weather

Weather related fatalities over the years

nmorock — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:48:32 -0400

We’ve seen a lot of devastation and tragedy in the last couple weeks from the tornadoes out west. Now, with our first tropical storm of the season moving up the east coast, it’s time to think about weather-related fatalities that are not related to tornadoes.

We used to hear that flooding was the number one cause of weather-related deaths, and in fact, if you look at the 30 year average in the graph below, it still is. Flooding happens during the spring thaw in the upper plains, with strong storm systems moving across the continent, and often during tropical storms and hurricanes. In fact, more people die from flooding than from most other factors related to tropical systems. The good news is that the trend seems to be improving. The ten year average number of deaths by flooding is 76 per year, while the 30 year average is 89. In 2012, only 29 people (still 29 too many) died as a result floods.

Despite the destruction of Superstorm Sandy last fall, I have good news to report regarding fatalities directly attributed to hurricanes: there were just four last year. Still our 10 year average is up to 109 people per year. The ten years taken into account run from 2003 to 2012, so that decade included our highly active 2005 storm season, which included Katrina. By comparison, the 30 year average is 47.
Last year, 104 deaths were attributed to wind, which is more than twice the 10 year average. My guess is these were caused by the effects of wind on trees and power lines, both of which can prove deadly when they fall. Remember, straight line winds can be as destructive as weak (EF-0 to EF-2) tornadoes.

What might be surprising is that heat has become the number one weather-related killer. We’ve had several hotter than normal summers across the country in the last decade. Here in the South, most houses have air conditioning, and it’s easy for us to forget that a/c isn’t found in as many homes in the North. They aren’t used to needing it up there. Heat effects the very young and the elderly more than others – something to keep in mind as we head into the summer months.

While not all deaths attributed to weather are avoidable, common sense and precautions can go a long way in keeping those numbers down. Take warnings seriously. Listen to and act upon advice from weather officials and emergency managers. Take shelter from severe weather. Turn around; don’t drown during flooding. Check on your elderly neighbors during heat waves. Know how to safely escape rip currents. These rules may sound cliché, but they’re always worth repeating.

Graphic from the National Weather Service showing weather-related fatalities for 2012 based on storm reports and the 10 and 30 year averages for each type of cause of death.

Unseasonable storm shook the East Coast

tleonard — Tue, 28 May 2013 14:43:37 -0400

With the beginning of hurricane season this weekend, here's a look back at a major storm that took the east coast by surprise. The Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 affected many parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Later that year, historian and author David Stick provided The N&O with an account of the storm and a look back at how the state has dealt with effects of storms on the state's coastline.

Many of us living on the Outer Banks still find it hard to believe that the Ash Wednesday storm of this year was a nightmare we actually witnessed.

On March 6th, had we thought about storms at all, we would have felt secure. The expenditure of millions of dollars in money and hundreds of thousands of man hours in labor, over a period of a quarter of a century, had paid off in the construction of a high, wide and stabilized barrier dune along most of our coast.

But on the morning of March 7th many of us were awakened by hurricane intensity winds lashing from the northeast. Huge waves, fetching hundreds of miles across the stormy seas, were expending themselves against our shores in a final burst of thunderous anger.

Already the sudsy spindrift was banked against the beach grass in back of the dunes, and a person watching closely could see the first tentacles of foam-capped water sneaking through the sand valleys.

In a matter of minutes, for mile after mile along these Banks, the barrier dunes were breached. In many places, in the brief interval, the dunes simply disintegrated. Cottages, perched on the crest of those dunes, fell overboard. Others, facing the full fury of the breaking waves, were torn asunder.

Almost everywhere the flow of water over the beach was inundating roads and undermining low lying buildings, forming a vast new inland sea between the ocean and the sound. Within an hour much of the work of a quarter of a century was undone....

When the first Carolina proprietary settlements were attempted on Colington Island in 1664, the vessels supplying that plantation entered the sounds through Roanoke Inlet, which was located just north of the modern-day Roanoke Sound Bridge. During the early colonial period, as the settlement spread out along the shores and tributaries of Albemarle Sound, this Roanoke Inlet remained the main port of entry for the colony.

