Alberto: earliest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic in 9 years.
$2.8 billion: estimated cost of May 22, 2011 Joplin EF-5 tornado, costliest since 1959 for the USA. Details below.
Holiday Weekend, Start of Summer 2012 - What Can Go Wrong?
A lot can (and will) happen between now and next weekend. Maybe the
forecast will improve over time, like a fine (box) wine? We can dream,
but keep your expectations low. The best chance of T-storms: Wednesday
night into Thursday, a few storms Saturday, again Memorial Day (of
course). Right now Sunday appears to be the best day of the holiday
weekend, highs in the low 90s with a gusty south wind.
Partial Solar Eclipse. Thanks to my friend up in
Herbster, Wisconsin, on the shoreline of Lake Superior, Pete Schenck,
for passing on these photos from Sunday evenings "annular" eclipse of
the sun.
- The longest duration for a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes.
- A total
solar eclipse is not noticeable until the Sun is more than
90 percent covered by the Moon. At 99 percent
coverage, daytime lighting resembles local twilight.
- Eclipse
shadows travel at 1,100 miles per hour at the equator and
up to 5,000 miles per hour near the poles.
- The width of the path of totality is at most 167 miles wide.
- The maximum number of solar eclipses (partial, annular, or total) is 5 per year.
- There are at least 2 solar eclipses per year somewhere on the Earth.
- Only partial solar eclipses can be observed from the North and South Poles.
- Total solar eclipses happen about once every 1.5 years.
* eclipse trivia courtesy of
NASA.
Chronology Of An Eclipse. Thanks to Jason Parkin and his terrific site,
dsmweather.com. These photos were taken in Urbandale, Iowa.
Eclipse From Space. This is pretty cool (at least if
you're a geek, like me). You can see the moon-shadow drifting across
the Pacific and the lower 48 states in this NOAA
cloud loop.
Remembering The Tornadoes Of May 22, 2011. Here's an
informative look back
at last year's outbreak, the tornadoes that proved major metro areas
are not immune to violent winds. Details from the local National Weather
Service: "
A 3-D look at the Minneapolis tornado from the Chanhassen
radar. The "column of red" is a descending core of air moving away from
the radar that can sometimes be seen when stronger tornadic storms are
close to a radar (greens represent air moving toward and reds away from
the radar). The first image where a column appears is when the storm was
near I-394 and MN-100 (fourth image in loop), which is where the
tornado touched down. This feature began to fall apart as it moved into
Anoka county. This coincides with the tornado weakening as it moved
through Fridley."
Too Hot For A Marathon. WeatherNation TV
meteorologist Gretchen Mishek reports on the steamy cancellations that
forced the cancellation of a marathon in Green Bay yesterday:
"Dangerously hot conditions in Green Bay, WI lead to the cancellation
of a marathon. The heat and humidity lead to people running the
marathon suffering from heat exhaustion. The temperature at 11 AM was
already 86 degrees, which is 4 degrees shy of the record for the day.
The webcam view above shows the finish line earlier today, with
numerous emergency vehicles responding due to the weather conditions.
From the
Greenbaypressgazette.com: “
The
2012 Cellcom Green Bay Marathon was halted shortly before 9:30 a.m.
today after dozens of runners and walkers encountered heat-related
problems. Runners were told to stop at the nearest water station and
wait for a ride back to the start/finish area near Lambeau Field. Buses
were sent out onto the course to pick up runners. Race officials
struggled to get word to runners that the race had been halted and the
course closed, and many runners did not want to stop. The race got
under way at 7 a.m. with a record number of entrants, and concerns about
a forecast of hot, humid weather. We have well over 8,000 entrants,”
race director Sean Ryan said shortly after the last of the runners had
crossed the starting line about 8 minutes after the 7 a.m. start.”
Webcam view via
http://nfl.packers.com/multimedia/live_cams/
Alberto's Track. In the end wind shear aloft was too
strong for Tropical Storm Alberto. In spite of drifting over warmer,
Gulf Stream waters (low 80s) strong winds aloft shredded the storm,
preventing it from strengthening. Above is a map from
tropicalatlantic.com, showing the projected track of the soggy remains of Alberto in the coming days.
