Washington (CNN) -- A crew member aboard a U.S. Navy ship accidentally fired a machine gun into the Polish port city of Gdynia on Wednesday while cleaning the weapon, Navy officials said Friday.
Three rounds were fired from an M240 machine gun into the town but no injuries or damage were reported, officials said.
The gun, aboard the USS Ramage, a Navy destroyer, is used to defend the ship in close combat.
Navy officials said a crew member was cleaning the weapon when it accidentally discharged.
The incident happened as the ship was in port after retuning from an international exercise in the Baltic Sea. It was preparing to leave later that day, the Navy said.
Polish military police boarded the ship to investigate and Navy officials said the crew of the Ramage fully cooperated. No U.S. sailors were taken into custody by Polish authorities, Navy officials said.
There was no immediate word of a U.S. Navy investigation into the incident.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Ice Hunters are Back
Since the USofA is broke, we can't fly satalites and more, so NASA is going to create a modern version of the Coast Guards Iceberg Hunters to go and measure polar-bear activity on the ice in the Arctic. - HLG
NASA Launches Mission To Track Polar Ice By Plane
by Jon Hamilton
October 30, 2009
The mission, called Ice Bridge, took scientists and equipment to the ice sheets of Greenland earlier this year. For the past few weeks, NASA has been flying a DC-8 over glaciers in Antarctica.
One of the people on that plane was Seelye Martin, the chief scientist for Ice Bridge and a researcher at the University of Washington. Just looking down, he says, there is not much sign that the ice is changing.
"But satellite radar observations and satellite altimeter observations show that these [glaciers] are losing a fair bit of mass," Martin says.
That mass of water ends up in the oceans, raising sea level. So far it's only a little, but measurements from the DC-8 will help scientists figure out whether the process is accelerating.
The Ice Bridge mission is designed to continue the work of a dying satellite called ICESat. The satellite has been circling the globe for seven years, even though it was intended to work only for about three years, says Thomas Wagner, a cryosphere program scientist for NASA.
ICESat started out with three lasers that could measure changes in polar ice, but two of the lasers are broken, and the third is just about burned out, Wagner says.
He says data on Antarctica are especially important because the continent has been studied less than Greenland and because it's so big.
"You're talking about something the size of North America covered with miles of ice," Wagner says.
That ice contains enough water to raise sea level dozens of feet. And there's growing evidence that something is happening to several enormous Antarctic glaciers.
"One of these glaciers has lost 9 meters of ice a year," Wagner says. At that rate, he says, it would disappear in a few decades.
Where Land Ice Meets Sea Ice
Enlarge Jane Peterson/NSERC/NASANASA's DC-8 makes a turn over Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea as it heads back up the glacier for another mapping run during Ice Bridge's third science flight.
Jane Peterson/NSERC/NASANASA's DC-8 makes a turn over Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea as it heads back up the glacier for another mapping run during Ice Bridge's third science flight.
The Ice Bridge mission is an imperfect substitute for an important satellite, scientists say. An airplane scans only small areas, while the satellite sees big chunks of the globe.
But Martin says the NASA DC-8 carries many more instruments and offers much more detailed information than a satellite. And, he says, ICESat has already shown scientists which regions of ice are changing in ways that could lead to a rapid rise in sea level.
"It seems important to keep an eye on these regions," Martin says. "We wouldn't want to wake up in five or six years and have an oh-my-God moment."
One region of particular interest is called Pine Island, where an enormous glacier is sliding into the Amundsen Sea.
A special radar on the DC-8 allows scientists to study the bottom of the ice sheet, Martin says, which helps them look for signs that the glacier is accelerating.
The scientists are also studying the glacier's ice tongue, which juts out from the coastline. The tongue acts like a cork, Martin says, holding back the ice.
But if enough water gets under the tongue, it could melt and the cork could pop out, he says.
A place like Pine Island can play a big role in sea-level rise, Martin says, because it's where land ice gets added to sea ice.
Sea ice is like the ice cube that's already floating in a glass of water, he says. As it melts, it doesn't raise the water level.
But land ice is like the ice in your freezer, Martin says. When you add a new cube to your glass, the water level rises.
And the glaciers of Antarctica represent a very large ice cube
NASA Launches Mission To Track Polar Ice By Plane
by Jon Hamilton
October 30, 2009
The mission, called Ice Bridge, took scientists and equipment to the ice sheets of Greenland earlier this year. For the past few weeks, NASA has been flying a DC-8 over glaciers in Antarctica.
One of the people on that plane was Seelye Martin, the chief scientist for Ice Bridge and a researcher at the University of Washington. Just looking down, he says, there is not much sign that the ice is changing.
"But satellite radar observations and satellite altimeter observations show that these [glaciers] are losing a fair bit of mass," Martin says.
