Earth Atmospherics/Weather

Palomar · 2005-03-23 21:15:29

*Sun pillars galore:

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … pg]Whidbey Island, Washington (State); C. Sullivan

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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … ]Arlington, VA; P. Yabut That's the D.C. obelisk in the background, no?

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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … jpg]Clouds & Pillar, Scotland; G. Robertson

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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … g]Scottish Borders; C. Smith

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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … p.jpg]Love those colors, from NJ; J. Golebieski

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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … .jpg]Stark silver, blue & gold, Scotland; E. Walker

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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … e.jpg]Fife, Scotland; G. Welch

Grypd, if you see this post -- lots of sun pillars to be seen in your neck of the woods, apparently.

Can't recall ever having seen sun pillars, myself. They're quite stately. :;):

--Cindy

::EDIT:: http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … jpg]Pillar with "V" at the top, Canada; L. Checkowy

That's new to spaceweather.com. Very pretty. The explanation for the "V":

The glowing 'V' above the sun pillar is a tangent arc produced when sunlight is refracted through column shaped ice crystals," explains atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "Tangent arcs change shape during the day. To remember their profiles, think of a seagull’s wings. Near to sunrise or sunset the 'wings' are drawn up high into a 'V' and they gradually spread more and more horizontally as the sun gets higher

http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/halo/cols … ]Animation of tangent arc

Palomar · 2005-03-30 10:32:39

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … er.jpg]Yes, Virginia, it really IS brighter *inside* a rainbow...

*Have noticed this myself. The guy who snapped the pic has apparently only noticed it recently. ::shrug::

Photographer Brian Whittaker of Birmingham, UK, was mystified on March 24th looking at "the brightest rainbow that I had ever seen," he says. The inside of the rainbow was bright, the outside much darker. "I had to invert a section to prove to myself that it wasn't an optical illusion."

Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains the mystery: "Rainbows are disks of light rather than narrow rings. Millions of raindrops in the sky opposite the sun form rainbows by reflecting sunbeams back to us through a whole range of angles. Each disk brightens sharply towards its edge and is centered on the same point directly opposite the sun. The red disk is largest and violet the smallest. We see rainbow colors where the disk-edges do not quite overlap. Inside the disks, all colors overlap to form white light, which makes the sky inside the rainbow bright."

I didn't previously know the explanation for the brightness inside a rainbow, though I'd wondered.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-31 12:12:15

http://stormgasm.com/photo%20gallery/to … es.htm]The many varieties of tornadoes

*Of course we all know the wedge tornadoes are the ones which grow up to 1 mile or more in width. Yipes. It's still weird sometimes to think that clouds can actually do THIS.

In 3 of the photos you can see a rainbow right beside the tornado, and in one frame at least the lower portion of the funnel seems to obscure the rainbow. Too bad Les Crowley isn't here to explain that.

Had a dream about a tornado last night (not frightening, but as though I were watching a film)...so thought I'd rustle up some tornado pics and post them, besides the previous link posted March 22.

--Cindy

P.S.: Check out related links. The "Wall Clouds" gallery is especially interesting. They're spooky critters to see in real life ::shudder:: Anvil clouds are always pretty, though -- especially when they fan out into a seashell shape.

Be sure to check "Supercells" gallery too.

Palomar · 2005-04-04 07:42:45

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/0 … jpg]Notice anything -unusual- about this rainbow photo?

*The colors keep going, alternating between blue and green. Wild. Photo was taken on March 28 by Mr. Jacques of France.

The extra colors are referred to as "supernumeraries."

The next time you see a rainbow, look carefully at the colors. There's red on the outside, then orange, yellow, green and, finally, on the inside, blue.
That's how a rainbow stops, on blue. Except this rainbow, photographed March 28th by Vincent Jacques of Menton, France, kept going--blue, green, blue, green, blue, green...
Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains: "The extra bows just inside the primary rainbow are called supernumeraries. They were so named because 17th century theories of the rainbow could not explain them -- they were thought of as extras and not supposed to exist! Supernumeraries are produced by the interference between light waves and nowadays they tell us that the raindrops are small."
"Want to make your own clear and sharp supernumeraries? Look at the rainbow in the fine spray of a garden hose."

I don't recall ever having seen anything but "typical" rainbows myself. :-\ Mother Nature and her vast variety, huh?

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-05 08:26:42

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnatu … ]Tornadoes: From cells or line storms

"If you're driving in a midnight rain in October near Lake Michigan, remember that a tornado is not outside the realm of possibility," says Robert Trapp of Purdue University.

*Says 79% of tornadoes are spawned from small cell storms. Previously it's been thought that the risks of tornadoes developing decreased as the cell storms merged into 100-mile-long line storms. 18% of tornadoes are spawned from line storms.

