The Gravity of Writing

Back in November I wrote a story that was called "Cloud Streets".

  After posting a link to this story in various social network pages I was told by a Meteorology Instructor that the phenomenon that was captured in these pictures were not Horizontal Convective Rolls (Cloud Streets)  but where in fact (Atmospheric) Gravity Waves.  At first I was a bit disappointed, however I have used this opportunity to learn from this experience.  The instructor that found my error, works for a terrific online Meteorology institution called COMET and he patiently answered my questions regarding Gravity Waves.  I thanked the Instructor for pointing out my error and I wanted to post an update to the original story.

 Not only did I learn from this social/ educational networking experience, I found that the original story was not really the hook that brought in readers.  It was really the pictures themselves that brought in most of the attention.  I am a member of a local photography group and as I mentioned originally my buddy Mike helped by taking several pictures that were used for that story.  That trip was when our photography group hiked in a local park in Southeastern PA and because of a strong weather pattern we were able to get an unusual display of clouds in the sky.  At first there were the undulating clouds but as the sun started to set the horizon had a red and amber fiery hue through these complex structured clouds.

Months later we are now in April and in the middle of spring and once again we find these unusual looking clouds.  My girlfriend calls me the other day and while she is driving back to PA she is not able to take video but she sees these clouds.

Photo by Kari P.

 So of course I get this great tip and I run to get some pictures myself and here they are.

Gravity Waves from Horsham, PA

Atmospheric Gravity Waves

 I found out NASA has been studying Gravity Waves and determined that gravity waves  can compress a rotating thunderstorm and cause it to spin faster.  This effect can create tornadoes.  If you wish to read on about this, please click here : http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/19mar_grits/

Winter 2014 - Sorry, It ain't over yet..

 Our last storm to hit SE PA cause thousands of residents to loose power for days and travel via every means was difficult. Just a few days later I hear online chatter about the next storm.  Mind you that I hate to jump on first bit of hype so I wait and try to read as much as I can before considering the myriad of online forecasts  for fact.  Now we face a large storm and The National Weather Service has stated that this storm will develop as a "Nor'easter."  I am sure everyone has heard of this term and to help I have found a formal definition.

Nor'easter
    A strong low pressure system that affects the Mid Atlantic and New England States. It can form over land or over the coastal waters. It usually produces heavy snows, flooding rains, strong northeast winds, coastal flooding, and beach erosion.  (source http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/append/glossary_n.htm NOAA/NWS)

If in fact this is a Nor'easter then reading the definition I have presented earlier should give everyone an idea of what our area could face, however it is important to add more to the story.

Salt -  We are going to need a bigger boat.  Sorry for the quote from the movie Jaws.  We may have a big problem coming up.  6ABC news reported today that Pendot should be OK for this storm however they would not be able to lend salt to local areas in in need.  They mentioned some townships that are out of salt to treat roads.  I looked on the PENDOT website and there was no mention of this.

Here is the video from 6ABC that was from the PENDOT interview:

 

Remember that this storm will bring heavy snow and a possible mix of freezing rain from Wednesday and all of Thursday into Friday. 

 (this is based on earlier forecast information and is subject to change)

Please be prepared before the storm starts!!  Please visit this web page to learn about being prepared:

http://www.ready.gov/winter-weather

Remember that I am not an expert, I am just a messenger.  To find out more from the experts visit weather.gov and here is the link to the currect briefing from The NWS:  http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/briefing/packages/current_briefing.pdf

Get Warning updates from the Ready.gov for your area

http://www.readynotifypa.org/ 

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Severe Weather just before Christmas

The Storm Prediction Center office is located in Norman, OK and their job is to watch out for severe weather and issue warnings in advance of a storm.  Public Safety workers, Emergency Management, Pilots and Storm Chasers watch the SPC website every day to keep track of important severe weather information.