That mass of water ends up in the oceans, raising sea level. So far it's only a little, but measurements from the DC-8 will help scientists figure out whether the process is accelerating.
The Ice Bridge mission is designed to continue the work of a dying satellite called ICESat. The satellite has been circling the globe for seven years, even though it was intended to work only for about three years, says Thomas Wagner, a cryosphere program scientist for NASA.
ICESat started out with three lasers that could measure changes in polar ice, but two of the lasers are broken, and the third is just about burned out, Wagner says.
He says data on Antarctica are especially important because the continent has been studied less than Greenland and because it's so big.
"You're talking about something the size of North America covered with miles of ice," Wagner says.
That ice contains enough water to raise sea level dozens of feet. And there's growing evidence that something is happening to several enormous Antarctic glaciers.
"One of these glaciers has lost 9 meters of ice a year," Wagner says. At that rate, he says, it would disappear in a few decades.
Where Land Ice Meets Sea Ice
Enlarge Jane Peterson/NSERC/NASANASA's DC-8 makes a turn over Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea as it heads back up the glacier for another mapping run during Ice Bridge's third science flight.
Jane Peterson/NSERC/NASANASA's DC-8 makes a turn over Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea as it heads back up the glacier for another mapping run during Ice Bridge's third science flight.
The Ice Bridge mission is an imperfect substitute for an important satellite, scientists say. An airplane scans only small areas, while the satellite sees big chunks of the globe.
But Martin says the NASA DC-8 carries many more instruments and offers much more detailed information than a satellite. And, he says, ICESat has already shown scientists which regions of ice are changing in ways that could lead to a rapid rise in sea level.
"It seems important to keep an eye on these regions," Martin says. "We wouldn't want to wake up in five or six years and have an oh-my-God moment."
One region of particular interest is called Pine Island, where an enormous glacier is sliding into the Amundsen Sea.
A special radar on the DC-8 allows scientists to study the bottom of the ice sheet, Martin says, which helps them look for signs that the glacier is accelerating.
The scientists are also studying the glacier's ice tongue, which juts out from the coastline. The tongue acts like a cork, Martin says, holding back the ice.
But if enough water gets under the tongue, it could melt and the cork could pop out, he says.
A place like Pine Island can play a big role in sea-level rise, Martin says, because it's where land ice gets added to sea ice.
Sea ice is like the ice cube that's already floating in a glass of water, he says. As it melts, it doesn't raise the water level.
But land ice is like the ice in your freezer, Martin says. When you add a new cube to your glass, the water level rises.
And the glaciers of Antarctica represent a very large ice cube
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Big Oil Spill in Timor Sea
What a mess. Looks like it covers hundreds, if not thousands of square miles from MODIS image. - HLG
Beautiful Di-pole Plankton Bloom off New Zealand
Amazing dipolar bloom from W-E current passing between North and South Islands of NZ.- HLG
Another Exciting Day to be Flying!
Plane lands on taxiway at Atlanta airport
ATLANTA (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating why a Delta jet landed this week on a taxiway at Atlanta's airport.
The NTSB says none of the 182 passengers or 11 crew members were injured in the incident. The NTSB reports Flight 60 from Rio de Janeiro to Atlanta landed on Monday at 6:05 a.m. on a taxiway that ran parallel to the runway where it was assigned to land. Taxiways are lanes that planes use to get to and from runways.
The taxiway was active but no other aircraft were there at the time.
A Delta spokesman says the airline is cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB and conducting an internal investigation of its own. The pilots involved have been relieved from flying until the investigations are done
ATLANTA (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating why a Delta jet landed this week on a taxiway at Atlanta's airport.
The NTSB says none of the 182 passengers or 11 crew members were injured in the incident. The NTSB reports Flight 60 from Rio de Janeiro to Atlanta landed on Monday at 6:05 a.m. on a taxiway that ran parallel to the runway where it was assigned to land. Taxiways are lanes that planes use to get to and from runways.
The taxiway was active but no other aircraft were there at the time.
A Delta spokesman says the airline is cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB and conducting an internal investigation of its own. The pilots involved have been relieved from flying until the investigations are done
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Gotta love Nasa TV!
Conversation (paraphrased) recently heard from launch control for Ares 1-X launch.
CAPCOM: Launch status?
ENGINEERING: Go!
PROPULSION: Go!
RANGE: Go!
CAPCOM: Weather? (followed by long delay)
WEATHER: Uh .... Go for ground winds, go for rain, but will be no-go at T-0....
CAPCOM: So are you go? (lenghty delay followed by weather repeating most of previous report, with more nearly indecipherable data without any real information.)
CAPCOM: Launch status?
ENGINEERING: Go!
PROPULSION: Go!
RANGE: Go!
CAPCOM: Weather? (followed by long delay)
WEATHER: Uh .... Go for ground winds, go for rain, but will be no-go at T-0....
