit above: “Twin waterspouts offshore Grand Isle, La. (Tim Osborn, NOAA ).”

“Mammatus”. Photo from the Bismarck National Weather Service, via Mark Zuckerberg: “Mammatus clouds that rolled through Minot during last night’s thunderstorms. Photo courtesy of Sean K.”

Most Expensive Weather Disasters Of 2012. 7 of the top 14 weather disasters worldwide during the first 4 months of 2012 were in the USA. Chart courtesy of Aon Benfield.

Russian Satellite Presents The Earth From Top To Bottom (Imagery). This never gets old, seeing Earth from space. Here’s a new perspective (from a Russian weather satellite). Details from The Capital Weather Gang: “Who doesn’t love NASA’s stunning “Blue Marble” full disc images of Earth? We now have a new source of high definition hemisphere-spanning imagery: the Russians. Their new geostationary satellite, Electro-L, launched in January 2011, produces ultra-high resolution images of our planet, 121 megapixels to be exact. Gizmodo provides more details on Electro-L: Elektro-L is now orbiting Earth on a geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers [~22,000 miles] above the equator, sending photographs of the entire planet every 30 minutes using a 2.56 to 16.36 Mbits per second connection with ground control. The images—and the video of the Northern Hemisphere—combines four light wavelengths, three visible and one infrared.”

Photo credit above: “Full disc satellite image of Earth from Russian Electro-L satellite (Russian Earth Observation centre).

Hail And High Water Grips South Texas. Here’s some wild video from AP, showing the flash flooding and large hail that pounded the Corpus Chrisi area of south Texas late Thursday: “Hail and heavy rains pounded Corpus Cristi, Texas on Thursday. One resident took advantage of the flooded streets to go street-surfing. (May 11).”

Driving Through A “Haboob”. Funny word huh? It’s Arabic. Are these on the increase or in a YouTube world are we just doing a better job of capturing the sandstorms that have always been there? Same question with tornadoes. Wish I had a good answer. Here’s some YouTube footage from the Phoenix area – these massive sandstorms (often triggered by thunderstorm downdrafts whipping up sand and dust) can drop visibilities close to zero at times: “Driving home through a miles wide AZ dust storm.”

Failing Satellites Jeopardize Weather Forecasting, Report Says. God help us if we lose our Eye in the Sky and can no longer monitor weather from a constellation of satellites. More from The L.A. Times: “WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. satellites watching Earth is expected to plummet by 2020, and weather forecasting, including hurricane tracking, could suffer as a result, a new report warns. The study, released last week by the nation’s top science advisors, estimated that the fleet of science satellites operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would “decline precipitously” from a peak of 110 probes last year to fewer than 30 in 2020. The drop is a result of several factors, including budget problems and rocket accidents, and scientists said the United States risked blurring its vision of Earth if it did not act quickly to replace satellites expected to die during the next eight years.”

Photo credit above: “Science satellites operated by NASA and NOAA track a broad range of environmental markers, including the thinning of ice sheets and changes in cloud cover and temperature. (NASA / June 26, 2010).”

House Slashes Funding Increase For NOAA Climate Website. Meteorologist Jason Samenow at The Washington Post has more details: “Of a possible $1.4 billion dollars in proposed spending cuts in the Departments of Commerce and Justice for 2013, the U.S. House Representatives voted to approve none of them. None of them except a piddly $542,000 for a NOAA climate website. The amendment was approved 219-189 Tuesday evening TheHill.com reported. The NOAA “climate website” is Climate.gov – a portal to NOAA’s climate information. The website – currently in a prototype stage – provides a rich set of climate information, tools, and data resources. With a little investment, it has the potential to provide tremendous benefits to decision makers.”

When Disaster Strikes The Nursing Home. Here’s an excerpt of a New York Times story: “As hailstones the size of golf balls beat thunderously on the roof of the nursing home, an urgent announcement rang out from the loudspeakers. “Everyone needs to go out into the halls now,” Kaye Russell, 70, remembers a nurse’s assistant saying. Staff members began rolling patients in wheelchairs through the doorway. “Put your heads down; arms over your head, everyone.” “Everybody was crying and praying,” said Ms. Russell, who has multiple sclerosis and had been recovering from a bout of pneumonia at the facility, Green Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Arlington, Tex. Suddenly, the roof began to shake, windows blew out and the nursing home was filled with a trainlike roar. Ms. Russell’s daughter, Lori Coakley, a physical therapist at the facility, rushed down the hall and threw herself on top of her mother.” Photo: Randy Widmayer.

Over The Rainbow. Thanks to Joseph Rudd from Central Kentucky Interiors in Muir Station, KY for passing this one along.

Vegas Sunrise, Texas Storms & Weather Fit For A Prince

WeatherNation — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:52:39 +0000

Warming Trend. The 6-10 Day temperatures outlook from CPC, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, shows a strong warm bias from eastern Minnesota into New England next week – that should translate into a streak of 70s, even a few 80s. Map: Ham Weather.

“Vegas Sunrise”. Thanks to Thomas Dodson for passing this one along – very nice.

