WGEM StormTrak Weather Blog Thoughts on the wild and wonderful world of Tri-State weather

• Avoid Idling. If you spend time waiting during drop-off and pick-up times, kill the engine. An idling car creates air pollutants…and gets zero miles per gallon.
• Carpool. Team up with other parents in the neighborhood and take turns driving kids to school to cut down on morning traffic.
• Walk or bike. If the weather is nice and school is nearby, encourage your kids to walk or bike to school. If you are concerned about safety, help kids map out a safe route to school and make the trip with them.

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Does it feel like this Spring has felt more like summer? We’ll temperatures have been well above normal. An indepth look has been written by the NWS Lincoln, IL and you can read it below.

Summer-like temperatures prevailed across central and southeast Illinois for much of the first half of April.  Temperatures averaged 10-15 degrees above normal through April 15th with several days seeing highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s.  These readings were more typical of mid to late June!  Normal highs for early April are in the upper 50s and lower 60s, while lows are typically in the upper 30s and lower 40s.

The reasons for the extended period of warm air residing over the Midwest are complex but basically result from a “blocked” weather pattern which allowed high pressure at the surface and aloft to set up across the nation’s mid-section.  Several days of southerly to southwesterly winds allowed warm air to move into the region, and plenty of sunshine acting on relatively dry air produced further warming of the airmass. 

While it was very warm, few individual daily records were established.  A record high was tied in Springfield on April 6th at 85 degrees.  The most unusual aspect of this warm stretch is its duration.  Many locations in central and southeast Illinois were more than 10 degrees above normal for 12 of the first 15 days in April, while several days were more than 20 degrees above normal.  For detailed climate information  check out our Local Climate webpage. 

The map below shows the large area of above normal temperatures across the Midwest for April 1-14, courtesy of NOAA MRCC.  Note the area of highest above normal readings (bright red shading) across central Illinois and Indiana.

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Beginning around 1025 pm Wednesday evening, April 14, the NWS received numerous reports of a bright object falling from the sky somewhere in Central Illinois/Eastern Iowa. However, as close as the object appeared… the object was much further away than it appeared.  For the rest  of the evening… reports poured into National Weather Service offices from St. Louis, Missouri to Milwuakee, Wisconsin. 

The reports have described an event very similar to what a meteorite scenario might look like. The exact location any possible impact has been very difficult to discern, or whether or not the object in question has even reached the ground. 

Meteorites (meteors that reach the earth’s surface) do not ‘burn’ all the way to the earth’s surface.  According to the American Meteor Society, “at some point, usually between 15 to 20 km (9-12 miles or 48,000-63,000 feet) altitude, the meteoroid remnants will decelerate to the point that the ablation process stops, and visible light is no longer generated. This occurs at a speed of about 2-4 km/sec (4500-9000 mph). From that point onward, the stones will rapidly decelerate further until they are falling at their terminal velocity, which will generally be somewhere between 0.1 and 0.2 km/sec (200 mph to 400 mph). Moving at these rapid speeds, the meteorite(s) will be essentially invisible during this final “dark flight” portion of their fall.”
(Definition of ablation: The dissipation of heat generated by atmospheric friction, especially in the atmospheric reentry of a spacecraft or missile, by means of a melting heat shield)

The reports have described an extremely bright object flying rapidly through the sky, even breaking into several smaller objects, before possibly reaching the ground. No additional reports have been received of any damage on the ground.  Although most meteors burn up while passing through the earth’s atmosphere, some will blaze a trail across the sky, rivaling the sun in its intensity.  Certainly this event qualifies by looking at the video below courtesy of our sister station KWWL out of Iowa.  The video is from a Howard County, Iowa, Sheriff.  
http://addins.kwwl.com/blogs/weather/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fireball-web.wmv

The National Weather Service does not verify if meteorite activity has occurred.  However, several NWS offices have some very interesting video/information/pictures on their webpages, as well as some screen captures of the dust/smoke trail left behind the fireball being caught on radar.  Here are some links to the surrounding offices’ stories:
National Weather Service Quad Cities
National Weather Service Milwuakee
National Weather Service La Crosse

This is a bit of an early start for the next expected meteor shower event, as the Lyrids are supposed to start in a couple of days.

