Storms in November

 

Typically the month of November means Fall weather and families getting ready for Thanksgiving.  We don't normally associate November for a month for bad weather.  

 

I spent a good portion of today following national weather headlines (obviously more than a normal person would).   What caught my attention today is how unprepared the general public is about warning for severe weather.   I find it curious how sports fans in Chicago fill a stadium when there were ample tornado warnings going on at the time today.    Not very far from Chicago a strong tornado hit Washington IL.  The storm that produced this tornado was triggered by a large sweeping cold front moving east and it has been causing severe weather in a large area of the country.   (it is not over yet). 

I have not been studying the weather for much time and I have said before that I am not a pro (a Meteorologist) but I have watched the local news almost on a daily basis.  I can understand why the 6 o'clock news could put off some viewers due to negative stories about curruption, images of war and natural desasters that are of far away places.  I guess I am part of a select few who follow news and study about the weather that sets me apart from the general public.   This is why I am a volunteer and why I became a Storm Spotter.   I have been through a really bad flood and I was totally uniformed of the weather event that hit the area I was located at the time.   I did not want to see people caught off guard like I was (I could have drowned or had a bad car accident).

• Social media is one possible way to inform the public.  

I have spoken to a few experts that are not really fans of using social media to communicate with the public for emergencies. However most people do not want to buy a NOAA radio because they are either complicated to program or most folks simply do not want a alarm going off when a strong thunderstorm is upon us.
 I have written a few times before about FEMA, NOAA and The American Red Cross and their efforts to notify the public.  They even set up warning systems to trigger alerts in smartphones, however i recently heard that many people complained of false alarms and most people deactivated the alerts.    Apparently we have a no win situation except that I can try to post low key warnings on social medial well in advance of the storm.  I know that I do  not many followers however, if more people would do the same, we could have a better chance of reaching more people that are connected online.

If anyone has suggestions to improve communication to the public, (I am all ears)   Please tell me..

Cell phones are great, however they have limited battery time during a power outages and high winds can knock down cellphone towers.  I will not let this keep me plugging away posting weather info.

The National Weather Service issues a briefing when there is a possible severe weather event.
I hate to cry wolf and it seems sometimes that I may have hyped up a few storms however my intent is to help people be ready and not drive into a storm where they could be risking life and limb.
The NWS briefing that was issued today (11/17/13) describles an event of rain and possible strong wind gusts.  When there is an event like this we might not see much, but then surprise we have a strong wind even that knocks a large tree on your house.

So isn't better to pay attention to the news and try to learn how weather warnings work?

A big Thank You to the Mt. Holly NWS office in NJ for their warnings.

Actual full NWS Briefing - click here

Haiyan aka Supertyphoon Yolanda

Hell on Earth..

Haiyan is the international name for the terrible storm event that crossed over the Philippines that is known locally as Typhoon "Yolanda".  Everyone that has been following news of this terrible storm has seen images and video that are absolutely heartbreaking.  I have been reading as much as I can of this storm as it is easy to think that a storm like this only affects other countries and not where you and your family might live.  How can anyone look at the images from the storm damage and not feel sadness for the victims and survivors.

I wanted everyone to stop and think for a moment.   Last year on October 29th, our area (Southeastern PA) was affected by a small storm called Sandy.  People directly affected by Sandy would not think it was a small storm, not when you see your home flooded or you were stranded underwater in your car. We have a bad habit of ignoring the news and avoid learning how we can and should be prepared for dangerous weather.  When you compare  a category 5 storm to weaker storm like Sandy you will have to agree that no matter how powerful a storm might be everyone should pay attention to the news and be prepared for any storm.

The Philippines have been hit by many storms but officials there are shocked by the magnitude of the destruction by this event.  Just to compare, winds of about 54 miles an hour are enough to knock down large tree limbs and at 60 mph can knock down entire trees.  Haiyan had sustained winds of about 195 mph at the coast!  Most people in the Philippines did not had adequate shelter to protect them from a storm like this and it is reported that more then 10,000 people are feared dead in just one city.

Below is a video that was posted recently by James Reynolds who is a well known professional storm photographer. Here you will see the effects of the high wind and water.

Thanks to Earth Uncut TV for posting on YouTube

  Where will Haiyan go next?

Map from The NWS Climate Prediction Center Website & NOAA

A final note.

In our area (Mid-Atlantic USA) we are seeing rapidly changing Fall to Winter like weather.  We should be prepared for the weather associated for this season.  I see so many car accidents just by distracted drivers.  We cannot do much for that but here is how you can get your car better prepared.
Read this story I posted about getting good tires for your vehicle: http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/search?q=tires

To lean how to be prepared for a tropical storm or hurricane then read here; http://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
Information I collected for this story came from  newsinfo.inquirer.net

Did you see that? NASA's Rocket Launch

Weather conditions vary.  We all know this, however this is a frustrating part of being a sky-watcher.

 Many sky-watchers are amateur astronomers and living near the Philadelphia area means partially cloudy skies every time we hear about a meteor shower or other heavenly event.   This time we had clear skies (I can't believe it).   Tonight we had a great chance to see a rocket launch and yes I could see it as I had a great view from my bedroom window.  Now you ask, "what is he talking about, what rocket?"

NASA had a great start in launching it's LADEE (Lunar atmosphere and dust environment explorer) The rocket is set to reach the moon in October, and will be used to analyze the Moon's very thin atmosphere.   The Rocket launched at night (11:27 PM EDT) and at night of course you could see the trail of the rockets path with just your eyes as an orange trail through the southern sky. (I saw this from Horsham PA)  The rocket was visible from Main to South Carolina.  The origin of the rocket launch was in Virginia. (NASA's Wallops flight facility).


NASA has been very kind to stream this on USTREAM and relased the video of the launch on YouTube, which I found here for you to see.

Courtesy of NASA!

Story information from NASA website:   http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ladee/main/index.html#.Uiqrvj8piRM

Eleven Year Solar Maximum

The Sun goes through changes and we are close to a big one.

NASA has been observing the Sun's solar activty and on July 18th a large Coronal Hole appeard on the Sun.

Courtesy of NASA

So we are close to the end of the 11 year cycle so when the Sun reaches it's Solar Maximum a curious event occurs.  The Sun's Magnetic poles will reverse.   Most of us may not heard of this event however it is a regular part of the cycle that our Sun goes through.  A local Scientist at the Franklin Institute was quoted stating that this event should not affect us on the Earth. 

Story Information from: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/08/07/sun-getting-ready-to-flip-its-magnetic-field-earthlings-affected/

http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/large-coronal-hole-near-sun-north-pole/index.html#.Ue6fxoXTovQ

Torrential Rainfall Causes Chaos in Philly

Record Rainfall of over 7 inches fell over certain areas of Philadelphia.  This is the second month of record breaking rain.  Motorists on a major route (The Schuylkill Expressway) were trapped in a section of expressway where they were faced with up to 3 feet of water and nowhere else to go.  Several drivers were not able to successfully cross the rising water and ended up stalled out.

The Philadelphia Airport had a major power outage do to flood waters causing major delays.

Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29




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