April Heat. Although not as extreme as March, April set hot-weather records across much of the west and southwest. All-time April monthly record highs were tied or broken at the following locations:

Phoenix, Arizona: 105°F on April 22 (previous 105° April temperatures occurred on 4/20/1989 and 4/29/1992)
Las Vegas, Nevada: 99°F on April 22 (tying old record set 4/30/1981)
Reno, Nevada: 90° on April 23 (old record 89° 4/30/1981)
Elko, Nevada: 87° on April 22 (old record 86° 4/30/1981). This also beat the previous so-warm-so-early-in-the-season record by 4°.
Ely, Nevada: 86° on April 22 (old record 82° 4/28/1992)
Winnemucca, Nevada: 90° on April 22 and 23 (tying old record set 4/30/1981)
Death Valley, California: 113° on April 22 and 23 (tying old record set on April 24, 1946). This temperature may also tie the U.S. national record for the month of April if one disavows a suspicious reading of 118° from Volcano Springs, California in April of 1898.
Grand Junction, Colorado: 89° on April 23 and 24 (tying all-time April record also set on 4/29 and 4/30, 1992)
Amarillo, Texas: 99° on April 25 (old April record 98° on 4/22/1989 and 4/22/1965)
Lubbock, Texas: 104° on April 25 (old April record 100° on 4/16/1925 and /22/1989)
Midland, Texas: 104° on April 25 (old April record 101° on 4/21/1989)
Abilene, Texas: 104° on April 25 (old April record 102° on 4/16/1925)
Childress, Texas: 106° (old April record 102° on three occasions, most recently on 4/3/2011)
The month was the hottest April on record for much of northern Texas (again):

Drought Hits Spain’s Wheat Crop. Dry weather is becoming a problem across parts of Europe; hardest hit: Spain.

Grain crops in Spain are suffering after an unusually dry autumn and winter. The amount of rainfall has been just half of normal in key grain producing regions.
In late April, increasing rainfall has started to improve the situation, particularly in the northern half of the country. If rain continues to fall regularly throughout May, there’s a chance that barley and wheat yields could rebound.
Spain is not the only European country grappling with a weak wheat crop. Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and other countries will likely see reduced yields as well due to dry weather. A cold spell at the end of February in Poland and Germany has also harmed crops.

Image Of The Day: Ice Melting On Russia’s Lake Baikal. Details from NASA’s Earth Observatory: “For several months each year, Russia’s Lake Baikal is covered by a thick layer of ice. Formation begins in late-December, and by mid-January the entire lake is usually blanketed. Come spring, the lake begins its long, slow melt. Patches of open water usually appear in the southern part of the lake in early May and move progressively northward. But it isn’t usually until late June that the last remnants of the ice have disappeared from the northern reaches of the lake.”

Texas Tornadoes. More than half a dozen tornado touchdowns were reported Thursday from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. For an interactive map of hail, damaging wind and tornado reports, clickhere. Map courtesy of Ham Weather.

Better Forecasts Are On The Radar For Duluth. Every NWS Doppler is getting a software/hardware upgrade to “dual-pol”; the Duluth News Tribune has details: “The radar at the National Weather Service office in Duluth will be out of order for a few days but will come back online better than ever. Crews are installing a new type of radar, called dual polarization, that will be better able to detect heavy rain that could cause flash floods, see through storms to identify the debris clouds caused by tornadoes and even tell the subtle difference between rain, sleet and snow. It’s part of a $50 million upgrade to the U.S. radar system that will see all 160 National Weather Service and military radars upgraded to dual polarization.”

Photo credit above: “The National Weather Service Duluth office radar dish as seen inside the large radar dome. The radar is being upgraded to give forecasters more live data on severe thunderstorms, rain and winter storms. The dish pointed straight up to allow crews to install the upgraded equipment. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com).”

Hurricane Irene Ranked Most Costly Category 1 Storm. Meteorologist Andrew Freedman at Climate Central has more details: “Hurricane Irene, which first made landfall in North Carolina on August 27, and went on to cause devastating flooding in several Northeastern states, is now ranked as the costliest Category One storm to strike the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Irene caused $15.8 billion in damage, much of it due to inland flooding. This ranking is a testament to how much expensive real estate the storm struck, as it marched up the eastern seaboard, passed directly over New York City, and swept through northern New England.”

Hubble To Use Moon As Giant Mirror To Observe Venus Transit. This is pretty cool – here’s an except from a post at gizmag.com: “From Earth’s perspective, on June 5 and 6, Venus will pass across the face of the Sun. By observing the tiny fraction of sunlight that passes through Venus’s atmosphere using the Hubble Space Telescope, it is hoped that the planet’s atmospheric makeup can be determined. Though we already know the nature of Venus’s atmosphere, it is hoped the event will help astronomers hone techniques, already in use, that may one day help to identify Earth-like planets in far-away solar systems. The catch? Hubble cannot observe the Sun directly. Instead it will look at the Moon to observe reflected light.”

Weather Fit For A Prince? Prince Charles doing the weather on TV? I think the seventh seal has been broken now. If Snooki winds up anchoring the NBC Nightly News I’m heading for the hills. More (including a video) from TVNewser. Hey, he did an admirable job! “Viewers of the BBC News in Scotland received quite a surprise today. The regular weather anchor took a break, and instead the forecast was delivered a by a special guest: The Prince of Wales himself, Prince Charles.”