Apr
14
The National Weather Service is usually conservative when it comes to the strength of words being used to describe a severe weather outbreak. In an attempt to make people heed the warnings, a new type of system is being tested in which strong wording will be used, depending on the strength of the tornado. We can expect to see words and phrases such as “mass devastation,” “un-survivable,” and “catastrophic.” I am assuming this will only occur if the tornadoes are confirmed on the ground already by a spotter and they are destructive.
Since we’re experiencing a tornado outbreak in the central U.S. today, it looks as if some of these warnings are already being tested. The following is a tornado warning in Falun, Kansas:
…A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEASTERN ELLSWORTH… NORTHWESTERN MCPHERSON AND SOUTHWESTERN SALINE COUNTIES UNTIL 630 PM CDT…
AT 552 PM CDT…A CONFIRMED LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO WAS LOCATED 8 MILES SOUTH OF KANOPOLIS STATE PARK…AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
HAZARD…DAMAGING TORNADO.
SOURCE…LAW ENFORCEMENT CONFIRMED TORNADO.
IMPACT...MAJOR HOUSE AND BUILDING DAMAGE LIKELY AND COMPLETE
DESTRUCTION POSSIBLE. NUMEROUS TREES SNAPPED. MAJOR POWER OUTAGES IN PATH OF TORNADO HIGHLY LIKELY. SOME ROADS POSSIBLY BLOCKED BY TORNADO DEBRIS. COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF VEHICLES LIKELY.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
MARQUETTE AND LINDSBORG.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
TO REPEAT…A LARGE…EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE…TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME…A VEHICLE OR OUTDOORS…MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.
I guess by testing these warnings they can look back on them afterward and see if the strong wording was justified. They just have to be careful not to cry wolf when saying stuff like “un-survivable” or risk losing the public’s confidence.
Feb
16
It’s been almost two years since twin blizzards struck the Mid-Atlantic states, in some places dropping nearly five feet of snow, with much more widespread amounts of two to four feet. Last year I made an anniversary post of the systems at my hometown, so to avoid repeating myself I’d like to highlight some of the pictures and comments posted on some of the online weather message boards.
In this shot you can clearly see a mountainous snow drift at someone’s patio door. This was one of the harder hit areas of Westminster, MD which is east of Baltimore, MD and north of Washington, DC. For several days following these events, home owners couldn’t even find their mailboxes when they left their homes, because the snow was too deep.
Other people were a little more fortunate as their whitehall mailboxes had been installed in areas where the wind was blowing snow away from them, rather than on top of them.
There are other whitehall products such as plaques, bird feeders, garden accents, and more. Those who didn’t think ahead to pull them inside before the storm ended up having to dig them out, as illustrated below:
All in all these were historic events that many probably will never see in their lifetime again, at least in the DC metro area.
Feb
10
Imagine walking out your door early in the morning before the sun came up, and seeing this:
Unless you live in the northern hemisphere, an aurora is not something you’d see except on rare occasions. This picture was taken in Edmonton, Canada, and is one reason why I’m looking to Rent Edmonton apartments once it’s time to move from Washington.
The other reason it’s interesting to me is because of the climate.
At it’s warmest, Edmonton can reach 94.1ºF, and at it’s coldest -54.9ºF. Not many places have such a tremendous temperature range for their record highs and lows. Because of it’s latitude so far north, Edmonton can get quite cold when the air from the nearby arctic blows in during the winter.
Snow can occur in all but three months at Edmonton, but with an average yearly snowfall of 48.62″, it is hardly a tremendous amount. 48.62″ may seem like a large amount to some, but consider that it is spread out across 9 months rather than most southern cities 2 to 4 months of winter weather. In many cases, some cities further south located in the U.S. receive much more snowfall on a month to month basis due to the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico enhancing the frozen precipitation when it does fall.
Dec
2
This isn’t exactly a story I was expecting to read about on AccuWeather.com, but it has an interesting twist to the story which makes it a relevant article on the website. Record low rainfalls recently in Koblenz, Germany resulted in a bomb from World War II being uncovered in the nearby Rhine River. As a result, an astounding half of the city was evacuated (45,000 people)! The bomb (which was dropped by Britain) is estimated to have the explosive power to destroy an entire city block, and is one of the largest unexploded bombs ever found.
The month of November was extremely dry in the area with barely any measurable precipitation being recorded. According to AccuWeather, the area will be receiving rain this week. In the mean time, efforts are going to be made to defuse the bomb.
Oct
28
Just look at this photograph of Mt. Rainier at sunrise in which the shadow of the volcanic mountain is actually visible on the clouds above the photographer.
 Mt. Rainier's Shadow
|