Early in the 18th century, however, the waters which had been coming down the Chowan and Roanoke Rivers to Albemarle Sound, and then through Roanoke Sound and out Roanoke Inlet to the ocean, gradually began to be diverted to the west of Roanoke Island. As this change took place Roanoke Inlet began to close, while the channels through Croatan Sound and Ocracoke Inlet increased in size.

Thus Roanoke Inlet disappeared and Ocracoke Inlet became the main port of entry during the late colonial period and the early years of statehood. But that was not to last either, for in 1846 a new inlet opened just 14 miles east of Ocracoke Inlet, and fifteen years later when the Civil War came to the Outer Banks this new Hatteras Inlet had become the most important on the coast.-- The News & Observer 7/29/62

In 1999, following Hurricane Dennis, writer James Eli Shiffer took a modern-day look at the shifting shape of the coast and its inlets.

Dennis wasn't the first storm to punch a hole through Hatteras Island between Buxton and Avon. The Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 drilled an inlet big enough that a temporary bridge was needed to connect the two parts of the island.

The bridge stayed for about two years, while residents dumped old cars and trash to try to fill it, said Stan Riggs, a geology professor at East Carolina University and barrier islands expert. Eventually the Army Corps of Engineers filled it with sand.

Still, the sea has washed over that skinny stretch of an already slender Hatteras Island at least twice since then. Its location at the island's elbow makes it a prime spot for the storm surge of Pamlico Sound to wash up and break through. "The water piles up in the corner, " Riggs said.

But whether the inlet remains depends on its size, he said.

"I bet it was just an overwash that happened to be a little bit deep. If that's the case, it will never stay there as an inlet. It will be gone in a second, as soon as wave action does its thing. To maintain an inlet, you have to have depth and current flow. It has to be a greater flow in and out of that thing than you have from wave energy."

Inlets play a vital role in the dynamic landscape of barrier islands. They create a flow of sand that helps islands migrate landward as the sea level rises. They also allow the ocean and rivers to mix, creating the brackish estuaries that are vital for fish spawning.

Inlets have also proven vital in North Carolina's history. The state's development in the 18th century depended on shipping through Ocracoke Inlet.

But inlets are fickle things. When Ocracoke Inlet shoaled up in the 19th century, the thriving village of Portsmouth became a ghost town.

Since Europeans started mapping North Carolina's coast, 26 named inlets have appeared on the Outer Banks north of Hatteras village, according to Orrin Pilkey, a Duke University coastal geologist. Now there's only one - Oregon Inlet, which was carved by a storm in 1846.

"They're like corks that pop every time there's a storm, " Pilkey said. -- The N&O 9/2/1999

The Washington Post reported on the 50th anniversary of the storm with tons of links to photos and videos from the other states affected. Check it out here.

Photos of Ash Wednesday storm damage along the North Carolina Outer Banks

Record snowstorm paralyzed city

tleonard — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:03:59 -0400

It was a year that set a record for the earliest snowfall and the latest snowfall, when the 1915 Easter weekend found Raleigh in the "grasp of its greatest blizzard."

Cut off from communication with the rest of the world, telephone, telegraph, electric light wires haning in tangled masses around snapped poles; completely obstructing many streets; car system demoralized; and streets themselves standing rivers of half-melted snow; this is the condition into which the severest snow storms on record for the month of April has plunged Raleigh. After groping, working and hoping for a whole day, there is scant promise that Sunday will furnish much relief.

Since the Carolina Light and Power Company turned of its current at the request of Mayor Johnson at 2 o'clock Saturday morning, and since the last click over the telegraph wires of the Western Union at about the same time, Raleigh has been without electric power or telegraphic communication.

Last night, the city loomed up menacingly in darkness complete, save where pale gas lights, lamps and candles flared and flickered. It was a lonely looking Raleigh, too, with few pedestrians on the streets, and they in a monstrous hurry. For places of amusement were closed, and the movies were deserted.

Heavier snows have visited Raleigh on one or two occasions than that which enveloped Raleigh in a thick white cloud for almost seventeen hours. But the snow fall of Friday and Saturday, ten inches in depth, possessed more powers for havoc than even the heaviest. The moisture laden flakes settled one upon another in an automatic sort of packing process. Had it been the usual dry snow of this section, the continuous fall for seventeen hours would have totalled from fifteen to eighteen inches, according to the local Weather Bureau....