CAPCOM: So are you go? (lenghty delay followed by weather repeating most of previous report, with more nearly indecipherable data without any real information.)
Weather Reasoning For Ares 1-X Launch Window
One question that comes up a lot is why Ares I-X has a four-hour launch window. After all, unlike the Space Shuttle, it doesn’t have to rendezvous with the Space Station, so what’s the challenge? Actually, there are several.
First, the Eastern Range typically allots 4-hour launch windows. Given the duration of Ares I-X (about seven minutes from liftoff until the final pieces splash down), more time is not required. As was demonstrated on the first launch attempt, the rocket can be reset quickly, so four hours was considered plenty of time to wait out weather and technical challenges.
Additionally, anyone familiar with Florida weather understands that winds typically pick up later in the day as the atmosphere heats up and interacts with evaporation from the ocean. Central Florida’s “afternoon thunderstorms” produce a terrific number of lightning strikes. High winds are a problem for any launch. Because of its experimental nature, Ares I-X has very conservative wind constraints—20 knots (nautical miles per hour—about 23 statute miles per hour) as opposed to the Space Shuttle, which can fly in winds up to 30 knots (34.5 miles per hour).
A 4-hour window, gives the team the ability to complete all the preparation work, wait for the right combination of winds, weather and clouds and then go. Following the LCC guidelines gives Ares I-X the best chance to collect the important data that we need for next exploration steps we take.
First, the Eastern Range typically allots 4-hour launch windows. Given the duration of Ares I-X (about seven minutes from liftoff until the final pieces splash down), more time is not required. As was demonstrated on the first launch attempt, the rocket can be reset quickly, so four hours was considered plenty of time to wait out weather and technical challenges.
Additionally, anyone familiar with Florida weather understands that winds typically pick up later in the day as the atmosphere heats up and interacts with evaporation from the ocean. Central Florida’s “afternoon thunderstorms” produce a terrific number of lightning strikes. High winds are a problem for any launch. Because of its experimental nature, Ares I-X has very conservative wind constraints—20 knots (nautical miles per hour—about 23 statute miles per hour) as opposed to the Space Shuttle, which can fly in winds up to 30 knots (34.5 miles per hour).
A 4-hour window, gives the team the ability to complete all the preparation work, wait for the right combination of winds, weather and clouds and then go. Following the LCC guidelines gives Ares I-X the best chance to collect the important data that we need for next exploration steps we take.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What is a "Mississippi Surge"?
I know it is a minor-league hockey expansion team, but what is with the name? Does this refer to the storm surge? Did FEMA pay for this? No, that's not possible, because the Prez has NEVER been to the Mississippi Coast. - HLG
Actual Flight Path of Northwest "Free Miles" Flight!
I do hope everyone got the extra miles on their frequent-fliers card!
The attached map is made from the actual ground track of the San Diego to Minneapolis flight, which was out-of-contact with frantic ground controllers for OVER AN HOUR, as they toured scenic Wisconsin.
You are now free to fly any-dang-place you want!!! - HLG
Tropical Storm "MIRINAE"
Another one heading for the Phillipines, IF you can believe the forecast track. Last one ("LUPIT") stunk! - HLG
Early Global Warming Storm For Colorado
Winter Storm Watch
Issued At: Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009, 11:31 AM MDT
Expires At: Thursday, 29 Oct 2009, 6:00 PM MDT
...EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM FOR NORTHERN COLORADO TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... .A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS LATE TONIGHT AND THEN MOVE SLOWLY EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO THROUGH THURSDAY. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW TO MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST COLORADO BETWEEN TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED WHICH MAY PRODUCE AREAS OF DRIFTING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES DUE TO BLOWING SNOW. ...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON... A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS AND POSSIBLY CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 14 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
Issued At: Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009, 11:31 AM MDT
Expires At: Thursday, 29 Oct 2009, 6:00 PM MDT
...EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM FOR NORTHERN COLORADO TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... .A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS LATE TONIGHT AND THEN MOVE SLOWLY EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO THROUGH THURSDAY. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW TO MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST COLORADO BETWEEN TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED WHICH MAY PRODUCE AREAS OF DRIFTING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES DUE TO BLOWING SNOW. ...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON... A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES WILL DEVELOP DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS AND POSSIBLY CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 14 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
Northwest Airlines Gives More Reasons to FLY!