The Storm Prediction Center has been very active in monitoring a severe weather event that will affect the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys. This event may affect a larger area as time progresses.  If you have family and friends that live in the Southeastern US you should contact them to see if they are aware of the possibility of a severe storm.  The storms that may be see in this area could product damaging winds, severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.  The following states have the greatest chance for Tornado Warnings to be issued:  AR, AL, KY, TN & MS.

Please watch the official briefing issued by the SPC below: 

SPC Website: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

Snowy Wasteland

Meteorologists work really hard.  They study to keep up to date using the latest developing technology to forecast the weather that affects everyone and everything from events, school, work and play.  Safety is the number one priority that pushes professional Meteorologist to work 24/7 in keeping the public safe.  In the last few days I have watch several sources track this latest storm in its formation and progress through parts of the US until it affect the Mid-Atlantic states.  Originally the forecasters with the aid of computer modes predicted a wintry mix of snow, ice and rain with possible snow accumulation of a trace to about and inch in part of SE PA.  When the storm arrived the forecasts quickly were updated to 1-3 inches of snow.  As the afternoon approached the forecast was again updated to 2-4 inches just north of Philadelphia and some areas south might end up receiving 8-10 inches before changing to freezing rain then to all rain Monday morning.

Courtesy of The National Weather Service Mt. Holly WFO

My drive -  I had to drive from Horsham to Allentown, PA.  The total time for the drive was approximately 4 hours round trip.  During my journey, I saw snow and ice throughout my drive and saw several accidents including two spin outs on roads which clearly needed more attention.  In fairness, the snowfall rate (probably about and inch an hour) made it difficult for Pendot to keep the roads salted and cleared.  For the most part they did a good job and I was able to drive without many issues (without having a 4X4)

Here is a short video of part my drive.  Temperature was around 27 degrees and you can see how the ice and snow started to affect the wipers.

First Storm Chase

Storms are seen all over the world and most storms are just an everyday part of life bringing much needed precipitation and hopefully enough to avoid a drought.   I actually waited way too long to become a trained Storm Spotter and was interested in studying about storms for a long time. (Not sure why I hesitated and wished I pursued my interests with more focus.

I was with a photography group that I have been with and I had just recently bought a digital camera that could film simple non HD video.  I had no experience chasing or documenting storms and if you do want to do this I recommend that you seek real training or go with a person with experience because it can get dangerous.  PLEASE NOTE: I do not recommend that you go out and chase storms. When I was filming this video I was not anywhere near a shelter and I thought I was going to get struck by lightning.

In 2011 I took a Storm Spotter training and a year later I took the advanced class and now that I had learned about storms I now feel that what I did back in 2008 was foolish.  I did not have a NOAA Weather radio or mobile radar, which means that we were partially blind and we did not know that there were damaging winds that touched down not far from us.  Lessons learned looking at this in retrospect.

Slama Photography 8/2008

Below is a video that I filmed in segments and found this footage today (yes, years later)

When I got home I heard that there was storm damage less that a 1/2 mile from where I was located while filming and if I recall correctly residents thought their area was hit by a tornado.  I have tried several times searching for news reports and found that this was not a tornado but a severe thunderstorm with a strong isolated downdraft that generates winds that could be as strong as a EF1 Tornado.  This particular storm had different clouds that showed both horizontal, vertical rotation, and lots of lightning strikes.  This was filmed right after leaving Valley Forge Park where we witnessed torrential rain and a flash flood.

Reading more about that day, I found out that there was a hail storm in Chester County and another one in Elk Township NJ where Storm Spotters measured hail at 1 inch in diameter. (which is evidence of a severe storm)  The clouds you see in the video and the pictures below show vertical development which is another warning sign of a severe storm.  I could not find  if there was a tornado watch issued that day.

Here are a few pictures from that day.  You can see the clouds how the storm was moving by us, the clouds were swirling above us showing signs of vorticity.

Flash Flood at Valley Forge Park

Possible Scud cloud

I hope you enjoyed this story, the pictures and the video. Thanks for following The_Weather_Vane!