When Raleigh waked up Saturday morning, it was to see the city in the clutches of the severest blizzard of its history. The snow melting under foot and falling heavily from above made walking difficult and disagreeable. Telegraph poles stretched across almost every street and sometimes at intervals of every thirty yards obstructed traffic. The work of repairing the damage done was begun immediately. But it was slow, slow toil. Every available man on the systems of the Bell Telephone Company, the Western Union, the Postal, the Raleigh Telephone Company was put to work on the streets.

At eleven o'clock, according to Mr. Paul A. Tillery, assistant general manager of the Carolina Power and Light Company everything was in readiness to turn on power. But to Mayor Johnson, there appeared great danger in this. He directed the following to the Carolina Power and Light Company.

"As mayor of the city of Raleigh, recognizing the fact that there may be danger in having the electric current turned on tonight, after careful thought and consideration, notwithstanding the fact that you state that you are ready to turn on the same, as a matter of the greatest precaution and protection to life and property, I respectfully request that you do not turn on any current tonight." -- The News & Observer 4/4/1915

A traveler who was able to make it in from Durham by rail reported that conditions there were just as bad.

"The engineer told me that he had picked enough wire out of his wheels between here and Greensboro to wire the entire city of Raleigh," reported Mr. Will X. Coley, who came into the city from Durham Saturday morning. It took two hours to make the trip. Cautiously, the train moved along the line, stopping every now and then. Poles were across the track and to have sped on at the usual rate would have damaged the entire train and its load of human freight.

"Everything is out of commission in Durham," said Mr. Coley to a Times representative Saturday morning. "The street cars have stopped and the lights are out."

Mr. Coley reported that he was informed the entire country between here and Greensboro was in the grip of the blizzard. In Durham the storm descended and the wind blew. The Bull City is certainly a sister sufferer with this city and this is one time that neither city has it on the other. -- The Raleigh Times 4/3/1915

Duke calls off baseball for Tuesday

ewarnock — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:20:05 -0500

Tuesday’s baseball game between Duke and North Carolina A&T at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro has been postponed due to inclement weather.
The game, originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. start, has been moved to Wednesday, March 27 at 6 p.m., at War Memorial Stadium.
Duke returns to action Wednesday at home, hosting Campbell in a 3 p.m. matchup at Jack Coombs Field.

UNC delays baseball series with Stony Brook

ewarnock — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:35:43 -0500

North Carolina's weekend series against Stony Brook, scheduled to open at 3 p.m. on Friday, has been postponed. The series between the Tar Heels and Seawolves will open on Saturday at 2 p.m. and conclude with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Tickets for Friday's game will be honored at any of the weekend contests.

Tar Heels delay series with Stony Brook

ewarnock — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:33:56 -0500

North Carolina's weekend series against Stony Brook scheduled to open at 3 p.m. on Friday has been postponed. The series between the Tar Heels and Seawolves will open on Saturday at 2 p.m. and conclude with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Fans with tickets for Friday's contest will be admitted to any of this weekend's games.

This weather makes my head hurt!

nmorock — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:30:00 -0500

I call myself the human barometer. Don’t laugh. It’s true. I’m sure many of you can relate. You can feel your health change as the weather changes. People sensitive to weather changes say things like “A storm’s coming. I can feel it in my bones.” Actually, most of my friends say “I can feel it in my head,” or something similar. In recent years, studies have been undertaken to back up the idea that the weather affects your health.

A few weeks ago, a study was released by the University of Cincinnati pointing to lightning as a contributing factor for the onset of headaches and migraines. That one is just the most recent. Other recognized weather-related triggers include dramatic changes in temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity. Migraine sufferers are often told to keep a headache diary in an effort to find trends relating to the onset of their headaches. It’s a good idea to include the weather for the day in those journals. While red wine and stress are more widely accepted causes, more and more doctors are open to the idea of weather as a factor as additional studies are completed.

The weather can affect your health in other ways. Poor air quality contributes to asthma attacks as well as heart attacks. Arthritis sufferers complain of more joint pain when the temperature goes to extremes: very cold or hot and humid. An indirect way the weather can cause health problems is most often felt in the spring and fall - when plants bloom and mold spores strike - people with outdoor allergies really feel it.

