Tuesday, October 04, 2005
A/C Up, 'Dows Down
A. Camden Walker @ 11:23 PM
5:00pm update: 50mph Tropical Storm Tammy landfalling this evening near Jacksonville
Forecast
HUMIDITY. Air Conditioning.
These two items will monopolize your meteorological mind today. Look for mid 70s. Due to high dew points, your body will be very uncomfortable. A nice "dirty High" anchored over coastal Nova Scotia will provide an Easterly flow off the gosh darn Chesapeake Bay & Atlantic again. Meaning, don't count on much sun--especially the first half of the day.
If you went to bed and saw stars, you may have patchy fog to contend with--but this is highly doubtful with our regional marine layer infiltrating from off the ocean. A front approaching from the west will HOPEFULLY kick this ribbon of stratus and Stratocumulus clouds out of here this afternoon with a southerly shift in the winds. I'll tuck in here a temperature of 78 if that should so happen. No need for greater than SPF 15 today!
With as much sarcasm equivalent to cloud cover yesterday, I hope no one requires aloe for their terrific burns. --Anonymous Indicted Texas Congressman
I-95 & The Fall Line
It is interesting to see our region enveloped by a local phenomenon. Prevalent in the late Spring & early Autumn, High Pressure often thrusts western Atlantic Ocean moisture into the Appalachian Mountains. With only enough oomph to get a few hundred feet in elevation, this mesoscale air mass follows the distinct topography of our region. The air truly stagnates and settles into the Tidewater basin. Interstate 95 is built almost perfectly along the "Fall Line" where most rivers & streams of our region begin tidal influence due to the moon. Just east of I-95 one can view rapids & rocky terrain in most rivers becoming broad, deep, smooth channels that empty down into the Bay. It is a neat collocation of climate, geology, & hydrology. Hopefully we won't have to bear much of this marine layer pushed up against our mountains for much longer! It is a shallow layer as far as our atmosphere goes. If the sun can heat up the ground, the easterly fetch will be interrupted & so will our cloud deck that thinks it is sitting over ocean water.
'Cane The Man Handle it?
If they can't manage the weather, can they manage the industry? Two interesting articles today show internal & external criticism facing the U.S.-owned National Weather Service in the wake of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. This very current topic perhaps brought on through Bush administration metapolicies, raises already-present contention between private firms & the government bureaucracies long-established to provide and process data.
Unless your job takes you to MAINE in the next week or two, you will have to wait till the very end of October to view our area's peak colors. Once I am able, I will upload the current map of the NorthEast's Fall Foliage depicted in peak/off-peak scales of color. It is a great time to hike the northern portion of the Appalachian Trail! Soon DC residents can drive to closer-by Skyline Drive to dabble in Leaf Peeping.
Forecast
HUMIDITY. Air Conditioning.
These two items will monopolize your meteorological mind today. Look for mid 70s. Due to high dew points, your body will be very uncomfortable. A nice "dirty High" anchored over coastal Nova Scotia will provide an Easterly flow off the gosh darn Chesapeake Bay & Atlantic again. Meaning, don't count on much sun--especially the first half of the day.
If you went to bed and saw stars, you may have patchy fog to contend with--but this is highly doubtful with our regional marine layer infiltrating from off the ocean. A front approaching from the west will HOPEFULLY kick this ribbon of stratus and Stratocumulus clouds out of here this afternoon with a southerly shift in the winds. I'll tuck in here a temperature of 78 if that should so happen. No need for greater than SPF 15 today!
With as much sarcasm equivalent to cloud cover yesterday, I hope no one requires aloe for their terrific burns. --Anonymous Indicted Texas Congressman
I-95 & The Fall Line
It is interesting to see our region enveloped by a local phenomenon. Prevalent in the late Spring & early Autumn, High Pressure often thrusts western Atlantic Ocean moisture into the Appalachian Mountains. With only enough oomph to get a few hundred feet in elevation, this mesoscale air mass follows the distinct topography of our region. The air truly stagnates and settles into the Tidewater basin. Interstate 95 is built almost perfectly along the "Fall Line" where most rivers & streams of our region begin tidal influence due to the moon. Just east of I-95 one can view rapids & rocky terrain in most rivers becoming broad, deep, smooth channels that empty down into the Bay. It is a neat collocation of climate, geology, & hydrology. Hopefully we won't have to bear much of this marine layer pushed up against our mountains for much longer! It is a shallow layer as far as our atmosphere goes. If the sun can heat up the ground, the easterly fetch will be interrupted & so will our cloud deck that thinks it is sitting over ocean water.
'Cane The Man Handle it?
If they can't manage the weather, can they manage the industry? Two interesting articles today show internal & external criticism facing the U.S.-owned National Weather Service in the wake of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. This very current topic perhaps brought on through Bush administration metapolicies, raises already-present contention between private firms & the government bureaucracies long-established to provide and process data.
- Steve Forbes speaks his mind against "Big Government" after the hurricanes?
- Internal memo leaked from within NOAA -- crackdown on government transparency?
Unless your job takes you to MAINE in the next week or two, you will have to wait till the very end of October to view our area's peak colors. Once I am able, I will upload the current map of the NorthEast's Fall Foliage depicted in peak/off-peak scales of color. It is a great time to hike the northern portion of the Appalachian Trail! Soon DC residents can drive to closer-by Skyline Drive to dabble in Leaf Peeping.
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