Earth Atmospherics/Weather

Palomar · 2005-08-13 10:10:11

Tornadoes can strike anywhere in the continental U.S.

*...and Wyoming got hit by one. Rare.

Two people dead, approximately a dozen injured. Unfortunately the tornado ripped through mobile homes; utter destruction. Sad.

One couple recalls screaming at each other while they were lifted into the air...they were knocked unconscious apparently; their next memory was of waking up.

That reminds me of a segment I saw on The Weather Channel's Storm Stories. A few years ago a woman in the Kansas area was pulled into a tornado; she was 46 years old at the time. Home alone, no basement (no basement in the Midwest Tornado Alley??) -- she ran to the bathroom (safest place in a house with no basement), got down on the floor and hung onto the base of the toilet for dear life (it's recommended you grab/hold onto a plumbing fixture if a bathroom is your only safety alternative). No good: The ceiling went, up she went. It's a miracle this lady survived; she was carried at least a mile or two by the twister. She recalled (later) seeing debris flying around in front of her eyes, then was knocked unconscious. Two tornado chasers (guys) were out that evening; by chance they took a secondary road they normally would have avoided. They'd just switched the truck's headlights on and started down the road when soon they saw an odd figure approaching them. They thought at first it was a large animal, but then noticed it walking on two legs. It was that lady: Covered with mud and glass, debris in her tangled-up hair, cuts and bruises all over. Terrible. They helped her into the truck and fortunately not too far down the road was an ambulance. Her family discovered she was okay; husband didn't recognize her at the hospital due to swelling of her face from cuts and etc. Doctors had to remove dozens of bits of glass from her body. ::shakes head:: She didn't have much scarring afterwards; looks healthy and back to normal now. Her rescuers believe they were "led" to go down that road, and of course to ultimately save her life.

Anyone else here watch Storm Stories on The Weather Channel? It's very interesting and covers a vast range of weather-related dilemmas with rescues and etc. Has safety/survival tips at the end of each segment, too.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-08-14 02:40:55

Cindy:-

That reminds me of a segment I saw on The Weather Channel's Storm Stories. A few years ago a woman in the Kansas area was pulled into a tornado; she was 46 years old at the time. Home alone, no basement (no basement in the Midwest Tornado Alley??) -- she ran to the bathroom (safest place in a house with no basement), got down on the floor and hung onto the base of the toilet for dear life (it's recommended you grab/hold onto a plumbing fixture if a bathroom is your only safety alternative). No good: The ceiling went, up she went. It's a miracle this lady survived; she was carried at least a mile or two by the twister. She recalled (later) seeing debris flying around in front of her eyes, then was knocked unconscious.

What an incredible story! :shock:
The number of different ways that woman could have died. Yet she survived. Makes you wonder whether there really is a book with your 'due date' in it - and hers wasn't due! :!:

There are so many horrible things that happen to people that it confirms for many the impersonal and Godless nature of the universe. But there are other things which make me wonder, including things like this story of survival and the fact that this woman's rescuers 'just happened' to be there at the right time and the ambulance 'just happened' to be nearby.
-- It's all very personal, I know, but it's things like this that make me think there's more to existence than sheer chance.

Sorry - more rambling! Just some thoughts.

Thanks, Cindy, for keeping us all informed about the power and beauty of the weather, not to mention other topics. Small wonder your input accounts for 11% of all the posts at New Mars (something I found out just now).
Congratulations on a truly remarkable record!

Palomar · 2005-08-15 11:23:17

There are so many horrible things that happen to people that it confirms for many the impersonal and Godless nature of the universe. But there are other things which make me wonder, including things like this story of survival and the fact that this woman's rescuers 'just happened' to be there at the right time and the ambulance 'just happened' to be nearby.
-- It's all very personal, I know, but it's things like this that make me think there's more to existence than sheer chance.