Didn't know this about Florida: It has more tornadoes per square mile than anywhere else in the U.S. (even Texas!). Hmmmm.

I remember tornado alerts (called "watches") during nightly thunderstorms; always the scariest, because of course you can't see what's beneath the clouds except during lightning strokes and you daren't stand too close to windows anyway. I don't miss those days.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-12 09:21:43

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnatu … ak.html]11 April 1965: Worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history

*Palm Sunday storms. I've read about this before, and heard my parents talking about it (years later). Photo of a double tornado at the top of the article; sure looks wicked. :-\ 250 people died that day and over 1500 injured. This prompted the National Weather Service to begin the Warnings and Watches notices. In the early 1970s my hometown had the town whistle (in the center of town) as the only means of actual warning (but by then most of us had headed for the basement anyway, because of the fearful intensity of the thunderstorm and the certainty a tornado might indeed occur). Usually the whistle could be barely heard, and if the wind were in the wrong direction often not at all. I remember the town policemen would get in the police car and drive through the streets, siren blaring and lights flashing. I remember feeling very sorry for them, out there in those ferocious storms -- putting their lives on the line. If a tornado had swept through, they'd have had little to no chance. Around 1979 our town was outfitted with a series of LOUD tornado sirens -- of the air-raid variety. They went from silent to ear-splitting shrieking in less than 5 seconds. Each siren had at least 20 cones wrapped around its core, like a party ball. Some party.

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnatu … s.html]Top 10 Killer Tornadoes

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-22 07:24:06

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001223.html]Summer at the South Pole

*Unique image. It was created via multiple images (mosaic) during a spacecraft flyby in 1990. Is centered on the South Pole.

...this mosaic was constructed by piecing together images made over a 24 hour period so that the entire hemisphere appears to be in sunlight.

Can see Australia, South America and Africa.

Also comments on major weather systems evident.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-26 05:04:52

http://www.spaceweather.com/moonbows/24 … mp.jpg]Yep, this ghostly arch

*...is a moonbow. J. Paul Longchamp took the photo this past weekend, in Tahiti. The full Moon provided the necessary lighting and of course there was plenty of humidity in the air (I've lived in humid areas and haven't seen a moonbow). Image hosted by spaceweather.com.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-04-26 17:21:53

Gosh! A 'moonbow'.
I didn't even know they made such things!
I'll have to keep a lookout for them - especially since humidity is par for the course here in Cairns.

Palomar · 2005-04-27 07:52:31

Gosh! A 'moonbow'.
I didn't even know they made such things!
I'll have to keep a lookout for them - especially since humidity is par for the course here in Cairns.

*I wonder how many people have missed seeing a moonbow because they didn't think to look. :hm: I lived in the subtropics for 6 months, in the mid-80s; IIRC, the humidity just hangs there like an invisible sheet most of the time. :-\

The Midwest of the U.S. is very humid as well, averaging 80% most of the time. But of course it's most humid during thunderstorms...and good luck getting a break in the clouds during a full/near-to-full moon to spot a moonbow. That is, if a tornado isn't bearing down on you. :laugh:

Oddly enough, that photo showed up better on older computer's monitor than this newer computer; could see the colors better.

Good luck on seeing a moonbow, Shaun. If you do, let me know.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-28 07:40:37

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnatu … r.html]New radar system...

*...it's hoped this'll reduce false alarms regarding tornadoes by 75%. Should go online in Spring of 2006. Involves radar setup in 4 communities, which will form a "diamond-shaped test bed." The area involved (in OK) was selected because it averages 50 severe thunderstorms, 2 tornado touchdowns and 4 false alarms per year.

By using a network of low-powered radars in close proximity, the CASA program radar is expected to be able to bring the scanning range down to within 50 meters of the ground. The radar also will be able to target specific weather features, including tornadoes that are shrouded in heavy rain.

Discusses flaws in the current NEXRAD system (many false alarms, a "blind spot" due to the curvature of the Earth).

Says the new system should be able to identify a tornado 60 seconds after formation. Will also provide info on flash floods and other nasty weather.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-04-29 10:16:38

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/2 … pg]Another night-time 'bow

*Storm, lightning and a moonbow. Wicked lightning bolts; love 'em. Why the heck was this guy out at the god-awful hour of 2:00 a.m.??

Is from Great Falls, Montana. The top two photos were taken 20 seconds apart. This is being hosted at spaceweather.com:

The solution: this is a lunar rainbow. Behind the photographer's back, a nearly-full Moon was shining brightly. Moonbeams illuminated raindrops beneath the crackling thunderhead, forming a rare and beautiful rainbow in the night.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-05 04:12:47

Cindy:-

Why the heck was this guy out at the god-awful hour of 2:00 a.m.??