Round Rainbows?

nmorock — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:30:00 -0500

I recently received a question from a reader asking if all rainbows are actually round. I have to admit that my initial response was “no” because I’ve never heard of a completely circular rainbow. However, by definition, rainbows could potentially be round. The reason we don’t see round rainbows is that the bottom of the bow is cut off by the horizon, which leaves us with the arc that we usually associate with rainbows.

Most of us have seen double rainbows at some point in our lives. These are actually called the primary and secondary rainbows. The primary rainbow usually has red on the outside and blue on the inside, while the secondary rainbow has red on the inside. There is also a type called the supernumerary rainbow, which can sometimes appear inside the primary bow. So theoretically, you could see three rainbows at one time.

The brightness and intensity of the rainbow depends on a few different things including the type of precipitation that is falling. Is it rain or drizzle or even just a cloud? What is the size of those raindrops? The angle of the sun makes a difference in how the rainbow appears as well.

There are a couple more components that enter into the process, and they are very personal. First, the apparent center of the rainbow is technically the shadow of the observer’s head since the sun must be behind the observer in order for him to see the rainbow. Second, because each person views a rainbow from a slightly different angle and our eyes process the light slightly differently as well, each person sees a slightly different rainbow. The second is my personal favorite because it means we technically each get to claim our very own rainbows.

Record highs in mid-January

nmorock — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:02:29 -0500

There is a lot of excitement today about our extended range forecast for the weekend with the possibility of high temperatures in the 70’s. Let me first say that the forecast could change between now and then. While long-range forecasting has improved, it’s still hard to consistently have great accuracy more than three days out. Take this past weekend for example: early last week, forecasters were calling for a high near 60 on Sunday, and we only made it to 50 degrees. I’ll save the reasons that long-range forecast accuracy is still difficult to achieve for a future post.

Someone asked me this morning how odd it would be to have a high of 71 on a Sunday in January. I had to answer that it wasn’t very odd at all. In fact, we get these little surges in temperature during our Raleigh winters pretty regularly. As I mentioned in one of last week’s blog entries, normal temperatures are just 30 year averages. In order to get an average high in the 50’s, we have some years where the high barely makes it above freezing and others where the high is in the 70’s. Granted, those are outliers – numbers that are much farther from normal than… well… normal.

I decided to check on what our record high temperatures are for the coming weekend, and they are as follows:

For January 12th, our record high is 76 degrees and occurred in 1890.

For January 13th, our record high is 78 degrees, and that record was set in 2005.

It’s interesting to note that the “period of record” for the Raleigh area is 1887 to 2011. The specific location used for daily temperature measurements has changed several times over that period, which could potentially make a small difference in the accuracy of the measurements in the earlier years of record keeping.

Is it a watch or a warning?

nmorock — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:28:16 -0500

One of the more confusing things about the weather is the terminology we use. A forecaster’s goal is to make accurate weather predictions and communicate them clearly to the public so that everyone has an idea of what to expect of Mother Nature. When the weather is nice, the job is pretty easy. When the weather is threatening, the job is much more complicated. A forecast can be difficult enough to make accurately as far as timing and the geographic location of the worst of a storm. Clearly explaining the threats with that storm and how they will affect people can be a challenge in itself.

For decades, the National Weather Service has issued a plethora of products – 14 just for winter weather – to try to explain the potential dangers of a storm system to the masses. There are three that we in the Triangle see much more often than the others: advisory, watch, and warning. A Winter Weather Advisory is issued when conditions (current or imminent) could pose hazards that require people to be cautious such as slippery roads caused by black ice. A Winter Weather Watch is issued when the forecast is taking shape and there is potential for danger, but the exact timing or location of an event is still in question. A Winter Weather Warning is issued when a dangerous hazard is already happening or will be soon.

The advisory, watch, and warning definitions are similar for weather such as severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. A watch in those cases means that conditions are right for them to form, and a warning means that it is happening at the time the warning is issued. The watch can last for several hours, while a warning is typically made for a shorter time frame, usually an hour or less.