A Year After Joplin Tornado, Records Show Twister Was The Costliest Since 1950. Details from AP and
The Star Tribune: "
JEFFERSON
CITY, Mo. - The cost of 30 manhole covers that got sucked away:
$5,800. A new concession stand at the destroyed high school: $228,600.
Shelter and care for more than 1,300 homeless pets: $372,000. The
tornado that tore through Joplin a year ago already ranks as the
deadliest twister in six decades. Now it carries another distinction —
the costliest since at least 1950. Insurance policies are expected to
cover most of the $2.8 billion in damage. But taxpayers could supply
about $500 million in the form of federal and state disaster aid,
low-interest loans and local bonds backed by higher taxes, according to
records obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with federal,
state and local officials."
Photo credit above: "
FILE - This May 24, 2011 aerial file
photograph shows a neighborhood destroyed by a powerful tornado in
Joplin, Mo. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday, May
30, 2011 that it will consider bringing in trailers, as it did for New
Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, if enough homes are not available."
5-Day Rainfall Outlook. NOAA's latest QPF outlook
shows some 8" rainfall amounts over Cuba, the Bahamas, possibly the
Florida Keys. Heavy rain lashes the Pacific Northwest, the D.C. area,
and some 2-3" amounts are predicted by Saturday over the Minnesota
Arrowhead.
Umbrellas Optional Through Wednesday Afternoon. The
models are in fairly good alignment - the best chance of heavy T-storms
Wednesday night, a smaller risk on Saturday as a hot front surges into
the Upper Midwest, another (better) chance of heavy T-storms on Memorial
Day. Could have guessed that months ago huh?
Dan Rather: Corporate Media "Is In Bed With" Washington (Video).
Monday's are tough enough without conspiracy theories, but this might
be worth a look - I wouldn't dismiss this out of hand; details from
Huffington Post: "
Dan
Rather slammed corporate media on Friday night, alleging that news
coverage is guided by political interests and profits. The former CBS
News anchor has recently returned to the spotlight, speaking out about his former employer and defending the controversial Bush National Guard story
that ended his storied career at the network. On Friday, Rather
appeared on Bill Maher's show to discuss his new book "Rather
Outspoken." He spoke out about the controversy again, and stood by his
story (his comments start at the 1:50 mark in the video above). He said
that he was fired because CBS News caved into the Bush
administration's demands."
Blind Chinese Dissident Already Sick of Kardashians. This headline could only come from one source, one of my favorite comedy sites,
The Borowitz Report:
"In his first interview since arriving in America, blind Chinese
activist Cneh Guangcheng told reporters today that he is grateful to be
in the United States but is already "sick of these Kardashians." "Who
are they, and what do they do?" Chen asked. "I have asked these
questions of many people, and no one will answer me. It seems to be some
kind of state secret." After being monitored for years by Chinese
authorities, Chen said he finds the omnipresence of the Kardashians
"troubling". "It almost feels as though I have traded one kind of
tyranny for another," he said.
Probable Cause To Impound a BMW? Check out the
license plate, and the back-seat passenger. That's a dude driving that
3-series BMW convertible. I have nothing against poodles, but this is
just...wrong. Thanks to Tricia Frostad in Chanhassen for passing this
along. Another sign of the pending Apocalypse.
Weather Democracy
I wish Mother Nature would friend me. Hey, I
"like" every kind of weather she throws at me, even the assorted
atmospheric atrocities I didn't have the foresight to predict, in
advance. Sure, the toys (um technology) are great. Maps, charts,
flashing red Doppler blobs. Guys like shiny things.
But there's something fundamentally democratic
about weather; it impacts everyone. Rain falls on the righteous and
sinners alike. We have the illusion of control over parts of our lives,
but when it comes to the elements we're all bewildered spectators. And
tornadoes? A dark and deadly Lotto. Despite super-turbo-bipolar-Doppler
we still can't predict where they'll drop out of the sky.
