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Re: Weather!
Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 4:43 pm
by Chris Peterson
bystander wrote:Chris Peterson wrote:
Just crazy. This is the wettest spring I remember ...
Oklahoma, too. This May is the wettest month ever recorded, 16+ inches of rain in OKC. From severe drought conditions in Western OK to all the lakes and reservoirs at flood stage. The ground is so wet that half an inch of rain creates flash flood conditions. And, of course, in Oklahoma, with the severe thunder storms comes hail and tornadoes.
It's not changing. This is my gauge for the month. It shows about 5 inches, but that's probably at least 3 inches low because it misses a lot of snowmelt. Still, this month the only day I haven't recorded precipitation was May 3. Apparently the record for consecutive days of measurable precipitation along the Front Range (the eastern side of the Rockies, dropping down onto the plains) was 11 days. That record is well and truly crushed.
Still, we get Sun on most days as well, and the weather isn't cold. The trees, grass, and flowers are loving this.
Re: Weather!
Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 6:05 pm
by orin stepanek
we aren't even getting much sunshine! A lot on moisture coming up from the Gulf!
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
Re: Weather!
Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 11:57 pm
by owlice
Torrential rain, thunder, lightning, tornado and flash flood warnings. Boom! Crash! Crash! Boom!
Re: Weather!
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 12:20 am
by owlice
Second line will hit in a few minutes; much bigger, much more lightning, and new tornado warning, but southwest of here.
Re: Weather!
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:51 pm
by Ron-Astro Pharmacist
A little lightning in our area last night. Any tips on a "How to photograph lightning" besides just luck of the "click"?
The "lucky guess" method works occasionally but I thought there might be an easier way.
![:) :ssmile:](./images/smilies/smile.gif)
Re: Weather!
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 5:55 pm
by Chris Peterson
Ron-Astro Pharmacist wrote:A little lightning in our area last night. Any tips on a "How to photograph lightning" besides just luck of the "click"?
At night you just take a continuous series of long exposures (whatever works for how dark your location- 10-30 seconds is reasonable). This approach is pretty foolproof. For daytime shots you need a lighting triggered shutter adapter for your camera.
Re: Weather!
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:33 pm
by Ron-Astro Pharmacist
Chris Peterson wrote:
At night you just take a continuous series of long exposures (whatever works for how dark your location- 10-30 seconds is reasonable). This approach is pretty foolproof. For daytime shots you need a lighting triggered shutter adapter for your camera.
That sounds like a plan for the next go around. We don't often get a chance like last night and I missed many other opportunities. Thanks for the tip.
Ron
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:42 am
by neufer
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:24 pm
by geckzilla
Looks like I'm in for a bit of rain.
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:32 pm
by neufer
geckzilla wrote:
Looks like I'm in for a bit of rain.
If you accept the
mean path.
But the models tend to bifurcate to the West & East:
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:09 pm
by neufer
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3135 wrote:
![Arrow :arrow:](./images/smilies/icon_arrow.gif)
<<The latest runs from our two top models for forecasting hurricane tracks: the 8 pm EDT Wednesday September 30, 2015 (00Z Thursday) run of the European model (left), and the 2 am EDT October 1 (06Z) run of the GFS model (right) both took Joaquin on a path out to sea that misses the U.S. coast, but were still very far apart. Image credit: wundermap with the "Model Data" layer turned on.>>
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:25 pm
by BMAONE23
geckzilla wrote:Looks like I'm in for a bit of rain.
You should capture it, bottle it, and sell it to California
2015: largest ozone hole in last 10 years?
Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:23 pm
by neufer
http://www.weather.com/science/environment/news/ozone-hole-closing-nasa wrote:
Hole In the Earth's Ozone Layer
Is Finally Closing Up, NASA Says
By Sean Breslin, weather.com, May 13 2015
<<A hole in our atmosphere more than twice the size of the United States is finally beginning to close up, and might even be completely gone by the end of the century, according to a new study by NASA scientists. The report was published in the journal Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. In short, it tells us that the measures taken to heal our ozone layer are, and will be, successful.
It's been about 30 years since scientists discovered the massive hole above Antarctica – a hole that was created by releasing chlorofluorocarbons into the air, National Geographic reported. Since the alarming find, there has been an international movement to reduce the size of that hole, including a ban on CFCs.