That is, if you don't mind missing your airport by 150 miles, and the flight attendants have to call the cockpit and ask "why aren't we descending?" Notice also the post 9-11 fighter jet scramble that NEVER HAPPENED! Have a safe, code orange day! Also, couldn't resist Leteterman's Top 10 reasons on why they missed the airport (not to mention the city!) - HLG
10. Bunch of fat guys seated on the right side of the plane made us vector east.
9. We get paid by the hour.
8. Mapquest always takes you the long way, am I right, people?
7. Tired of that show-off Sullenberger getting all the attention.
6. You try steering one of those airplanes after eight or nine cocktails.
5. Wanted to catch the end of the in-flight movie.
4. Activating autopilot and making occasional P.A. announcements is exhausting.
3. According to our map, we only missed our target by half an inch.
2. For a change, we decided to send luggage to the right city and lose the passengers.
1. Thought we saw balloon boy
10. Bunch of fat guys seated on the right side of the plane made us vector east.
9. We get paid by the hour.
8. Mapquest always takes you the long way, am I right, people?
7. Tired of that show-off Sullenberger getting all the attention.
6. You try steering one of those airplanes after eight or nine cocktails.
5. Wanted to catch the end of the in-flight movie.
4. Activating autopilot and making occasional P.A. announcements is exhausting.
3. According to our map, we only missed our target by half an inch.
2. For a change, we decided to send luggage to the right city and lose the passengers.
1. Thought we saw balloon boy
Ares X-1 Test Scrubbed by Weather
Fire the forecasters!
But the world's tallest rocket (what would Freud say?) still looks good on the pad! =HLG
Monday, October 26, 2009
JTWS Continues to Show the Way!
The three-hour positional update graphic, which is needed with this storm passing just north of Guam, acknowledges the use of scatterometry to estimate position! What bold thinking!!! - HLG
Sunday, October 25, 2009
THE WEATHER CHANNEL HITS A NEW LOW
The Weather Channel is reporting that they will stop reporting the weather and begin showing weather-related movies. Is anyone interested in joining me in developing a real weather-channel channel? BB
p.s. Misery is a weather-related movie??? I'm taking bets on how long it will take them before they show An Inconvenient Truth.
***********************************************************************************
Weather Channel Press Release
THE WEATHER CHANNEL ADDS FEATURE FILMS TO NETWORK SCHEDULE
New Movie Series “The Weather Channel Presents…” Launches October 30 with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in The Perfect Storm
ATLANTA (October 20, 2009) – For the first time in its 27-year history, The Weather Channel® (TWC) will add movies to its programming schedule with “The Weather Channel Presents…” This new movie series launches Friday, October 30, with the TWC premiere of The Perfect Storm, starring George Clooney, which coincides with the anniversary of the ferocious “perfect storm” of 1991, on which the movie was based.
Following The Perfect Storm on Oct. 30, TWC will air feature films every Friday night in November. Weather plays a central role to the story, plot or overall theme in each of the movies selected.
TWC meteorologist Jen Carfagno will host the new series, introducing each film and providing relevant commentary.
“From the Nor’easter in The Perfect Storm to the tornado that takes Dorothy to Oz, weather has a long history as a film star,” said Geoffrey Darby, executive vice president of programming for The Weather Channel. “Adding films to our Friday night lineup is a great way for us to further demonstrate how weather is an all-encompassing part of our lives that entertains and inspires us.”
“The Weather Channel Presents…” will feature the following movies:
The Perfect Storm – Premieres Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m. ET (18-year anniversary of the “perfect storm” on which movie was based)
* Based on actual events and Sebastian Junger’s best-selling book, this dramatic story chronicles a group of Gloucester fishermen on their vessel’s ill-fated journey into the North Atlantic, as they ignore warnings of a monster storm brewing with winds at 50-60 knots. Their captain, played by George Clooney, tries his best to save his crew and battle the fiercest storm of the 20th century. The film also stars Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and John C. Reilly.
* March of the Penguins – Premieres Friday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. ET
The 2006 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature, this beautiful story narrated by Morgan Freeman chronicles the heroic, harrowing journey by emperor penguins amid subfreezing temperatures and violent snowstorms at the South Pole in order to hatch a new generation.
* Misery – Premieres Friday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. ET
When novelist Paul Sheldon, played by James Caan, crashes his car during a blinding snowstorm, he ends up writing to stay alive when “rescued” by obsessed fan Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in an Academy Award-winning role), who is less than hospitable when she finds out he has killed off her favorite character.
* Deep Blue Sea – Premieres Friday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. ET
A group of medical researchers finds themselves stranded aboard a remote marine laboratory working with genetically enhanced Mako sharks. With a tropical storm swirling around the now-sinking lab, the mutant sharks strike back at those who used them as lab rats. This action thriller stars Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J.
During “The Weather Channel Presents…,” viewers will continue to receive their localized weather forecasts throughout the film, where it can be seen on the lower portion of the screen in addition to any severe weather alerts or warnings.
To learn more about the series and other TWC programming, visit www.weather.com/tv.