Despite how long these products have been used, the general public still seems confused by the terminology. There is a push within the field of meteorology to change the way these products are issued by simplifying the words and phrases and being more specific with the hazardous conditions expected. The National Weather Service is currently asking for feedback on a proposal for simplification. You can see the proposal and leave comments by visiting http://nws.weather.gov/haz_simp/ .

Why are we in a drought?

nmorock — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:44:24 -0500

As of January 1st, much of central North Carolina is considered to be in a moderate drought. People keep asking why since we’ve had what seemed to be plenty of rain over the last year. In fact, RDU International Airport recorded 40.79 inches of rain over the course of 2012. Our “normal” amount for a year is 43.34 inches. The question I keep getting is “if we’ve had rain, why are we in a drought?”

Being in a drought means more than just experiencing a long-term lack of rain. A lack of humidity and an extended period of wind can add to the problem at the surface, but one of the characteristics of drought that most people overlook is what is happening below the surface in the underground water supply. Rain that falls and quickly runs off into streams and tributaries is carried downstream. It does very little for the immediate area because it doesn’t have time to soak into the ground and add to the subterranean water level.

Often when we’ve had a week or more of dry weather and then get an afternoon of heavy rain, the dry soil is too hard to soak up the water as fast as it falls. So, the rain runs off. On the other hand, when the soil is saturated after days of steady rain, there tends to be more runoff because the earth can’t absorb any more water than it already has. We see the immediate effects of these two circumstances in rapidly rising streams and, in extreme cases, flooding.

Drought is the potential effect that takes longer to show itself. It’s a long-term problem that requires more than just a short-term solution. So, while we’ve had what seems like plenty of rain over the course of the last year, where that rain has gone – into the streams, creeks, and rivers to be carried to the ocean, or down into the earth below us – is what matters most.

The U.S. Drought Monitor looks at all of the ingredients that go into drought and issues a weekly update and map. The map is released to the public every Thursday on the Drought Monitor’s homepage, and it is a quick and easy way to track how we’re doing.

When Will It Snow?

nmorock — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:04:18 -0500

One of the joys of being a meteorologist in North Carolina during winter is getting the same question over and over again: When will it snow? It’s a joy because depending on who is asking, I can be creative with my answer. I might answer a friend with an exact date and time just to make a joke. I’d answer a stranger with a bit more sincerity. My answer to my readers is an honest “I don’t know.”

Last year, Raleigh didn’t see much in the way of a wayward flurry at all. February 19th held the only snow for the Triangle during the winter of 2011-2012, and it was just an inch, which fell after a bit of mixed precipitation.* It was a warmer than normal winter.

This year, the set-up seems to be a little more snow friendly. The temperatures are trending cooler than normal, at least in the near future. Add to that an active weather pattern, and things might just work out for the snow lovers in the area. In fact, we could see some overnight flurries or frozen precipitation late Thursday night into early Friday morning depending on the timing of the rain and whether the temperature drops down to the forecasted low of 31 degrees.

Please, don’t run out for bread and milk just yet. Whatever we might see overnight, does not look to be enough to cause concern, and Friday’s high will be in the 40’s, meaning that anything that does fall will melt fast enough.

If we don’t see snow this week, then when will we see it? According to the climatology of the past 30 years, January and February are the months we typically see snow in Wake County. We’ve had a winter storm as late as April and as early as November, but January and February are by far our most popular months for snow. I can’t promise that we will see any, but I can tell you that it is more likely to happen this year than it was last year. Snow lovers, keep your fingers crossed.

*Data from the State Climate Office of North Carolina

A Superhighway High Above Us

nmorock — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 09:30:00 -0500

Wind exists in all levels of the atmosphere, but most notably at the surface and in the upper levels. While we’re used to hearing about the surface winds associated with storms, fronts, and more gradual changes in the weather, we might not pay as much attention to those upper level winds, which are referred to as the jet stream. Within the jet stream, there are areas of faster wind, called jet streaks, where the wind speeds reach 50 knots or greater. If we think of the jet stream as a highway, we can think of a jet streak as a superhighway, moving air through the upper atmosphere very efficiently.