According to the new report, the ozone hole has been at least 8 million square miles in size every year since 1990, but if estimates are correct, the hole should shrink and remain consistently smaller by the 2040s. By 2100, the hole could be completely gone, the study added. "
With this new information, we can look into the future and say with confidence that ozone holes will be consistently smaller than 8 million square miles [20.72 million square kilometers] by 2040," Susan Strahan, a senior research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a video about the study. "
And that will really be a milestone that we're finally past the era of big ozone holes.">>
Equatorial UV radiation over the Antarctic Ocean!
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:24 pm
by neufer
Re: 2015: largest ozone hole in last 10 years?
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:42 pm
by neufer
Re: 2015: largest ozone hole in last 10 years?
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:11 pm
by neufer
https://www.wmo.int/media/content/large-antarctic-ozone-hole-observed wrote:
Large Antarctic Ozone Hole Observed
WMO News, 29 October 2015
<<The surface area of the 2015 Antarctic ozone hole is among the largest observed, according to a new Bulletin from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This is because of colder than usual high-altitude (stratospheric) meteorological conditions. WMO stressed that the temperature conditions in the Antarctic stratosphere vary from year to year, so that in some years the ozone hole is relatively small and in other years relatively large. Overall, however, this does not reverse the projected long-term recovery in the coming decades.
On 2 October the ozone hole reached its maximum extent this year with an area of 28.2 million km2. This is the largest ozone hole area ever measured on this specific date according to the data record from NASA. Since 2 October the ozone hole area calculated by NASA has been larger than any other ozone holes for those dates. Averaged over the 30 consecutive days with largest area, the number is 26.9 million km2. This is the third largest observed after the record-breaking ozone holes of 2000 and 2006.
"This shows us that the ozone hole problem is still with us and we need to remain vigilant. But there is no reason for undue alarm,” said Geir Braathen, a senior scientist in WMO’s Atmospheric and Environment Research Division.
The stratospheric ozone layer, which is found at about 25 kilometers altitude, protects us from the harmful rays of the sun. Ozone depletion – which occurs annually during the southern hemisphere spring - is caused by extreme cold temperatures in the stratosphere and the presence of ozone-eating gases in the atmosphere such as chlorine and bromine.
Montreal Protocol
“The 1987 Montreal Protocol is in place and is working well. But we may continue to see large Antarctic ozone holes until about 2025 because of weather conditions in the stratosphere and because ozone depleting chemicals linger in the atmosphere for several decades after they have been phased out,” said Mr Braathen.
During the southern hemisphere winter, the atmosphere above the Antarctic continent is cut off from exchanges with mid-latitude air by winds known as the polar vortex – the area in which the main chemical ozone destruction occurs. The polar vortex is characterized by very low temperatures leading to the presence of so-called polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs).
As the polar spring arrives in September or October, the combination of returning sunlight and the presence of polar stratospheric clouds leads to a release of highly ozone-reactive chlorine radicals that destroy ozone.
Polar Vortex
Ozone depletion this year started relatively late because the polar vortex remained in the polar night during July and most of August. When the sun came back to the polar region in late August, ozone depletion picked up rapidly. The stability of the vortex led to low temperatures in the stratosphere and an above average area of nitric acid polar stratospheric clouds during August and September.
The maximum ozone hole area that has been reached in 2015 is quite similar to that of 2008. The difference is that in 2015 the vortex has remained cold and stable and there has been very limited transport of ozone rich air from middle latitudes.>>
South Georgia Island takes big hit from ozone hole
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 4:02 am
by neufer
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 6:58 am
by geckzilla
Might want to shut in throughout the day on those islands for now...
Re: Weather!
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:25 pm
by neufer
geckzilla wrote:
Might want to shut in throughout the day on those islands for now...
http://news.sciencemag.org/2010/11/whales-get-sunburns-too wrote:
Whales Get Sunburns, Too
Science Magazine, 9 November 2010
By Virginia Morell
<<"Most people think that whales can't get sunburned because of their dark skins," says Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse, a wildlife molecular epidemiologist at the Institute of Zoology in London. "But in the last decade, there have been increasing reports about skin lesions on whales and dolphins." Although some of the lesions may be due to pathogens, such as fungi and viruses, Acevedo-Whitehouse thought it likely that ultraviolet radiation (UVR) plays a role, too. UVR produces specific changes, including DNA damage, in skin cells, making it possible to identify the sun as the culprit.
