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3 January 2013
The 800 Kilometer Long Shadow
This true colour image from the NASA Terra satellite today shows an 800 km long shadow stretching from NE Ohio into the Atlantic. The shadow was the result of the low early January sun angle, and a deck of cirrus clouds at around 10km above the surface. Plenty of other things to notice as well. What a meteorologist sees in this image: 1. Strong winds over the mountains of New …
19 October 2012
Plains Cyclone Brings Rare Dust Storm To The Deep South
Winds gusted across the Plains to nearly 50 mph on Thursday, bringing a real dust storm to much of Kansas and Northern Oklahoma. Today the dust has reached Tennessee and Alabama, and the dry soil from the summer drought almost certainly played a role in this event as well. The latest GOES image Friday afternoon shows the intense low near Chicago. This is what meteorologists call a cutoff low and it extends through much of the troposphere. It is slowly weakening …
30 August 2012
Hurricane Isaac By Moonlight
Can you spot Richmond, Okla. City, Tulsa, and Springfield, Missouri?? That should be a good start for you. As far as know, this is the first time a hurricane has been imaged by natural light at night. Certainly the first over the U.S. A nice image of the power of Mother Nature against the backdrop of mankind’s domination of the Earth’s surface. More on Suomi and the VIRRS here.
29 June 2012
Colorado Wildfire Smoke Reaches U.S. East Coast
I could see the smoke in the air at sunset here in Salisbury, Maryland tonight as well. The folks at Climate Central has an interesting graphic that explains the wildfires. The much reduced snow pack has to be the main factor. The dead trees from the Pine Beetle most certainly are aggravating the situation. It was 108 (44.5C) in St. Louis today, and Indianapolis had the warmest June day on record. Records in Indianapolis go back to the …
12 June 2012
More of The West Burns While Pensacola Floods
The intense drought out west is likely to cause more of these fires and the huge number of dead trees in the forests (due to the Pine Beetle) are certainly aggravating the situation. The opposite is true on the Gulf Coast with a deep layer of tropical moisture moving ashore over the weekend. Over 20 inches of rain fell in western Florida. As of late May, 37% of the U.S. …
24 May 2012
Lake Breeze Around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a gorgeous view of the lake breeze around Lakes Erie & Ontario Wednesday afternoon. The still, very chilly, waters of the lakes can produce a strong and pronounced lake breeze as the late spring sunshine warms up the land. Afternoon temps. near the lake were in the low 60’s while it was in the mid to upper 70’s just a few miles inland. Just to remind you that …
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.