Weather Update
August 22, 2014
Look out for little troublemakers. Small weather patterns in the Tropical Pacific can trigger tropical storms in the Atlantic. If a Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) is in the wrong place, the Gulf of Mexico can churn up a hurricane.
So far, the Atlantic Hurricane Season has been delightfully quiet. Warm El Niño conditions developed in May and lingered into June. These conditions created high altitude winds that tended to cut down disturbances in the Atlantic before they could develop into... more
August 19, 2014
El Niño is coming! It’s going to be HUGE! No, it’s dying! No, it’s coming but it will be weak!
There are a lot of different predictions on whether this winter will have an El Niño, Source: NASA
Getting whiplash yet?
Here’s what is going on.
The El Niño is an ocean and weather pattern in the Tropical Pacific. Because it is so big, the pattern affects weather all over the globe. In particular, a strong El Niño brings warm winters to the North and drought-breaking rainfall to the West. Therefore... more
August 1, 2014
When does exploring a mystery end up sounding like a crude joke? Scientists exploring a mysterious crater discovered that it was caused by a weather-related gas attack!
The mysterious crater at “the end of the world” Courtesy: Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Governor
It was a cool mystery. A huge crater in Russia’s remote Yamal Peninsula, not showing signs of being a meteor strike, measured at least 150 feet deep and more than 210 feet across. The area where it was found translates as “the end... more
July 20, 2014
It’s the middle of summer. Are you hot yet? NOAA has released a map showing when you can normally expect the hottest day of the year.
For some people, it arrived in June or early July and cooler days lie ahead. If you live in most of the West or the Southern Plains, it will hit you in the next few weeks. And, if you are on the West Coast, you will have to wait a couple of months.
Summer heat peaks in different times of the year. Source NOAA. See enlarged map here.
The longest day of the year... more
July 14, 2014
It’s a bird; it’s a plane—no—it’s a polar vortex! AAAAAGH!
The jet stream wiggled far to the north in the West and dropped south in the Midwest, bringing cool weather. Source: European Ensembles (ECMWF MODEL)
Relax; during the third week of July, we had a cold front. It was a bit stronger than normal and reduced July temperatures between 10˚–30˚F. Around the Great Lakes, it almost felt like autumn. Actually, it was refreshing, but some people needed to slip on a sweater. If you lived in the... more
June 14, 2014
The space storms are coming! The space storms are coming! Call out Paul Revere! Hide the women and children! Aaaaaaargh!
Flare 1 and 2, coming at you! Sources: NASA/SDO/Goddard
Wait a minute … the space storm came and went and you didn’t notice? Many experts did a lot of work to prepare for solar storms. The protections worked. The good news is that there was no bad news.
Solar storms really do pose a threat. The energy from them can interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, producing what is... more
May 25, 2014
With the rising price of salads, it’s harder to eat healthy. Here’s some good news—El Niño is coming.
The huge weather event usually brings rain to California, enough to break the drought and help vegetable farming. Here’s the awkward news—the same event usually creates droughts in areas that grow chocolate! You may have to eat healthy.
Thanks to El Niño, your salads should be more affordable but that yummy piece of chocolate may cost more. Source: Wikipedia
With cooler temperatures in the... more
May 19, 2014
If it’s May, it’s time to work in your garden and (apparently) plan for the upcoming hurricane season.
Here’s the good news: All the experts agree that it will be a quieter Atlantic hurricane season with fewer storms. Of course, the bad news is that last year most of the experts agreed that 2013 would be an unusually busy season and it was totally wimpy.
Let’s hope they are a little more accurate now.
Oddly enough, one of the main reasons that everyone is agreeing the Atlantic will be quieter... more
May 12, 2014
Mother’s Day is supposed to the perfect time for flowers and family outings! Except this year, moms in Denver would have preferred mittens.
As the day drew to a close, a storm threatened to drop 3 to 4 inches of snow on the city. At that, city dwellers were getting off easy. Winter storm Zephyr dumped a foot of snow at higher elevations and some areas in Wyoming were hammered with three feet of snow! (By the way, a zephyr is actually gentle western breeze—not a storm!)
Mother’s Day brought a... more
May 5, 2014
Spring has arrived—late! Here it is May and we have already had a snowstorm that dumped 5 inches as far south as Arkansas.
But the heat is coming and it is time to finally think Spring. That’s right—picture Spring!
It’s time to send all that snow back to the Arctic and picture spring! Source: US Postal Service
Everyone has their own picture of when spring starts for them. For so many of us, it’s that first trip to the nursery when we drool over the bedding plants. Images of perfect gardens... more
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Mike Steinberg is Senior Vice President for Special Initiatives at AccuWeather Inc in State College, Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the National Weather Association and the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.
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