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24 February 2020
Looking for Loopholes and Getting Lost On Mount Stupid!
When the famous 1930’s comedian W. C. Fields was dying in a hospital, a friend came to visit him. She was shocked to see the notorious atheist reading a Bible as she walked in. “What are you doing with that?” she asked. W. C. Fields replied “Looking for loopholes!”. This describes a whole group of people on social media whose worldview will not allow that every major scientific body on …
13 February 2020
NOAA: January 2020 Hottest on Record- 3rd Highest for Any Month
NOAA announced the January global temperature numbers and just like the European (Copernicus) record they rated it as the hottest January on record. It is also noteworthy that the Argentine Antarctic station recorded the hottest temperature ever measured on the continent as well last week. NOAA’s statement is below: Monthly Temperature: January 2020The global land and ocean surface temperature for January 2020 was the highest in the 141-year record, with …
27 January 2020
Should We Continue To Show Weather Radar To The Public on TV/Online?
I bet that headline got your attention, didn’t it? Before we go on, I’ll state up front that I think the answer is yes, but there is actually a decent argument to be made otherwise. When a cub TV reporter walked into the Weather Bureau office in Galveston, Texas on a muggy summer day in 1961, he saw something that few people had ever seen, a live weather radar image …
14 January 2020
American Meteorological Society Celebrates 100 Years At Annual Meeting in Boston
Who could have imagined a century ago that the American Meteorological Society would celebrate its 100th-anniversary under high security with bomb-sniffing dogs in an era where the planet’s changing climate was a worldwide threat. Such is the case here on Boston but that aside, it is an amazing event with perhaps more atmospheric scientists together in one place at the same time ever. This meeting is actually many conferences all …
1 January 2020
Oz is Burning Like Never Before; Smoke Extends 3000 km Across New Zealand!
The deadly bushfires in Australia have now crossed into the new year and the smoke from the fires has crossed over 1700 km to New Zealand. These fires are now the worst on record and also the deadliest. Look at the image below from the Tasman Glacier on the South Island in New Zealand. The sky is thick with smoke and there are many reports that you can even …
18 December 2019
Do the Farmers In Kansas Know They Are Paying the Flood Insurance Premiums on Million Dollar Beach Houses?
They are. Not all of the premium, but a good portion of it and not only that, they are helping to rebuild the house and in many cases have paid to rebuild it more than once when the ocean/river swamped it again. It’s called the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and as sea levels rise and hurricanes get wetter, it has gotten some much-needed attention. Still, unless you buy a …
12 December 2019
NWS Makes Needed Changes to Flash Flood Warnings
What is the number one weather killer in the United States? Did you say tornadoes or hurricanes? If so, you are wrong, but don’t feel bad because everyone misses this question. What IS the main weather killer? In most years it is heat but close behind is floods and particularly flash floods. It seems that nearly every year brings a flood event with great damage and several fatalities. Then there’s …
19 November 2019
NOAA: October 2019 Was 2nd hottest. 5 Hottest Octobers All since 2013.
This from NOAA : The combined global land and ocean surface temperature departure from average for October 2019 was the second-highest for October in the 140-year record at 0.98°C (1.76°F) above the 20th century average 14.0°C (57.1°F). This value is just 0.06°C (0.11°F) shy of tying the record warm October set in 2015. The 10 warmest Octobers have occurred since 2003; however, the five warmest Octobers have all occurred since …
23 October 2019
Of all the Mistakes A Local News Outlet Can Make- This is The Worst
When a tornado moved right through central Dallas Sunday night, almost every TV station was in wall-to-wall coverage. The tornado was visible in lightning flashes, and this was not a “possible tornado”. It was confirmed, on the ground, and doing damage. Major damage. Yet, Dallas station KXAS did not break into programming for some time, and it was not because their meteorologists were asleep. They were tracking the storm and …
4 October 2019
Ed Hawkins “Climate Stripes” May be the Most Important Science Image so Far in This Century
Dr. Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading produced an image last year that made my jaw drop. It now has a name. Climate Stripes. Hawkins assigned colours to the Earth’s temperature since 1850, and it powerfully shows how the planet is warming. It’s rapidly becoming as well known as what may be the most important science image of the last century, Dr. Michael Mann’s famous hockey stick. The hockey …
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.