Every highway has on and off ramps, and a jet streak is no exception. The air coming up from the ground level over a surface low becomes part of the jet stream and can enter the jet streak at a point we call the right entrance. Beneath the right entrance, down at the earth’s surface, we are more likely to get thunderstorms. An even better area for storms to form is below the “off ramp” of the jet streak, which is called the left exit.

On Wednesday, the frontal system that blew through North Carolina was aligned with the left exit of a jet streak. That alignment, which could cause the lift and rotation necessary to create tornadic activity, was a large part of the reason a tornado watch was issued in December – something that might be considered out of the ordinary. Most of North Carolina dodged a bullet on Wednesday because the system moved through the state so quickly that it didn’t have time to intensify until it hit the coastal area, where it did produce a weak, short-lived tornado in Carteret County.

Thunder in Winter

nmorock — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 09:42:17 -0500

Last week, Marie in Apex asked “Is there any truth to the possibility of snow following 7-10 days after a winter thunderstorm?” There’s a long standing old wives’ tale that says that if you hear thunder in winter, you’ll have snow within 7 – 10 days. Sometimes it holds true, and those are the times that everyone remembers. Often, especially in the south, it doesn’t play out that way, and those are the times very few people remember.

At about 3:30am on Sunday, December 16th, I was awakened in my home in North Raleigh by thunder. Today is the tenth day since that early morning, winter storm. Our forecast for today calls for more storms. So, why don’t we have snow? Thunder in the winter isn’t a sign of coming snowstorms, but it is a sign of an active weather pattern. There are times when it means that we will have the right ingredients for a snow storm, and the farther north you go, the more likely it is – simply because the climate is colder as you go north and you need freezing temperatures in order to have snow. Today we don’t have the ingredients for a snow storm in Raleigh. Instead, we have what is necessary for a severe weather outbreak – also the sign of an active weather pattern.

As witnessed by so many in the Deep South during the last 24 hours, warmer air, an abundance of moisture, and a strong cold front can trigger severe storms any time of the year. With the current system moving into our area today, we have an additional piece in place: a jet streak. A jet streak is an area of stronger than normal winds in the middle to upper atmosphere that affects our weather here at the surface. Saving the details of the workings of a jet streak for my next post, I will say right now that there are two regions of it under which we get low pressure at the ground level. Low pressure means rising air, and with all of the other forces that are in place today, an increased chance for severe weather. One of those regions, the left exit region, will be moving over North Carolina as the day progresses. (I’ll explain the left exit region in my next post, too.)

The biggest threat today will be east of Raleigh, but most of North Carolina could see storms with winds of 58 mph or greater, isolated tornadoes, and hail. If a tornado forms today, it could be a long-track tornado, which roughly means a tornado that spends 40-60 minutes on the ground. Today’s set-up is very similar to that of the tornado outbreak on November 28, 1988. Please, stay alert and take any warning issued by the National Weather Service seriously.

The Pressure's On

nmorock — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0500

High pressure will be settling in for the weekend, and if you like sunshine, that’s a good thing. On the other hand, if you are concerned over the fact that most of North Carolina has slipped back into a moderate drought, it’s a bad thing. You’re probably well aware after a lifetime of watching the weather forecast that high pressure means fair weather and low pressure typically means storms, but do you know just what causes high and low pressure?

Air flows along the surface of the earth in all directions. We feel the airflow as wind. When winds that are moving in opposite directions meet, we have what’s called a convergence zone because the air converges in one place. This build up of extra mass has to go somewhere. It can’t go downward, obviously, because the earth is solid, so it must go up.

As the air moves away from the surface of the earth, it takes with it the extra mass - and then some. This leaves an area of lower pressure at the surface. Air that moves upward also takes energy and moisture with it, and what goes up must come down. If there is enough moisture rising, clouds will form, and, eventually, that moisture returns to the earth as rain.

Meanwhile, the air could rise until it hits the top of the troposphere, which is the layer of the atmosphere that we live in. The point where the air can rise no more is called the tropopause. The air now moves through the upper atmosphere as wind until it meets air moving in the opposite direction - and then must go somewhere, again. This time, it must come down. We call this motion sinking air, and when it reaches the surface bringing its additional mass with it, an area of high pressure is created.