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50th Anniversary of the Satellite that “Forever Changed Weather Forecasting”

NOAA-NASA Partnership Fostering Better Understanding Of Our Changing Planet

April 1, 2010

One of the first images from the TIROS-1 satellite, April 1, 1960.

High resolution (Credit: NASA)

Fifty years ago today, the world’s first weather satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and opened a new and exciting dimension in weather forecasting. Top leaders from NOAA and NASA hailed the milestone as an example of their agencies’ strong partnership and commitment to flying the best satellites today and beyond.

The first image from the satellite, known as TIROS-1 (Television Infrared Observation Satellite), was a fuzzy picture of thick bands and clusters of clouds over the United States. An image captured a few days later revealed a typhoon about a 1,000 miles east of Australia. TIROS-1, a polar-orbiting satellite, weighed 270 pounds and carried two cameras and two video recorders. Though the satellite only lasted 78 days, its impact is still visible today. 

“This satellite forever changed weather forecasting,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Since TIROS-1, meteorologists have far greater information about severe weather and can issue more accurate forecasts and warnings that save lives and protect property.”

“TIROS-1 started the satellite observations and interagency collaborations that produced vast improvements in weather forecasts,” said NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. “It also laid the foundation for our current global view of Earth that underlies all of climate research and the field of Earth system science.”

First image from NOAA-19 satellite, the last of the TIROS satellites, on February 6, 2009.

High resolution (Credit: NASA)

Throughout the 1960s, each TIROS spacecraft carried increasingly advanced instruments and technology. By 1965, meteorologists combined 450 TIROS images into the first global view of the world’s weather.

In 1975, the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) was launched 22,300 miles into space. Its ability to orbit in sync with the Earth’s rotation, combined with the polar-orbiting satellites enhanced NOAA’s forecasting.

“We could not provide skillful hurricane forecasts without the crucial imagery and data from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites,” said Chris Landsea, Ph.D., science operations officer at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Before satellites, tropical storms and hurricanes were often missed if they stayed out over the open ocean.”

When the more advanced TIROS-N satellite series were launched between 1978 and 1981, the name of the spacecraft changed to Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites, or POES. The POES orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 500 miles and circle the poles once every 102 minutes.

With continued improvements of the instruments and technology, the satellites began giving scientists the ability to track changes in climate – from the subtle

onset of drought and its impacts on vegetation, to monitoring global sea-surface temperatures that signal atmospheric phenomena, such as El Niño and La Niña.  

“Securing critical climate data records from the advanced sensors flying on NOAA satellites helps us understand the Earth’s changing climate,” said Tom Karl, who heads the emerging NOAA Climate Service. “For 50 years, NOAA satellites have advanced our ability to monitor the Earth’s climate and will continue to provide critical data in the years to come.”

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How much hazardous waste does the average American household accumulate in one year? Ten pounds? Fifty? Actually, the typical home accumulates up to 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in just one year! Think of paints, pesticides, cleaning supplies, oil, antifreeze and other products that hide away in the basement, garage or shed. These products may contain corrosive, toxic or flammable ingredients. If products are dumped outside or stored in an area where rain or floodwater can reach them, they can be washed into storm drains, rivers and streams, and even well water, putting water quality at risk.

Take a few minutes during spring cleaning to make sure you’re properly storing and disposing of household hazardous wastes.

• Store products in their original containers  with labels to avoid misuse or accidental ingestion.
• Never mix leftovers with other products – this may cause reactions or explosions. Mixing products may also make it so they cannot be recycled.
• If you no longer need a product, take it to a local household hazardous waste collection program. Find one at www.cleanup.org.

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Here’s a partial list of upcoming spotter sessions for Spring 2010. These are free of charge. WGEM is proud to partner with the Red Cross & Adams Co. Emergency Management for the March 15th session.

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Two months ago, NASA’s Timothy Hall and colleagues published a study that described how they had estimated the amount of manmade carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean since the start of the industrial era.

