Advertisement

You are browsing the archive for August 2014 - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal.

31 August 2014

How Hot Is Your City?

You’ve probably heard about the urban heat island effect, but I bet you do not realize is how much it affects your weather (and how much it costs you in cooling costs). The folks at Climate Central put out a report this month that breaks down how large the temperature differences are between some cities, and the rural areas surrounding them. The report makes it obvious that we are paying a …

Read More >>

5 Comments/Trackbacks >>


26 August 2014

GOES 14 Rapid Scan images of Hurricane Cristobal

This is the kind of satellite imagery we will see daily when GOES R launches in 2016, and it will be even higher resolution spatially and temporally. GOES 14 is a spare satellite that is turned on and checked out from time to time. It can take one minute rapid scan images. GOES R will be able to do this at two spots simultaneously.   Post by NOAA NWS Weather …

Read More >>

No Comments/Trackbacks >>


Intrigued by Earthquakes and Volcanoes? It’s Easy to Become Geologically Literate

Meteorologists in general do not know much about Geology, but broadcast mets are usually the first person newsroom producers (and the public) turn to when there is an earthquake, tsunami, meteor showers etc.  I had a couple of great courses in Geology working on my masters, and a field trip to the Washington State was a fantastic learning experience, and it left me with a lifelong fascination of rocks and …

Read More >>

4 Comments/Trackbacks >>


23 August 2014

July Heat and Misleading Headlines

This past July was the 4th hottest on record and for the 38th July in a row, the global temperature in July was above the average July temperature in the 20th century. Not only that but the same thing has happened for the last 358 consecutive months, and that’s pretty amazing when you think about it. You may have seen some headlines this week about a “global warming pause” that …

Read More >>

No Comments/Trackbacks >>


22 August 2014

10% of Iceland Closed as Concern Over Volcano Grows

Concern is increasing tonight that the Bararbunga (BOWR-Thar Boon-Ka) volcano may be getting ready to erupt. Earthquakes continue, and these type of quakes indicate that magma (Lava with high pressure gases) is moving beneath the volcano, which is much larger than the one that caused serious air travel disruptions a few years ago. Late today, Icelandic officials declared about 10% of Iceland off-limits, and is evacuating residents, hikers and campers …

Read More >>

4 Comments/Trackbacks >>


18 August 2014

Camille Struck 45 Years Ago Tonight

The stagnant muggy heat of August began to break 45 years ago today on the coast of Mississippi, as clouds and winds increased. Later that evening the world turned upside down as a 30 foot wall of water whipped by winds of an incredible 190 mph changed the Mississippi Coast forever.Hurricane Camille was one of the most violent hurricanes ever to hit the mainland U.S., and it still ranks with …

Read More >>

No Comments/Trackbacks >>


13 August 2014

Crazy Summer Weather pattern Is About To Flip

The summer of 2014 has been unusually mild in the Midwest and portions of the East, and brutally hot and dry in the West. The heat and drought in the NW corner of North America has led to raging forest fires that have spread dense smoke over the northeast and across the Atlantic to France, and the drought in California has reached the worst possible level: exceptional drought. Mother Nature is …

Read More >>

2 Comments/Trackbacks >>


11 August 2014

Snow,Cold, and Drought: The Coming Winter Might Be Brutal

I’ve spent the weekend looking at how the coming winter may turn out, and before I go any farther, let me say that long-range forecasts can turn out to be horribly wrong. Let me repeat that: long-range forecasts can turn out to be horribly wrong. That said, there are some fascinating indications that the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. may be in for a cold and wet/icy winter, while the drought in …

Read More >>

No Comments/Trackbacks >>


10 August 2014

How Weather and Climate Models Work- or Why Meteorologists Learn Calculus

Numerical weather models have come light years over the  last 30 years, and despite what you may think, they make it possible to make very accurate weather forecasts for as much as 5-7 days into the future possible. Have you ever wondered just how they work? It’s not something that you can cover in a few paragraphs, but it is not all that hard to get a basic understanding of …

Read More >>

No Comments/Trackbacks >>


8 August 2014

This Is Why Canada and The West Are Burning

NASA posted this map of the temperature anomalies over North America for July, and you can easily see why we there is so much wildfire activity in the U.S. West and Canada North. This is why dense smoke is travelling thousands of miles to the Eastern Seaboard. The heat out west has now pushed much of California into Exceptional Drought” status.

Read More >>

4 Comments/Trackbacks >>