God's revenge for Jerry Springer? No, just a reminder that we live in a random, often violent world.
Saturday was a blunt reminder that even downtown
St. Paul can get pelted with ping-pong size hail. A magic Monday gives
way to 80s by midweek. The best chance of T-storms: Thursday, again
Saturday.
Never underestimate the gravitational pull of
storms to major summer holidays. A hot front may push the mercury into
the 90s by Sunday (best day for the lake?) but a thundery front returns
for Memorial Day.
Climate Stories...
Heartland Institute Facing Uncertain Future As Staff Depart And Cash Dries Up. Here's an excerpt of a story from
The Guardian: "
The first Heartland Institute conference on climate change
in 2008 had all the trappings of a major scientific conclave – minus
large numbers of real scientists. Hundreds of climate change
contrarians, with a few academics among them, descended into the banquet
rooms of a lavish Times Square hotel for what was purported to be a
reasoned debate about climate change. But as the latest Heartland
climate conference opens in a Chicago hotel on Monday, the think tank's
claims to reasoned debate lie in shreds and its financial future remains
uncertain."
On Blogging, Comments...And Online Civil Discourse. Here's a portion of a post from St. Thomas professor and climate scientist John Abraham at
The Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Environment: "
A recent posting
on The Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media website linked to a
very long piece regarding climate change by Christopher Monckton. "As a
practicing scientist, I recognize and value the role that The Yale
Forum plays in furthering civil discussion on this topic. As a society,
we have too few venues of this type where ideas can be discussed,
solutions proposed, and our preconceptions challenged. It is not
difficult to appreciate the dilemma faced by editors of sites like The Yale Forum
when submissions such as that cited are offered, particularly when, as
here, the respondent is addressing an earlier posting in which he or
she was specifically named."
To See Climate Change, Watch The Sea. Here's an excerpt of a story at
thestar.com: "
THE
Earth turns white when a change in large-scale ocean circulation
triggers a sudden worldwide shift toward freezing temperatures. You may
remember this apocalyptic scenario as the climax of the 2004 US movie
The Day After Tomorrow. But how many of us are aware that the ocean can
dramatically effect our climate in reality? In addition to well-known
currents near the surface of the sea, such as the Kuroshio current
around the coast of south east Asia, Japan and China, there is a
massive global current that flows unseen in the deep, thousands of
metres below the surface, called oceanic general circulation." Photo credit: Jefferson Beck, NASA.
Climate Scientists Say They Have Solved Riddle Of Rising Sea. Here's a clip from a story at
Yahoo News: "
Massive extraction of groundwater can resolve a puzzle over a rise in sea levels
in past decades, scientists in Japan said on Sunday. Global sea levels
rose by an average of 1.8 millimetres (0.07 inches) per year from
1961-2003, according to data from tide gauges. But the big question is
how much of this can be pinned to global warming. In its landmark 2007 report, the UN's Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) ascribed 1.1mm (0.04 inches) per year to thermal expansion of
the oceans -- water expands when it is heated -- and to meltwater from
glaciers, icecaps and the Greenland and Antarctica icecaps."
Climate Change As An Afterthought. Here's a portion of an Op-Ed from The Bangkok Post: "..
.However,
there are certain steps that could make an immediate difference and
that would involve little political risk. As the summit statement in
Pittsburgh noted: ''Enhancing our energy efficiency can play an
important, positive role in promoting energy security and fighting
climate change''. The statement also said ''inefficient fossil fuel
subsidies encourage wasteful consumption, distort markets, impede
investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to deal with
climate change''. This is a very important point, and it can be taken a
bit further. Until the true costs of fossil fuels are taken into
account, clean energy sources will continue to be at a great
disadvantage in attracting investment. These costs include not only
climate change but also the deterioration of air quality and the
potential for more catastrophic accidents at sea, such as the one in the
Gulf of Mexico in 2010."
