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31 August 2017
“We Told You So!” Is Never Welcomed If You’re On The Receiving End
Nonetheless, We told you so. A lot is being written about the fact that the urban sprawl and poor flood control planning greatly exacerbated the catastrophe in Houston, but there have indeed been warnings from scientists for years that we must prepare for more extreme rain events and higher sea levels. The science behind these increased rainfall episodes is solid, and it all goes back to an equation every meteorologist learns. It’s …
27 August 2017
Read These Two Essays to Really Understand What Happened In Houston Last Night
When you work as a meteorologist or a reporter, you accept that there will be times when your sleep, hunger, and comfort come far behind the importance of serving the public. Last night was one of those moments for those at the NWS in Houston, and the reporters/meteorologists at Houston TV stations. At one point the NWS office had 4 tornado warnings and at least as many Flash Flood Emergency warnings …
26 August 2017
Astounding Model Output Leads to Forecasts We Meteorologists Never Thought We Would Make
I’ve forecasted the weather for 37 years and I’ve never seen consistent model output forecasting rainfall amounts of over 30 inches before. Astounding and astonishing are the only words I can use to describe what I’ve been seeing from the numerical models. Not only that, but it’s the same with nearly every usually reliable model. Could all of the models be wrong? Could this storm fizzle rather quickly once it …
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.