*Yes...I know what you mean. As for the compliments, thank you. :oops:

Was going to put this in "Apropos of Nothing," but as it relates to weather: In the SW downpours of rain are called gulley washers. We got caught in one last evening. Went to El Paso for the day, helping sis-in-law move back into her home (newly divorced). Weather unpredictable and evening before last they'd had intense rains and flooding in certain areas (the city wraps around a tall mountain chain). On the drive home -- in the middle of a big city I've not driven in for a year, much less at night, much less during an intense storm -- a thunderstorm broke. The highway at that point is 4 lanes in each direction and lane locked; in other words, no shoulder of the road to pull onto; you're on the road in traffic, period. The downpour became so intense that the road became a faint blur of sepia-colored light (streetlights) and red (vehicle tail-lights): At one point the lane separation markers were completely invisible. I've driven in all kinds of rough, crazy weather in the Midwest but that's 13 years ago now and weather here is usually dry and wonderful. I actually began breathing -somewhat- like going into labor (childbirth). I was getting nervous but managed to keep my cool (what else can you do??). At one point someone actually STOPPED in the left-hand (fast) lane; if their car conked out they didn't have their hazards/flashers on. :!: :shock: An SUV ahead and to our left managed to swerve and go around the stand-still car just in the nick of time. If we'd been any closer to that SUV, there would have been an accident: Either the stopped car and the SUV or all three of us. :shock:

::shakes head::

The rain began relenting about 2 miles north of city's center and I goosed it; wanted to get ahead of the rain (it was tracking north, in our direction). No more troubles after that, thankfully. Gulley washers indeed.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-16 05:22:52

Launch of GOES-N Weather Observatory is "go"

*...for 6:32 p.m. EDT today. Best of luck with the launch. Countdown begins this morning. Continual updates within the link -- live.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-17 05:09:05

Shadow-streaked rainbow

*B. Ramotowski took this photo near Albuquerque, NM on August 13. I don't recall seeing a rainbow like this before. Very nice, can see portions of the rainbow "smeared" to either side.

Spaceweather.com is hosting the photo. Here's the accompanying caption:

The shadows crossing this rainbow are called "spokes." Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley explains: "Sky shadows converge towards a point directly opposite the sun. This is also the center of the rainbow. Shadows falling on rainbow-forming raindrops therefore cut a radial slice from it because the drops no longer beam sunlight and colours towards us. Sometimes the shadowed rainbow looks like a spoked wheel."

Cool. Has anyone here seen a similar effect?

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-08-17 06:15:10

Well the GOES launch was scrubbed this time due to a battery voltage alarm in the vehicle's second stage. These are part of the rocket's self-destruct system, they had expired and needed to be replaced. Looks like the next launch will be in October.

Palomar · 2005-08-18 05:27:53

Spectacular bolt

*All those jagged branches off the main bolt... <low whistle>. Occasionally this area has lightning of this sort.

My favorite lightning effect are the rippling cloud-to-cloud displays: Forks of lightning (similar to the photo) passing between the clouds. I haven't seen that in years; it was rather common in the Midwest.

Photo is being hosted by spaceweather.com. Pic was taken by J. W. Young (who is also a JPL astronomer) "a few nights ago in the Mojave."

Terra firma getting fried:

Every 10 milliseconds somewhere on our planet a bolt of lightning plunges down from the clouds and strikes Earth

A miracle anyone can survive a lightning strike:

If this lightning bolt was like most, it heated the air around it to ~20,000o C or three times hotter than the surface of the Sun. The bolt itself was lit by a thousand billion (1012) watts of electrical power.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-22 09:27:12

Lenticular cloud over Hawaii

*We get lots of lenticular clouds in this area, but they don't just occur over mountains directly. A few months ago there were 5 of them, small, lined up in the west -- and not over any mountain chain. I thought, "Oh...the spaceships are parked in formation." They were cute. The one in this photo looks like it has a huge suction cup on its underside. They can be pretty or just plain bizarre looking.

Here's one over New Hampshire.

That one is even more remarkable. And of course Google Images will yield up a slew of 'em.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-25 05:18:51

Meteor dust affects climate?

*Article discusses the disintegration over Antarctica last September of a 1000 tonne meteor. It left a cloud of dust in its wake which trailed from 35 to 11 miles in altitude (friction with air molecules stripped the meteor). That's a long trail.

Closer inspection of the lingering cloud, using instruments at an Antarctic ground station, suggests its particles were as large as 20 microns (20 millionths of a metre) -- around a thousand times bigger than previous estimates for the size of meteor debris.
The finding is significant, because large quantities of dust are dumped in Earth's atmosphere from tiny pieces of asteroid rubble or debris left by passing comets, although no-one knows for sure how much is deposited.
Previous research has already shown that particles which are larger than one micron, spewed out by volcanoes, can play a crucial role in affecting weather.
Their relatively large size helps them to reflect the Sun's rays, thus creating a local cooling effect, and also provides a nucleus for attracting atmospheric moisture -- they encourage clouds to form.

