It’s that time again. Time to clean out the email inbox, sort through the dozens of weather related articles I receive monthly from a variety of sources, and put them into this little weather story segment I call "Weather Free-for-All".
As I have stated before, not every article will be of interest to everyone. I try to make it a variety of weather related issues and topics, some honestly are more weather related than others. And yes, there are some articles that are sent to me which I do not 100% agree with, especially when getting into the whole Global Warming issue. But in fairness, I do try and put some of these articles into my stories as well, even though it may pain me at time to do so.
So, here we go. Strap yourself in and hold on tight. It’s another edition of Weather Free-for-All coming right at you!
First, I begin with a press release sent out by my friend David Nicosia of the National Weather Service in Binghamton on a few winter weather product they will be trying out this winter for the general public. Here it is…
Beginning December 15th, 2009, the National Weather Service in Binghamton will be sending the "SPS" EAS/SAME NOAA Weather Radio event code when special weather statements are issued for dangerous non-lake effect snow squalls. Lake effect snow squalls are already covered by lake effect snow warnings and advisories (Note: The SPS EAS event code is officially sanctioned by the FCC)
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
If you have a SAME NOAA weather radio or an EAS decoder, you can get alerts when NWS Binghamton issues special weather statements for dangerous snow squalls. It is important to note that we will not alert the EAS or SAME NOAA weather radios for all snow squalls. Nor will this cover every hazardous road condition that arises this winter. We will do this for the squalls that are expected to have highest impact with sudden whiteout conditions, rapid onset of slippery roads and/or high winds. In the past, these type of snow squalls have caused numerous traffic accidents, and multiple car pile-ups on our interstates, turnpikes and the NYS Thruway with deadly consequences.
So, if you are a broadcaster with an EAS decoder, the alerts will be available to play and relay if you choose. We encourage you to do so as we anticipate only a few of these alerts per year.
IMPORTANT:
If you do not want to relay or play these EAS messages, or don’t want to receive these alerts on your SAME NOAA weather radio, you will have to make sure the SPS code is turned off on your EAS decoder or SAME NOAA Weather Radio.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
The sudden onset of whiteout conditions, rapid snow accumulation, and high winds with intense snow squalls creates extremely dangerous and even deadly travel conditions. In Pennsylvania, where statistics on snow squall fatalities have been kept for the last 10 years, such snow squalls have killed more people than large scale widespread snowstorms. National Weather Service forecasters have the ability to detect dangerous snow squalls with Doppler radar and track such storms with timing and impacted locations. Over the last couple winters, NWS forecasters have used the special weather statement for dangerous snow squalls, which gets some dissemination via our websites, NOAA family of services, private company websites and email services. However, we feel that by triggering the alerts on SAME NOAA weather radios and reaching the EAS, we would significantly broaden dissemination of timely and critical information on impending snow squalls This, in turn, could save lives by giving people notice of the arrival and locations of dangerous snow squalls.
HOW LONG ARE WE PLANNING ON DOING THIS?
We will be testing this concept for the upcoming winter season beginning December 15th , 2009. We will be looking for feedback to evaluate this experimental alerting methodology for determining our future coarse of action.
Any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.
Thanks,
Dave Nicosia
Warning Coordination Meteorologist
NOAA-National Weather Service Binghamton NY
Next, a few more generalized press releases and statements on different topics.
How about those "computer models" we are always talking about…
Climate and weather models are mathematical descriptions of the interactions between Earth system variables. In the late 19th century, the Norwegian meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes described the movement of heat, air and moisture through the atmosphere with a series of "primitive equations" based on laws such as the conservation of momentum, the conservation of mass and the first and second laws of thermodynamics. In the 1920s, the British mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson advanced this fledgling science of numerical weather prediction by dividing the Earth into territories of grid cells, with each grid cell having its own temperature, pressure, humidity, etc. Local winds, for example, could be forecast based on the current pressure differences amongst the surrounding cells.
Today’s weather and climate modeling is based on this approach of using the mathematical relationships that govern fluid dynamics and a simplified Earth divided into grid components to understand how the atmosphere functions and to forecast future conditions. World War II and the Cold War were accompanied by increased public support for the geosciences. Better information about the upper atmosphere, largely provided by radiosondes and American bomber sorties, allowed for better mapping of the features (such as the jet stream, which was still theoretical until 1944) and properties (such as the rate that the temperature changes with altitude) of Earth’s upper atmosphere. Yet, without a more efficient means of accounting for the overwhelming number of interactions and variables that determine daily weather, better observational data could do little to predict weather.
Enter the digital computer age, which made it possible to create programs that would account for sufficient variables and interactions at rates that enabled effective forecasts. As computers grew in size, speed, and complexity, early modelers extended such simulations to longer time scales until they spanned decades, thus giving birth to the concept of climate models.
Decadal Highlights
- The 1950s: Early modeling efforts were sponsored by the Weather Bureau (now NOAA’s National Weather Service) and several military branches. By the late 1950s, computers were able to simulate simple things like air flow, evaporation and the radiative effects of water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone.
- The 1960s: By the mid-1960s, models could simulate a three-dimensional Earth lacking seasons and topography with features like the stratosphere, rising air in the tropics and subtropical deserts.
- The 1970s: By the end of the decade, models could represent the planet with land (including simple topography and coastlines), oceans, seasons and most of the basic features of our atmosphere.
- The 1980s: This period featured the development of "transient models," or simulations where properties of the atmosphere change over time as variables such as atmospheric composition or solar intensity change.
- The 1990s and onward: Models continued to mature as the range of variables they covered expanded; they now account for things like ice cover, atmospheric chemistry, ocean circulation, soil layers and vegetation changes.
And now, a press release from the World Health organization on radon.
NEWS RELEASE The World Health Organization announced that they have established a new limit for indoor radon gas levels. The previously accepted "action level" was 4.0. The new maximum radon level is 2.7. Based on this new threshold, millions of U.S. homes will require repairs to reduce the levels of the gas. Each year, approximately 20,000 Americans die from exposure to radon (more than any other in-home risk including fires, carbon monoxide, falls, drowning, poisonings, handguns, etc.) This new plan of action by the World Health Organization will save thousands of lives each year in the U.S. and potentially millions of lives worldwide.
And what would a Weather Free-for-All be, and what would Autumn be without the woolly bear caterpillars?
A telltale sign of autumn is the appearance of woolly bear caterpillars moving across backyards, sidewalks and roads. These fat, furry caterpillars are looking for safe places to spend the winter. They spend the cold months dormant under decaying logs and fallen leaves, and in this state can survive temperatures well below freezing. Come spring, they’ll create cocoons and pupate, eventually emerging as Isabella tiger moths (Pyrrharctia isabella).
These cute black and reddish-brown caterpillars are famed for being able to predict the oncoming winter. According to folklore, the wider the caterpillar’s brown band, the less severe winter will be. A smaller brown band means you're in store for a very harsh winter. But is it true? According to the Farmer’s Almanac, there just might be some validity to the story.
Until next time...