###
About The Weather Channel Companies
The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, is seen in more than 99 million U.S. households. The Weather Channel reaches more than 40 million unique users online per month through weather.com and products including The Weather Channel Desktop, making it the most popular source of online weather, news and information according to Nielsen//Net Ratings. The Weather Channel also operates The Weather Channel HD; Weatherscan, a 24-hour, all-local weather network; The Weather Channel Radio Network; and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and interactive television applications and wireless weather products including the most popular content site on the Mobile Web. The Weather Channel Companies are owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
"LUPIT" Blows Forecast
Looks like TC "LUPIT", which for many days was forecast to pass over Luzon, made a strong right turn, and is no fully re-curving. Ooops! - HLG
Friday, October 23, 2009
Not a member of "Kyoto" Proticol
That's for sure! One of the worst polution clouds I have ever seen over China - HLG
Hurricane Warning for French Frigate Shoals!
That's not something you see very often! I don't remember it actually. There will be birds everywhere! - HLG
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hurricane "NEKI"
Unusually strong late-season CPAC storm, to the SW of Hawaii. Luckily it is moving away form Paradise. - HLG
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Amazing Image of Soufriere Hills Volcano
This picture was taken out the window of the International Space Station. Just a spectacular image of the on-going erruption of the volcano, in kodachrome! - HLG
JTWC Unveils New Web-site
I wasn't sure I was at the right web-site. The JTWC unveils a closely guarded new look! - HLG
Monday, October 19, 2009
Two Major Pacific Hurricanes (although one is a Typhoon)
Rick in the EPAC, and Lupit in the WPAC, which appears to be digging to the southwest, and hard-hit Luzon. - HLG
Friday, October 16, 2009
Global Warming Running Amok!
Northeast fall snowstorm breaks records in NY, Pa.
(AP)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — An autumn storm brought snow to parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, the earliest snow on record in some towns used to harsh winters.
Cornell University weather scientists say the snow that started Thursday set records for the earliest date with an inch of snow in Binghamton, Ithaca and Olean in New York and Altoona and State College in Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service says there's 4.5 inches of snow in State College, Pa., and 2 more inches are possible through Saturday morning.
Port Allegany in northwestern Pennsylvania and Perrysburg in western New York both got more than 3 inches of snow. Most areas east of Lake Erie and parts of northwestern New Jersey got 2 inches or less.
(AP)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — An autumn storm brought snow to parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, the earliest snow on record in some towns used to harsh winters.
Cornell University weather scientists say the snow that started Thursday set records for the earliest date with an inch of snow in Binghamton, Ithaca and Olean in New York and Altoona and State College in Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service says there's 4.5 inches of snow in State College, Pa., and 2 more inches are possible through Saturday morning.
Port Allegany in northwestern Pennsylvania and Perrysburg in western New York both got more than 3 inches of snow. Most areas east of Lake Erie and parts of northwestern New Jersey got 2 inches or less.
Autumn Finally Arrives in Mississippi
Hallelujah! Finally a break to the lingering hot weather... And check out the storm in the Eastern Pacific. It looks to impact buoy operations in northwest of its current location later this weekend.
gg
Thursday, October 15, 2009
First Interstellar Empirical "Weather" Map?
The NASA IBEX satellite, along with reports from Voyager I and 2 (remember them? Yes, the are still working!) allowed the mapping of the interstellar ion flux near the frontier between solar weather, and the inter-stellar medium. - HLG
Another Typhoon Heading to Luzon?
Looks like it. Did you know they don't "name" WPAC storms until they reach typhoon status? It is only 22W at this time, but looks good in the imagery- HLG
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
LOW TEMPS?
Anyone want to guess what the low temps will be in South Mississippi on Sunday night and Monday morning? Should we call Uncle Al?
BB
Insurers Happy about Atlantic "Hurricane" Season 2009
Quiet Atlantic hurricane season a boon for insurers
Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:58am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
By Jim Loney
MIAMI (Reuters) - Thanks to El Nino, the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season has been the quietest in more than a decade, offering a reprieve for residents in the danger zone and a chance for insurance firms to refill depleted coffers.
With the peak of the season -- late August to mid-October -- now behind, the Atlantic-Caribbean basin has seen just two hurricanes and a total of eight tropical storms.
El Nino, the Pacific warm-water phenomenon that can produce destructive weather in other parts of the world, played a big role in suppressing Atlantic cyclones this year, experts said.
If the full season, which runs from June through November, ended today, it would be the lowest number of storms since 1997. The last time an Atlantic season produced only two hurricanes was 1982.
After a 2008 season that produced Hurricane Ike, one of the most destructive in U.S. history, the cyclones of 2009 have had virtually no impact on the populous U.S. coasts, the vulnerable islands of the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico oil patch.
"There was for all intents and purposes no hurricane damage in the United States this year," Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, told Reuters.
"It's something that will help the insurance industry create very favorable earnings comparisons in the third quarter compared to the third quarter of last year," he said.