:laugh: Might help explain why I've seen so few moonbows.

Palomar · 2005-05-05 14:21:56

Cindy:-
Why the heck was this guy out at the god-awful hour of 2:00 a.m.??
:laugh: Might help explain why I've seen so few moonbows.

*I hear you, lol. It'd be worth it, though. From a window or under a carport, not out in the open (my healthy fear of lightning).

Speaking of weather and wee hours of the morning, last month I woke up around 3:00 a.m. I took a look out the front door, and ... what loveliness to behold. The full Moon was perhaps 1-1/2 hours past zenith. The sky was a soft, otherworldly blue I've only seen maybe three other times (because otherwise I'm sleeping, of course). A few bands of high, thin clouds looked more silver than white. The city was still, everything hushed. The new green leaves on the trees shimmered in a gentle breeze, bathed in that silvery moonlight. It was paradise on Earth. ::sigh::

I wished I'd stood there for half an hour more, but was very tired and reluctantly went back to sleep.

The guy who took that photo of the moonbow lucked out, I think; it seems he was "just" snapping photos of the lightning bolts and Mother Nature gave him a bonus. Lucky him.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-05 20:52:15

Cindy:-

A few bands of high, thin clouds looked more silver than white. The city was still, everything hushed.

Ah yes.
I've seen nights just like that. Fairy tale stuff that even Walt Disney can't match. It almost makes you ache to witness its surreal beauty - familiar things seen in an unfamiliar, seemingly alien, light. Another world indeed.
Magic!

Palomar · 2005-05-11 05:22:50

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/1 … .jpg]Photo: Fogbow w/ two supernumerary bows

*Snow in May?? :laugh: Okay, so it is a higher elevation. Taken May 9, on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. Photo by Jim Salge of MW Observatory.

WHITE RAINBOW: Mount Washington in New Hampshire experiences some of the world's worst weather. Winds exceed hurricane force, on average, 104 days each year. Temperatures plunge to -47°F. Fog envelops the summit 3 out of every 4 days. Sounds awful.

I've heard about Mt. Washington's weather reputation. :-\

Says Salge: "I've wanted to get a shot of a fogbow like this for some time, and this morning the conditions were perfect: thin fog and a bright sun!"

Saw plenty of fog growing up in the Midwest. Not sure I've seen a fogbow, though.

"Always look for ghostly fogbows when a low sun starts to shine through mist or fog," adds atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "They are almost colorless and sparkle and shimmer in the misty light. Fogbows are formed like rainbows, with tiny fog droplets taking the place of much larger raindrops. The light waves squeezed inside the small drops interfere to produce the broad diffuse bow. The Mount Washington bow shows more evidence of light wave interference--notice the two supernumerary bows tucked inside the main bow?"

Image and captions from spaceweather.com.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-12 06:11:12

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/05 … .html]NOAA civilian weather satellite launch delayed...

*...for the 2nd time. Launch site is central coastal California. The area has been experiencing high winds, with gusts up to 30 knots.

The web page is continually updating.

Good luck. I hope they get a perfect launch soon.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-13 06:49:33

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/05 … Electrical gremlins in the system...

*3rd launch attempt delayed of this weather satellite. Continual updates. The quote about the "electrical gremlins" is seen in the entry timed 0950 GMT -- 5:50 a.m. EDT on today's date.

They'll get it accomplished sooner or later, right?

On a different note: The Dakotas got 9 inches of snow yesterday. Yipes.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-14 11:24:47

http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/atlan … s]Atlantic Primed for Heavy Storms

*They're predicting another heavy hurricane season. I saw a similar article earlier this week; apparently lots of folks aren't overly concerned. :hm: I'll probably never understand the "wait/worry until the very last moment" types.

"Right now, the Atlantic looks very favorable for storms," Klotzbach told the conference. "The sea surface temperatures are incredibly warm, much warmer than normal, and the sea-level pressures have been quite low."

2005 hurricane season is just two weeks away. Tornado season is already well underway; last evening we saw a huge twister caught on video in the Texas panhandle. Nasty brute of a funnel; caramel brown in color and swirling violently.

Whoops...sorry for the distraction <grin>

Discusses rising salinity in a "vast stretch" of the Atlantic and the chain of effects that causes. Then this:

"I can tell you that we have had more tropical storms, and more hurricanes, since 1995 than any other 10-consecutive-year period on record," Mayfield said Wednesday. "So folks, we're in this active period, like it or not."