And, just as in humans, the lighter-skinned blue whales suffered more from the sun's rays, whereas the darkest whales, the fin whales, had the fewest abnormalities. Although darker than blue whales,
sperm whales had almost the same amount of sun damage, perhaps because they spend more time at the surface breathing between dives, the researchers speculate. Also like fair-skinned humans, the blue whales seemed to respond to the sun's rays by producing more pigmented cells, which help repair sun-damaged skin and protect it from UVR.
"The whales are being hammered by UV rays every day, every time they surface," says Acevedo-Whitehouse, who is continuing to study the long-term effects of UVR on the whales. "The big question now is whether their cellular repair mechanisms are being exceeded," which could lead to chronic health problems, including cancer. She notes, however, that her team has not found a case of skin cancer in any of the samples of whale skin it has examined thus far.
"It's a very important paper because it gives us a tool to recognize UVR-caused lesions in whales," says Marie-Françoise Van Bressem, a veterinary scientist and specialist on cetacean diseases at the Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research in Pucusana. "It is easy for us to forget about UV rays because we can protect ourselves against [them]," she adds. "But the whales can't."
St. Severinus Day : November 19
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:48 pm
by neufer
Re: Weather!
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:49 pm
by Beyond
I thought the ozone hole was supposed to be getting smaller. It doesn't look like it from those two charts.
Re: Weather!
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:06 pm
by Chris Peterson
Beyond wrote:I thought the ozone hole was supposed to be getting smaller. It doesn't look like it from those two charts.
We're still putting quite a lot of ozone depleting chemicals into the atmosphere. But on the whole, the ozone level appears to be stabilizing. But it will take decades to clear out the chemicals already there, which are very stable. Add to this the fact that global warming cools the stratosphere, and that results in greater ozone depletion (holes) in the arctic regions.
Re: Weather!
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:17 pm
by neufer
Beyond wrote:
I thought the ozone hole was supposed to be getting smaller. It doesn't look like it from those two charts.
The October 1
st (maximal) ozone hole is
definitely getting smaller due to the phase out of CFCs.
However, the
residual late-November ozone hole is the a more dangerous contributor to ultraviolet radiation damage due to higher Sun angles, longer days and (for ocean creatures) less protective sea ice. The size and longevity of dangerous
late-November ozone holes depends upon many factors (including, perhaps, global warming).
Re: Weather!
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:05 pm
by Beyond
Oh, ok.
Re: St. Severinus Day : November 19
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 2:28 pm
by neufer
http://www.temis.nl/protocols/o3hole/uv.php?lang=0 wrote:
- Clear-sky UV index for 18 Nov 2015
<<With a thinner ozone layer and a higher position of the sun in the sky more ultraviolet radiation will reach Earth’s surface.
The clear-sky UV index is the effective UV irradiance (1 unit equals 25 mW/m²) reaching the Earth’s surface.
The clear-sky UV index is based on the CIE action spectrum for the susceptibility of the caucasian skin to sunburn (erythema) and it is valid for cloud-free conditions at local solar noon.>>
http://en.mercopress.com/2015/11/18/tierra-del-fuego-ozone-alert-with-uv-radiation-reaching-extreme-risk-or-harm wrote:
Tierra del Fuego ozone alert with 'UV radiation reaching extreme risk or harm'
Merco Press, Wednesday, November 18th 2015 - 07:53 UTC
<<Tierra del Fuego in south Argentina has sent out a warning to residents in the province that the ozone layer hole as it expands to the north, over the tip of South America continent this week, it will be reaching its maximum size with UV radiation at 12, violet or extreme alert. The information was provided by Argentina's VAG Ushuaia Station [located in the Ushuaia peninsula].
According to the international UV Index reading of 11 or more means extreme risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure and several precautions must be taken since unprotected skin and eyes can burn in minutes.
Among which are: Try to avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If outdoors, seek shade and wear protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking sunglasses. Generously apply broad spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen every 2 hours, even on cloudy days, and after swimming or sweating. Watch out for bright surfaces, like sand, water and snow, which reflect UV and increase exposure.
As a matter of fact, the hole over Antarctica is slowly repairing itself, according to several scientific papers, but it's a slow long term process. The size of the ozone hole, however, varies according to the season, and it tends to grow bigger during the spring and summer. It is currently spring in Antarctica. Scientists from the German Aerospace Center believe that this is caused by the concentration of chlorofluorocarbons, or nontoxic, nonflammable chemicals containing carbon, chlorine and fluorine, which increases because of lower temperatures at this time of the year.>>