Forecasters saw nothing on the horizon on Wednesday.
"El Nino produced an increase in wind shear," said meteorologist Todd Crawford of private forecaster WSI Corp.
"If you have an increase in the speed of the winds aloft over the Atlantic it acts to basically chop the heads off any kinds of storms," he said. Wind shear is a technical term for different wind speeds at different altitudes.
Crawford also said sea temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are cooler, by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.12 degrees Celsius) on average, than the blistering seasons of 2004, when four hurricanes hit Florida, and 2005, which produced 28 storms, the highest single-season total in recorded history.
Hurricanes draw energy from warm water, so cooler sea temperatures can mean fewer and less intense storms.
INSURERS HAPPY
So far this year, only named storms Bill and Fred reached 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour), the threshold for hurricanes. Fred fizzled in the mid-Atlantic without causing damage while Bill raced through Canada's Atlantic provinces as a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest type, causing few problems.
Ana hit the Caribbean's Leeward Islands as a depression. Erika plowed into the same area as a tropical storm. Danny, Grace and Henri stayed out at sea.
Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:58am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
By Jim Loney
MIAMI (Reuters) - Thanks to El Nino, the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season has been the quietest in more than a decade, offering a reprieve for residents in the danger zone and a chance for insurance firms to refill depleted coffers.
With the peak of the season -- late August to mid-October -- now behind, the Atlantic-Caribbean basin has seen just two hurricanes and a total of eight tropical storms.
El Nino, the Pacific warm-water phenomenon that can produce destructive weather in other parts of the world, played a big role in suppressing Atlantic cyclones this year, experts said.
If the full season, which runs from June through November, ended today, it would be the lowest number of storms since 1997. The last time an Atlantic season produced only two hurricanes was 1982.
After a 2008 season that produced Hurricane Ike, one of the most destructive in U.S. history, the cyclones of 2009 have had virtually no impact on the populous U.S. coasts, the vulnerable islands of the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico oil patch.
"There was for all intents and purposes no hurricane damage in the United States this year," Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, told Reuters.
"It's something that will help the insurance industry create very favorable earnings comparisons in the third quarter compared to the third quarter of last year," he said.
Forecasters saw nothing on the horizon on Wednesday.
"El Nino produced an increase in wind shear," said meteorologist Todd Crawford of private forecaster WSI Corp.
"If you have an increase in the speed of the winds aloft over the Atlantic it acts to basically chop the heads off any kinds of storms," he said. Wind shear is a technical term for different wind speeds at different altitudes.
Crawford also said sea temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are cooler, by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.12 degrees Celsius) on average, than the blistering seasons of 2004, when four hurricanes hit Florida, and 2005, which produced 28 storms, the highest single-season total in recorded history.
Hurricanes draw energy from warm water, so cooler sea temperatures can mean fewer and less intense storms.
INSURERS HAPPY
So far this year, only named storms Bill and Fred reached 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour), the threshold for hurricanes. Fred fizzled in the mid-Atlantic without causing damage while Bill raced through Canada's Atlantic provinces as a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest type, causing few problems.
Ana hit the Caribbean's Leeward Islands as a depression. Erika plowed into the same area as a tropical storm. Danny, Grace and Henri stayed out at sea.
"Whatever Happened to Global Warming?"
I hope to be a "climate correspondent" when I grow up! - HLG
What happened to global warming? By Paul Hudson
Climate correspondent, BBC News
Average temperatures have not increased for over a decade
This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.
But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.
And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
So what on Earth is going on?
Climate change sceptics, who passionately and consistently argue that man's influence on our climate is overstated, say they saw it coming.
They argue that there are natural cycles, over which we have no control, that dictate how warm the planet is. But what is the evidence for this?
During the last few decades of the 20th Century, our planet did warm quickly.
Recent research has ruled out solar influences on temperature increases
Sceptics argue that the warming we observed was down to the energy from the Sun increasing. After all 98% of the Earth's warmth comes from the Sun.
But research conducted two years ago, and published by the Royal Society, seemed to rule out solar influences.
The scientists' main approach was simple: to look at solar output and cosmic ray intensity over the last 30-40 years, and compare those trends with the graph for global average surface temperature.
And the results were clear. "Warming in the last 20 to 40 years can't have been caused by solar activity," said Dr Piers Forster from Leeds University, a leading contributor to this year's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
But one solar scientist Piers Corbyn from Weatheraction, a company specialising in long range weather forecasting, disagrees.
He claims that solar charged particles impact us far more than is currently accepted, so much so he says that they are almost entirely responsible for what happens to global temperatures.
He is so excited by what he has discovered that he plans to tell the international scientific community at a conference in London at the end of the month.
If proved correct, this could revolutionise the whole subject.
