You are browsing the archive for December 2014 - Page 2 of 2 - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal.
9 December 2014
Beware the Juice of Freshly Picked California Cherries
There has been some talk about a report on the California drought that was released this week, and it’s worth talking about the reaction to it. One thing that seems to have gotten particular attention is the following statement: “The current drought is not part of a long-term change in California precipitation, which exhibits no appreciable trend since 1895. Key oceanic features that caused precipitation inhibiting atmospheric ridging off the …
6 December 2014
What You Missed In Science This Week
Unfalsifiable Belief- The Dark Side of Reason This piece on a recently published paper (in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2014. DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000018) is a must read. Click the image to read it. Could this explain the faulty reasoning of those who refuse to accept the truth that greenhouse gases are warming the atmosphere, and those white lines behind jet aircraft are not government mind control chemicals? What do …
4 December 2014
Hole Punch Clouds Over Maryland (Updated with new info.)
This “Hole Punch Cloud” was spotted over Somerset County Maryland today, and the technical name meteorologists use is “Fall Streak Hole”. They are rather rare, and happen when super-cooled water in a cloud suddenly freezes. The freezing can be started by the introduction of some ice crystals and then the super-cooled water freezes, and falls out as ice crystals. Liquid water at temperatures well below freezing is actually fairly common …
3 December 2014
2014 Poised To Take Title as Hottest Year On Record
It is almost certain now that 2014 will be among the hottest years on record globally. The NASA (and NOAA), numbers are showing that it will likely be the absolute hottest, but it does depend on December temperatures. It would have to be an unusually cool December globally for a record to not be reached, and that is very unlikely based on how how warm the oceans are right now. …
I Could Have told The NWS in Indiana That Posting that Was a BIG Mistake
Any broadcast meteorologist would know that posting this would set off the chemtrail loonies, and indeed it did. I suspect the NWS forecasters knew what they were getting into , but should we let a bunch of silly conspiracy believers keep us from posting something interesting about science? No, of course not, but it does scare me that these folks get to vote. For my fellow mets- get the …
2 December 2014
Seems It Finally Rains In Southern California (and it snows too!)
Heavy rain and snow is moving into California tonight, as an intense surface/upper level low pressure system taps warm tropical air to the south and shoves it into California. California gets most of its rain in winter and you might be surprised to know that most if it comes from just 5-6 storms. The water vapor imagery from the GOES shows the storm well. Keep in mind that you are …
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.