In order for clouds to form, the air must be able to rise. So with sinking air, we have fair skies and high pressure.

Welcome to Clear Weather

nmorock — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0500

Have you ever wondered just what a high pressure system is? We hear the phrase regularly when listening to a weather forecast, but how many people understand what causes high pressure versus low pressure? What about a blizzard? Does having a blizzard mean several feet of snow falling in a short time, or is there a more precise definition? What’s the difference between a tornado, a waterspout, and a gustnado? Who comes up with the names for hurricanes?

When I tell people that I am a meteorologist, the first thing they do is ask me about the weather. Often they’re not looking for the forecast. Instead, they want to know what makes the weather what it is. One of my favorite things to do is answer those questions. Meteorology is a complex science that pulls from and builds on what we’ve learned over the centuries of studying chemistry and physics. Then we add statistics, thermodynamics, and tons of mathematics and mix it all together into one big convoluted mess and call it the study of weather. You have to love it to want to study it, and I do love it!

I’ve learned over the years, that when you use technical jargon while explaining any topic to someone who hasn’t studied it, you will see that person’s eyes turn glassy and the fidgeting will begin. You know at that point that you’ve lost him. While the question might have been in earnest, the answer was just too much to keep his attention. My goal with this blog is to keep it simple and to explain the complex in basic English so that anyone can understand it. My goal is to make the weather clear.

Please send me your questions. I will be happy to answer them for you.

Stunning streaming visualization of wind

matthewfortner — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:36:41 -0400

This isn't the first time I've mentioned this wind map produced by Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg. The streaming visualization draws data from the National Digital Forecast Database to create a beautiful illustration of the wind. With Hurricane Sandy lashing at the east coast I thought this would be a great time to share one of the coolest maps ever.

From a cooling breeze to a force of destruction, the influence of wind in our lives is undeniable.

Wind spread man across the globe, and has even altered the course of events that otherwise seemed inevitable in history. The invisible force was attributed to gods in many cultures, but here is an stunning way to see the wind in action.

Weather Channel series 'Hurricane Hunters' opens with Irene

brookecain — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 10:30:00 -0400

"Hurricane Hunters," a new documentary series debuting tonight on The Weather Channel, is going to be catnip for weather geeks -- especially right now as Hurricane season is starting.

The "Hurricane Hunters" featured in the series are the Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron based out of Biloxi, MS. Their job is to fly planes into hurricanes to gather data from the eye of storm, risking their lives to help meteorologists better understand those storms and better predict storm paths.

The first episode follows the Hunters as they fly into Hurricane Irene in August of 2011. Cameras mounted inside and outside their planes capture all the tension and some pretty spectacular views.

Along with the stunning visuals, there's plenty of explanatory science on how hurricanes work and the art of flying into these storms in the least dangerous way.

The six 30-minute episodes of "Hurricane Hunters" will air on Monday nights at 9 on The Weather Channel.

Pictured above: Maj. Sean Cross, pilot, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron's Hurricane Hunters, served as the flight commander on this particular mission into Hurricane Irene. All rights reserved by The Weather Channel Public Relations

ABC11 weather updates start here today

jdrescher — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:52:13 -0400

ABC11's weather team will provide updates on newsobserver.com, starting today. We have many experts on The N&O staff on a variety of subjects but weather forecasting is not one of them. This collaboration enables us to offer local weather expertise that we otherwise would not be able to provide. The ABC11 meteorologists will provide several updates a day, seven days a week.

For more on other partnerships we've established, click here. --John Drescher

Early spring boosts retail sales

toristilwell — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:21:44 -0400

Beach-goers and pinickers aren't the only ones happy with the warm weather. An early spring and improving economy have lifted demand for merchandise such as clothing, whose sales heavily depend on the weather and disposable income.

The International Council of Shopping Centers estimates a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in March retail sales, compared to last year's gain of 2 percent.

Retailers like Target, Macy's and the Limited Brands are all expected to see jumps in sales for the month.

Discount stores are also seeing better sales on account of the weather and spring holidays.

Both St. Patrick's Day and Easter are expected to boost those buying spring items such as gardening tools. Sales for discount tools have already risen 3.9 percent for the month, compared to a 3.8 percent estimate by the retail research service Johnson Redbook.