Ocean cycles
What is really interesting at the moment is what is happening to our oceans. They are the Earth's great heat stores.
In the last few years [the Pacific Ocean] has been losing its warmth and has recently started to cool down
According to research conducted by Professor Don Easterbrook from Western Washington University last November, the oceans and global temperatures are correlated.
The oceans, he says, have a cycle in which they warm and cool cyclically. The most important one is the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO).
For much of the 1980s and 1990s, it was in a positive cycle, that means warmer than average. And observations have revealed that global temperatures were warm too.
But in the last few years it has been losing its warmth and has recently started to cool down.
These cycles in the past have lasted for nearly 30 years.
So could global temperatures follow? The global cooling from 1945 to 1977 coincided with one of these cold Pacific cycles.
Professor Easterbrook says: "The PDO cool mode has replaced the warm mode in the Pacific Ocean, virtually assuring us of about 30 years of global cooling."
So what does it all mean? Climate change sceptics argue that this is evidence that they have been right all along.
They say there are so many other natural causes for warming and cooling, that even if man is warming the planet, it is a small part compared with nature.
But those scientists who are equally passionate about man's influence on global warming argue that their science is solid.
The UK Met Office's Hadley Centre, responsible for future climate predictions, says it incorporates solar variation and ocean cycles into its climate models, and that they are nothing new.
In fact, the centre says they are just two of the whole host of known factors that influence global temperatures - all of which are accounted for by its models.
In addition, say Met Office scientists, temperatures have never increased in a straight line, and there will always be periods of slower warming, or even temporary cooling.
What is crucial, they say, is the long-term trend in global temperatures. And that, according to the Met office data, is clearly up.
To confuse the issue even further, last month Mojib Latif, a member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) says that we may indeed be in a period of cooling worldwide temperatures that could last another 10-20 years.
The UK Met Office says that warming is set to resume
Professor Latif is based at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University in Germany and is one of the world's top climate modellers.
But he makes it clear that he has not become a sceptic; he believes that this cooling will be temporary, before the overwhelming force of man-made global warming reasserts itself.
So what can we expect in the next few years?
Both sides have very different forecasts. The Met Office says that warming is set to resume quickly and strongly.
It predicts that from 2010 to 2015 at least half the years will be hotter than the current hottest year on record (1998).
Sceptics disagree. They insist it is unlikely that temperatures will reach the dizzy heights of 1998 until 2030 at the earliest. It is possible, they say, that because of ocean and solar cycles a period of global cooling is more likely.
One thing is for sure. It seems the debate about what is causing global warming is far from over. Indeed some would say it is hotting up.
What happened to global warming? By Paul Hudson
Climate correspondent, BBC News
Average temperatures have not increased for over a decade
This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.
But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.
And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
So what on Earth is going on?
Climate change sceptics, who passionately and consistently argue that man's influence on our climate is overstated, say they saw it coming.
They argue that there are natural cycles, over which we have no control, that dictate how warm the planet is. But what is the evidence for this?
During the last few decades of the 20th Century, our planet did warm quickly.
Recent research has ruled out solar influences on temperature increases
Sceptics argue that the warming we observed was down to the energy from the Sun increasing. After all 98% of the Earth's warmth comes from the Sun.
But research conducted two years ago, and published by the Royal Society, seemed to rule out solar influences.
The scientists' main approach was simple: to look at solar output and cosmic ray intensity over the last 30-40 years, and compare those trends with the graph for global average surface temperature.
And the results were clear. "Warming in the last 20 to 40 years can't have been caused by solar activity," said Dr Piers Forster from Leeds University, a leading contributor to this year's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
But one solar scientist Piers Corbyn from Weatheraction, a company specialising in long range weather forecasting, disagrees.
He claims that solar charged particles impact us far more than is currently accepted, so much so he says that they are almost entirely responsible for what happens to global temperatures.
He is so excited by what he has discovered that he plans to tell the international scientific community at a conference in London at the end of the month.
If proved correct, this could revolutionise the whole subject.
Ocean cycles
What is really interesting at the moment is what is happening to our oceans. They are the Earth's great heat stores.
In the last few years [the Pacific Ocean] has been losing its warmth and has recently started to cool down
According to research conducted by Professor Don Easterbrook from Western Washington University last November, the oceans and global temperatures are correlated.
The oceans, he says, have a cycle in which they warm and cool cyclically. The most important one is the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO).
For much of the 1980s and 1990s, it was in a positive cycle, that means warmer than average. And observations have revealed that global temperatures were warm too.
But in the last few years it has been losing its warmth and has recently started to cool down.
These cycles in the past have lasted for nearly 30 years.
So could global temperatures follow? The global cooling from 1945 to 1977 coincided with one of these cold Pacific cycles.