Maybe we're getting bombarded more often than we know. Yipes.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-08-25 05:37:26

With each one the Earth continues to grow slowly. Interesting that they could find a meteor material vapor trail. Next we will hear that meteors are to blame for global cooling. Sure would take a lot of them thou all at once.

Palomar · 2005-08-25 07:23:49

Katrina & The Waves

*No walking on sunshine as Katrina approaches. She's still classed as a Tropical Storm with winds averaging 50 mph. Predictions are she could strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane late today or early tomorrow; if so, winds will increase to 74 to 95 mph.

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area is the apparent target, though Katrina could shift north or south. 6 to 12 inches of rain being mentioned; 20" in other areas.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: The link isn't working. It was from livescience.com. I tried relinking, to no avail. Will post a Yahoo! link instead:

Yahoo! article

::EDIT 2:: As of approximately 2:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time Katrina's officially gained hurricane status:

Florida Now Bracing for Hurricane Katrina
AP - 13 minutes ago
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Katrina became a hurricane Thursday, dumping steady rains, kicking up the surf and blowing gusty winds ashore as it crept toward an overnight landfall on Florida's densely populated southeast coast. Katrina's maximum sustained wind speeds increased from 50 to 75 mph on Thursday, making it a weak Category 1 storm, said hurricane specialist Lixion Avila of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Category 1 storms have top sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph, and wind damage to secured structures is usually minimal.

SpaceNut · 2005-08-26 05:34:11

More on a previously mentioned story.
Cosmic hole-in-one captured over Antarctica

What at first looked like an electronic glitch turned out to be a significant event in space, in fact, a cosmic hole-in-one.

What a powerful telescope had picked up as it stretched towards the night sky over Antarctica was the trail of dust left in the wake of the death of an asteroid.

Appears the scientist in the Antartica was setting up the Light Detection and Ranging or LIDAR a instrument that fires laser into the air and looks for reflection sort of simular to radar.

Palomar · 2005-08-26 12:17:26

Update on Katrina

*It was forecast as a weak Hurricane expected to fizzle out. Two people remained outdoors; both were killed when struck by falling trees. Two additional people dead and a family of 5 missing. She struck the panhandle with winds from 80 to 92 mph; 11-1/2 inches of rain. Top winds of 100 mph are being reported and forecasters are considering Category II status.

Katrina is strengthening as she moves into the Gulf and is expected to strengthen further before striking the Gulf Coast early next week.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-27 04:57:01

FL Panhandle residents nervous

*Katrina has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane as of early today. I was wondering if she'd go past Cat 2; yep. She's packing winds of 115 mph. Seven people have died. She's projected to strike between the FL Panhandle and LA.

--Cindy

C M Edwards · 2005-08-28 12:58:06

Katrina is now a category 5 storm, the fourth largest ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. It is projected to make landfall just south of New Orleans tomorrow morning. Its projected storm surge is 20ft, with 40ft waves on top of that.

Like Amsterdam, New Orleans is largely below sea level. It is protected by an extensive system of levees (dikes), but these can only stop a flood 13 ft high, not 20.

Every major road to New Orleans has been blocked off by the state police and converted to a one way street leading out. They are evacuating the city before Katrina turns it into an extension of Lake Ponchartrain.

Palomar · 2005-08-28 19:09:59

Katrina is now a category 5 storm, the fourth largest ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. It is projected to make landfall just south of New Orleans tomorrow morning. Its projected storm surge is 20ft, with 40ft waves on top of that.
Like Amsterdam, New Orleans is largely below sea level. It is protected by an extensive system of levees (dikes), but these can only stop a flood 13 ft high, not 20.
Every major road to New Orleans has been blocked off by the state police and converted to a one way street leading out. They are evacuating the city before Katrina turns it into an extension of Lake Ponchartrain.

*I've been out most of the day, but heard the news earlier. Yes, how awful. Mayor of New Orleans ordered all-city evacuation around 11:15 a.m. EST. The levee/dike system is only built to withstand a Category 3. They're predicting 18 feet of flooding possible.

Last topped sustained winds I knew of were 175 mph.

--Cindy

BWhite · 2005-08-28 19:21:00

Katrina's central pressure is lower than Camille and Camille hit a much less vulnerable location.

Some people are talking about gasoline being at $5 per gallon later this week because of Katrina.

= = =

They're predicting 18 feet of flooding possible.

Possibly 30 feet above street level in parts of New Orleans.

= = =

Sweet dreams. not!

Shaun Barrett · 2005-08-28 20:17:32

Terrible!

