Forecasting 101: What the dewpoint?

Ever walk outside and say dam it is so muggy. Well maybe only us east coasters say this but humidity (or better known in the weather field as "Relatively Humidity") whether low or high is a big part of forecasting. 

Relatively humidity is just that relative to the actual air temperature. It is a percentage of how much water is in the air. I personally loathe humidity in more than one way. Firstly, because I do live in an area where the humidity is often high throughout the year which makes it feel much warmer or colder than the actual temperature is. Secondly, because it is a percentage, I don't agree that it accurately tells the story of what the weather is going to feel like. 

Let me be more clear. Ever hear someone say "Ugh it's 90% humidity". So lets do some rough math. Lets say the temperature outside is 80 degrees, 90% of 80 degrees is 72. So the rough dewpoint is 72. There's a much more in depth equation but this gets you in the ballpark. 

Ah ha there's one of my favorite words in weather, dewpoint! I found this great graphic from the National Weather Service. The Muggy Meter! So lets go back to our "90% humidity" problem. A 72 degrees dewpoint is muggy and will feel gross outside.

However, lets take the same problem. "Ugh it's 90% humidity", but this time the air temperature is 60 degrees. This means the rough dewpoint is 54 degrees, and truly there may be some dew on the grass but it won't be as oppressive as the 80 degree day with 90% humidity. 

This is why I like and really only refer to dewpoints as they are an actual reading rather than a percentage. Now why are dewpoints so important to forecasters. Dewpoint tells you how much water is in the air. This will clue you into whether it will be clear skies, foggy, or if there is a storm potential. 

It also sets the floor for the overnight low. If the dewpoint is 65 degrees the overnight low will not go below 65 degrees. And if the air temperature comes close to the dewpoint that's when you'll start to see fog.  

I could go on and on about dewpoint, but I think this is good enough for a Tuesday morning. 

Myth: Sharks disappear before a storm or hurricane

 A little late, but in honor of shark week. Let's talk about whether sharks can tell if a storm is coming. 

                             Photo credit to my good friend Cassandra the scuba diver. 

Sharks like other animals can absolutely tell a storm is coming. Sharks have an internal organ called a lateral line organ.  This organ allows them to sense movement, vibration and pressure changes. A large storm or hurricane lowers the barometric pressure, which notifies the shark of the impending storm. 

Large storms and hurricanes also bring colder water to the surface. Sharks tend to like stable thermal environments, so they will seek waters of their preferred range. 

Sharks are one of the oldest species on earth, its no wonder they leave the area they are in when trouble is a brewing. 

Woah What A Hiatus! But I'm Back!!

 Weather dream career got sidelined. I had the worst time finding a job in the field. I tried everything for about 6-months from news, airlines, government and even hedge funds with no luck. Sooo what happened you as? Well I found a job at an engineering company, went back to school and became an engineer. Lived an awesome decade enjoying everything life has to offer. But now I want to get back to my passion and make weather info spreading my hobby again.  Bare with me as life is still fairly busy. 

 WELCOME back to my Meteorological Blog and meet my dog Milo! He also loves weather. 

Coldest Outbreak in 20 years hits North America

If you thought today was cold, it's going to get even colder. A brutally cold air mass is already moving its way into the northern half of the United States. A chill that will be felt from Mid West to the South.  It might even get below zero in New York City (as models are suggesting) next week. Take a look at the projected lows for Tuesday Morning, January 7, 2014. Bundle up and stay warm.



I think the more ironic part of this is that 2013 was one of the warmest years on record. If you had to ask me, I would say that our extremes are getting more extreme.

Photo Credit:
weather.com

Throwback: Blizzard of 1996

Your Thursday Throwback, The Blizzard of 1996.

January 6th, snow began to fall over the Mid-Atlantic. And as most east coasters know when the weatherman says a nor'easter, that is  going to be all snow, is on it's way you need to prepare for some big snow and wind. This is exactly what happen from January 6th through the 8th. This snowstorm dropped over two feet of snow in most places.



However, most nor'easter drop this much snow so why is this one remembered, because this storm had a great deal of wind associated with it. Strong wind created whiteout conditions and snow drifts as high as the first story on houses. 

This picture is from Temple Pennsylvania. I remember this storm, however, I was little. When the 1996 blizzard hit I was living in Ocean County, New Jersey. That summer is when we moved to Pennsylvania, and I remember asking my dad why Pennsylvania didn't get as much snow as New Jersey did.

I love these big storms! I love to predict them and love to watch the snow pile up.

With the end of the year coming up, I found ten weird things that happened in 2012. It will be like my own count down to the end of the year. This will start on Tuesday December 18th. Get excited!!

Throwback: 2008 MidWest Flooding

This "Thursday Throwback" is going to take us back about 4 years ago. When this country's mid section was no where near any sort of drought. A very active winter during 2007 and 2008 led the Mid West to already be above normal in terms of precipitation.  Then a very active weather pattern set up in early June creating massive amounts of rain to dump in the country's mid section. The short period of time and the quantity of rain led to tons of flash flooding and eventually massive flooding. The photo below shows the recorded rainfall from January to June. This photo was provided by the National Weather Service.



Many dams broke which led to even worst flooding and devastation throughout most of the Mid-West. This made for some concern for the people who lived down stream of all of this flooding. Many people where already taking precautions and building barriers to attempt in holding back the rising waters. This picture below is just one of the many sandbag walls created. This picture is courtesy of Fox News this photo is from June 15, 2008 in Iowa.

These floods brought massive destruction to nine states in the Heartland. 24 people died as a result of this flooding and over one hundred were injured. One positive thing was when FEMA took action, they were very efficient because the program had just been modified from the Hurricane Katrina disaster. If only they could get some of that rain now.

If you are thinking to yourself, "Man these 100 year floods are seeming to come more often!". You are not alone! Many scientists have been asking this same question. My parting thoughts for you are do you think that man is trying to control mother nature? Or do you think a changing climate is at fault? Or could it be a little of both??

Myth: Ring Around the Moon

Myth: Ring around the moon means that snow or rain will be on its way.

Result: This myth is mostly true.

The Science: The ring around the moon, like the one you see above, is formed by the moonlight shining through very small water droplets or ice crystals located very high in the troposphere. These very small water droplets and ice crystals are usually associated with cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds are very thin, high clouds. These high, thin clouds can be located out in front of an approaching storm system. While this is not 100% true I can say, the brighter the halo around the moon, the greater the chance of precipitation. So next time the moon is out, look up and see if you can see the halo!

Happy Monday Everyone!!


Photo From:
home.hiwaay.net