Professor Easterbrook says: "The PDO cool mode has replaced the warm mode in the Pacific Ocean, virtually assuring us of about 30 years of global cooling."
So what does it all mean? Climate change sceptics argue that this is evidence that they have been right all along.
They say there are so many other natural causes for warming and cooling, that even if man is warming the planet, it is a small part compared with nature.
But those scientists who are equally passionate about man's influence on global warming argue that their science is solid.
The UK Met Office's Hadley Centre, responsible for future climate predictions, says it incorporates solar variation and ocean cycles into its climate models, and that they are nothing new.
In fact, the centre says they are just two of the whole host of known factors that influence global temperatures - all of which are accounted for by its models.
In addition, say Met Office scientists, temperatures have never increased in a straight line, and there will always be periods of slower warming, or even temporary cooling.
What is crucial, they say, is the long-term trend in global temperatures. And that, according to the Met office data, is clearly up.
To confuse the issue even further, last month Mojib Latif, a member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) says that we may indeed be in a period of cooling worldwide temperatures that could last another 10-20 years.
The UK Met Office says that warming is set to resume
Professor Latif is based at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University in Germany and is one of the world's top climate modellers.
But he makes it clear that he has not become a sceptic; he believes that this cooling will be temporary, before the overwhelming force of man-made global warming reasserts itself.
So what can we expect in the next few years?
Both sides have very different forecasts. The Met Office says that warming is set to resume quickly and strongly.
It predicts that from 2010 to 2015 at least half the years will be hotter than the current hottest year on record (1998).
Sceptics disagree. They insist it is unlikely that temperatures will reach the dizzy heights of 1998 until 2030 at the earliest. It is possible, they say, that because of ocean and solar cycles a period of global cooling is more likely.
One thing is for sure. It seems the debate about what is causing global warming is far from over. Indeed some would say it is hotting up.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Typhoon "PARMA"
"PARMA" spent nearly a week visiting Luzon Island in the Phillipines, and dumped tons of rain, as seen in TRMM map. Surprisingly the greatly weakened storm reformed an eye between Hainan island and the Vietnam coast. - HLG
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Global Warming Nearly Removes Ice from Greenland!
As seen in this image from yesterday (at the end of the melt season)! The ice is nearly all gone!!! Help Al!!!!! - HLG
So "Smog" isn't a word either?
The definition of "Vog" from Wikipedia, the official source of EVERYTHING! - HLG
Vog is a form of air pollution that results when sulfur dioxide and other gases and particles emitted by an erupting volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The word is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic" and "smog". The term is in common use in the Hawaiian islands, where the Kīlauea volcano, on the island of Hawaiʻi, has been erupting continuously since 1983. Based on June 2008 measurements, Kīlauea emits 2,000 - 4,000 tons of sulfur dioxide every day.[1]
Vog is a form of air pollution that results when sulfur dioxide and other gases and particles emitted by an erupting volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The word is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic" and "smog". The term is in common use in the Hawaiian islands, where the Kīlauea volcano, on the island of Hawaiʻi, has been erupting continuously since 1983. Based on June 2008 measurements, Kīlauea emits 2,000 - 4,000 tons of sulfur dioxide every day.[1]
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Vog Over Coral Sea
You gotta love voga; volcano fog. That is, unless you are in it, since it is full of sulfuric acid. -HLG
Typhoon "MELOR" has Japan on Alert
As you can clearly see with the Toyota forecaster. Who knew Toyota did cars AND weather??! - HLG
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Typhoon "PARMA" Looking Better
"PARMA" looking better today than yesterday, as he/she sits near Phillipines. - HLG
Typhoon "PARMA"s Tortured Path
Typhoon "PARMA" has been dumping on Luzon and the rest of the Northern Phillipines for many days now. Looks like he/she is finally moving away to the west over the next few days. -HLG
TD "9"? & "ST MELOR" from Quikscat
Looks like the MPTCF circle around 55 West in the ATL is a TD. Anyone else agree?
Also, "MELOR" should miss Tokyo, according to JTWC in Honolulu (which still sounds weird. Bet they miss Guam USA!), but still looks impressive in Quikscat. - HLG
Monday, October 5, 2009
"GRACE" SATALIGHT PITCHER
Very odd behavior from TS "GRACE", as seen on SATELLITE PICTURES, as she approaches Ireland! - HLG
TROPICAL STORM GRACE?
Really? Should the UK go under Tropical Storm Watches? Did Uncle Al have anything to do with this? Can HLG come up with a satellite photo of this "storm?"
BB
BB
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Super Typhoon "MELOR" and "PARMA"
Super-duper Typhoon "MELOR" over the weekend, in the WestPac. "PARMA" was seen after spending over 12 hours crossing the northern tip of Luzon. -HLG
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Reminder: James A Price invited you to join Facebook...
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Thursday, October 1, 2009
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