Oceans absorb about a third of the carbon dioxide that humans release into the atmosphere, so sorting out a long-term record of carbon uptake is of great interest to climate scientists.

To create their record of the ocean’s uptake of carbon, Hall and Samar Khatiwala, the lead author of the study, devised a clever mathematical technique that proved to be a considerable advance. When Hall’s study appeared in the journal Nature, he assumed the creation of this new long-term, continuous record would headline the news.

But journalists gravitated toward something else entirely: a brief mention that the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean seemed to be experiencing, as the researchers put it, “a small decline in the rate of increase in the last few decades.”

“Seas Grow Less Effective at Absorbing Emissions”, one headline trumpeted. Another article compared the world’s oceans to a fish “stuffed to the gills” with carbon dioxide and another reported a “sudden and dramatic drop in the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the sea.“

Given the caveats included in the original study, all of this caught Hall slightly off guard. I’ll let Hall, who summarized his reactions to the coverage for What On Earth, pick the story up from here:

My coauthors and I had viewed the ability to estimate the history of ocean uptake of anthropogenic carbon as the highlight of the paper. Previously, observationally-based estimates had only provided a few snapshots in time, and we were proud of the cleverness of our techniques.

It seems clever mathematical techniques, however, don’t make good press releases. Interestingly, coverage of the paper has not focused on the fact that we can estimate the uptake history. Instead it has focused on apparent reductions in the rate of uptake over the last 2 decades.

The figure below shows our estimate of ocean uptake since 1775. The first impression is the rapid increase since 1950, coinciding with the rapid rise in carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The oceans have prevented about 1/3 of anthropogenic carbon emissions from accumulating in the atmosphere. A closer reading of the curve reveals a reduction in the uptake’s rate of increase after about 1980, even while emissions continue to increase.

Scientists have long suspected that ocean carbon uptake would eventually be unable to keep pace with rising emissions. Basic aqueous chemistry tells us that, as dissolved carbon in seawater increases, seawater becomes less able to absorb new carbon. Eventually, the absorption saturates. The slowing down of the increase rate may be an early signal of this saturation.

However, recent changes in uptake were not our focus when we performed the study, and more importantly we did not analyze the statistical significance of the slowdown. We plan further analysis on these trend variations. What we can say is that there are physical reasons to suspect a reduction in the ocean’s capacity to keep pace with increasing carbon emissions, and that there are now strong observational hints for recent reductions.

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Mid-winter is the perfect time to put out a birdhouse. Even though there is still snow on the ground in many places and many bird species are still far to the south, it’s not too early. Chickadees, bluebirds, screech owls and woodpeckers are among the bird species that will use a birdhouse built and mounted to their specifications. All of these species stick around for the winter and at this time of year begin scouting out locations to build their nests come spring. If you have a birdhouse out now, these birds are likely to pick your yard as the place to raise their new family once spring arrives.

Tip: If cold or snowy weather is keeping you inside and you’re looking for a fun do-it-yourself project, consider building your own birdhouse instead of purchasing one. The Cornell Lab or Ornithology has plans for several different types of birdhouses, along with plans for predator guards to keep animals like raccoons, snakes and cats away from nesting birds. Visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/nestinginfo/nestboxref/construct.

More helpful birdhouse-building tips are available from National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Tipsheets.aspx.

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We’ve been busy in the WX Center - we now Twitter, we Facebook, and our attention tends to divert into other lines of communique.

We haven’t totally forgotten about blogging, it’s that we have to learn the paths of least resistance to deliver timely information. New Media is something everyone should embrace. It’s just the way of the world and not just a passing fad. It will morph into different looks, ways & means. Nonetheless, I’ve always embraced change and it happens. That’s life.

Here I will be posting more long form weather data & writings pertinent to climate change, events, things that interest me and that I’d like to share. Comments are always appreciated!

In the mean time, feel free to follow me on Twitter - Rcain_WGEM, Facebook - if you have the gull, or by the regular cyber means of exchanging electronic mumbo jumbo. Didn’t 3 Dog night write a song about Shambala? I’ll see ya all there. - Rich

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