What's interesting, though, is -- IIRC -- 2003 was also predicted to have a very hectic hurricane season...yet it fell short of expectations (thank goodness).

Guess we'll find out.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-14 18:58:54

An interesting article.
That Professor William Gray and his colleagues are evidently very highly regarded in this field and their predictions are taken seriously. But, to some extent at least, I can understand the reluctance of the public to get too concerned about the forecasts made.
Here in tropical north Queensland, Australia, we get grim predictions most years that 4 or 6 cyclones, or whatever the number may be, will cross the coast in our vicinity during the summer. Yet, Cairns hasn't been hit by a cyclone since 1999, though there have been two or three relatively weak systems in that period, which have crossed the coast close enough to give us more than a little rain!
Overall, in fact, it appears the South Pacific doesn't have the heat energy to spawn as many cyclones these days. At least, that's the feeling I get, looking at the weather maps and watching Tropical Lows as they move across the ocean.

I notice Professor Gray et al. don't attribute the recent increase in the number of hurricanes in the North Atlantic/ Gulf of Mexico as being anything to do with global warming. Rather, they see it as being part of a regular natural cycle.
It's refreshing to hear from people who are disinclined to blame everything on dramatic warming of the planet and who refrain from making doomsday extrapolations of the data.

[DISCLAIMER: I am in favour of the rapid and global discontinuation of dependence on fossil fuels. I support efforts to make an urgent conversion to clean and sustainable energy sources. I believe it is unwise to suddenly and substantially increase atmospheric CO2 when the possible outcome isn't known.
RIDER: At the same time, I strongly disagree with the scientific establishment allowing data to be extrapolated beyond the point of reasonable doubt. I particularly disagree with such behaviour if it even looks like it could be politically motivated. Science must be impartial and detached and it must be seen to be so. Riding on bandwagons may be fashionable and fun .. but only until the wheels fall off! :rant:
(End of rant! ) ]

Palomar · 2005-05-15 09:47:46

Riding on bandwagons may be fashionable and fun .. but only until the wheels fall off! :rant:
(End of rant! ) ]

:laugh: That is a terrific saying. So true.

But, to some extent at least, I can understand the reluctance of the public to get too concerned about the forecasts made.

Hmmmmm. Perhaps my experiences in the Midwest, with all its severe thunderstorms and tornadoes has influenced my thinking: If nasty weather is predicted up there, 9.5 times out of 10 it will come to pass. But hurricanes do such awful, widespread damage.

Here in tropical north Queensland, Australia, we get grim predictions most years that 4 or 6 cyclones, or whatever the number may be, will cross the coast in our vicinity during the summer. Yet, Cairns hasn't been hit by a cyclone since 1999, though there have been two or three relatively weak systems in that period, which have crossed the coast close enough to give us more than a little rain!

I'll bet you miss those big nasty cyclones! :;): But, better safe than sorry.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-20 06:24:03

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/05 … tml]NOAA-N weather satellite successfully launched (finally)

*It reached Mach 1 in 30 seconds. Interesting to scroll down and see the progression of events. So many details, yipes.

NOAA-N is responding fine. Solar array has been deployed. Last update said antennae are being deployed.

Nice continual updates.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-20 08:40:34

http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gall … e4.htm]May 2005 aurora gallery

*Lots of nice photos from around the Midwest and North. I'm always somewhat surprised at the number of photos from my home State. It's often cloudy there, and I certainly don't recall ever having seen auroral activity as bright as in some of these photos. :hm:

When nights were clear or partly cloudy, I'd be out with my 'scope or simply stargazing with the unaided eye -- and never saw displays like these. Hmmmmm. And sometimes that was in extremely cold weather, too.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-20 11:55:54

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050520/ap_ … soldiers]A "snow tsunami"

*Happened in Chile. How awful. :-\ Thank goodness for those who survived. Sounds a fierce blizzard. Perhaps an avalanche as well? Probably some sort of translation uncertainty.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-24 04:55:00

*Here's something unusual and different. Nope, not the aurora. This photo was taken at the South Pole by J. Dana Hrubes, who says they get auroral phenomena nearly every day (and no Sun for 6 months...unimaginable).

That streak of light in the photo is an http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980402.html]Iridium satellite flare.

http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/imag … .jpg]Photo

Mr. Hrubes says they see Iridium satellite flares "every 9 minutes because there are 66 polar orbiting Iridium satellites."

http://dhrubes.home.att.net/april-05.html]Additional photos by J. Dana Hrubes

Temperature averages -75 F to -100 F; mentions hardships of photography in those circumstances (well...one can only imagine!). :-\

All information being hosted by spaceweather.com (except what's contained in the Astropix link of course).

--Cindy

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