C M Edwards · 2005-08-29 05:17:49

Katrina has weakened to Category 4 at landfall. New Orleans is still screwed, though. That city is already getting hurricane force winds, and the closest approach isn't for hours.

Outcoming footage showed flashes of light in their stormy skies. It wasn't lighting; it was transformers. The south side of New Orleans is already in the dark, and the rest will be soon.

The worst case scenario is 1 million people homeless by this time tomorrow. (Florida had worse last year, but it took all year to do it.) I really feel for those people who couldn't get out of New Orleans, or worse, are now stuck on the coast.

Palomar · 2005-08-29 13:25:56

*Katrina heads into Mississippi.

Hurricane Katrina plowed into the Gulf Coast at daybreak Monday with shrieking, 145-mph winds and blinding rain, submerging entire neighborhoods up to the rooflines in New Orleans, hurling boats onto land...

Estimated 40,000 homes flooded just east of New Orleans. Geez.

Katrina recorded a storm surge of more than 20 feet in Mississippi, where windows of a major hospital were blown out, utility poles dangled in the wind, and billboards were ripped to shreds. In some areas, authorities pulled stranded homeowners from roofs or rescued them from attics. In Alabama, exploding transformers lit up the early morning sky as power outages spread.

I can't imagine a storm so ferocious.

--Cindy

Whoops...nearly forgot to include the article I quoted from.

Palomar · 2005-08-30 06:03:44

*Katrina moves north.

There may be 80 deaths in 1 Mississippi county (Harrison) alone. Power outages to as many as 1 million people from FL panhandle to Louisiana. Spawned tornadoes possible -- and likely.

Katrina could set a record for insurance claims: They're projecting $26 billion in damages. That'd be $5 billion more than the previously most destructive hurricane.

Vandals are taking advantage of the mayhem; there are reports of looting.

Tennessee and Ohio Valley could get swamped with up to 8" of rain.

Article

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-08-30 06:27:35

News this morning was also indicating small pockets of dead in missippi and even a few at the Metro dome in new orleans.

C M Edwards · 2005-08-30 07:33:47

Katrina had passed by with major levee failures only in Bernard Parish and outskirts of the New Orleans area. For a few hours, it was believed that the worst case scenario had been avoided, and some news feeds are still reporting that information. However, the storm surge backed up into Lake Ponchartrain remained, and overtaxed levees began failing last night after the storm had ended. Portions of interstate highway 10 have been swept away and 80% of New Orleans is flooded. The waters are still rising as Lake Ponchartrain pours into the city.

For comparison, while the Great Lakes of North America as a system are larger than Lake Ponchartrain, no single one of the Great Lakes (Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, etc.) is larger than Lake Ponchartrain. Imagine the Chicago area if Lake Michigan went up twenty feet, and that's New Orleans this morning.

Biloxi, Mississippi, near what has suddenly become the mouth of Lake Ponchartrain as it empties into the sea, is still flooded as well. Biloxi also suffered significantly more wind damage then New Orleans. There are unconfirmed reports that the penninsula which used to form the west side of Biloxi Bay no longer exists.

And Katrina is still a coherent storm system. The state of Kentucky, almost a thousand miles inland, is getting their first tropical storm in decades.

I think Katrina is about to exceed Andrew as the most costly storm in US history.

Palomar · 2005-08-30 13:57:19

*Hi CM. Awful. Yep, Katrina is projected to cost $5 billion in insurance claims than Andrew. ::sigh::

On a different note, here's some interesting weather-related trivia I read last evening in The Old Farmer's 2006 Alamanac:

"Hurricanes and typhoons are supposed to be impossible on the equator. Storms swirl counterclockwise in the N. Hemisphere and clockwise in the South. Therefore, there is no way to have one storm that overlaps the equator and has its winds blowing 'properly' on both sides. Yet on 27 Dec 2001, Typhoon Vamel raged along the equator, damaging several U.S. naval vessels before slamming into the Malay Peninsula."

Wonders never cease, huh? Nature has its ways...wow.

And this:

"Spain was hit with basketball-sized hail in January 2000. Globally, more than 50 huge hailstones have been reported in recent years, some weighing 25 to 30 pounds. The largest ever reported, weighing 440 pounds, fell in Brazil." :shock:

::shakes head::

--Cindy

DonPanic · 2005-08-30 14:28:16

And while hurricanes strike, at UNO, Bush's diplomacy forbid any reference on climate change... :shock:

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