Points north of Tuscaloosa and Pickens County are under a Slight Risk of severe weather today. The timeframe is from 3-10 pm. The mostly likely elements for us to see is hail and then some strong wind across parts of the area. The storms will remain isolated and not widespread. It will be much like [...]
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Friday , March 30, 2012 Record Wet March NEWS FLASH : 7.71 inches in Portland KPDX at 10 AM , with 15 hours remaining in March 2012, makes this the wettest March in the historical record going back 73 years to 1940. The previous wettest March had been 1957 with 7.52 . inches The complaints have become a crescendo . nbsp Our Gortex jackets are hopelessly saturated and basements are getting sodden . nbsp For many , it's just too much . nbsp After a relatively dry February , March has been very wet month , and record breaking in some . locations Probably the most anomalous precipitation has been over eastern Washington , where a some locations have received their ALL TIME RECORD
A few thunderstorms have developed across northwest Alabama this afternoon in what appears to be a zone of weak low level convergence. The majority of the convection is near and downstream of an upper level disturbance currently along the upper Texas coast. The main challenge tonight is will the convection associated with the upper low [...]
Here's a simple way to be in awe of how weather works.
Check out this map that shows near real-time wind flow across the United States, courtesy of hint.fm. (Click the link and you'll be taken to a map that has a cool animation of the wind.)
You can click on the map to zoom in and even hover over a location to see what the wind speeds are.Here's a simple way to be in awe of how weather works.
Check out this map that shows near real-time wind flow across the United States, courtesy of hint.fm. (Click the link and you'll be taken to a map that has a cool animation of the wind.)
You can click on the map to zoom in and even hover over a location to see what the wind speeds are.
Good Wednesday afternoon to you! It has been another nice and dry day, but temperatures are approaching hot levels this afternoon. Many spots have reached the lower to middle 80s under a partly cloudy sky. While moisture levels have been low over the past several days, you’ll notice an increase in humidity over the next [...]
Good Wednesday morning! I know there are lots of outdoor events happening this weekend, so here’s a quick forecast update. Today through Friday will feature partly cloudy skies and very mild afternoon temperatures. Highs will range between 83 and 87. We’ve been talking about a disturbance moving in on Saturday, which would bring a good [...]
Good Tuesday afternoon to you! It’s been a very nice day with sunny skies and warm temperatures. Many spots have reached the middle 80s this afternoon, which is border-line hot in my opinion. The lower humidity has made it feel a little more comfortable this afternoon and evening. With low dewpoints and clear skies, temperatures [...]
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Monday , March 26, 2012 The Strengthening Sun We have had a lot of sun the past few days and one thing that is apparent is the gathering strength of the solar radiation we are receiving . nbsp It seems strange , but the sun right now is roughly equivalent to that of mid-September , before summer's end . nbsp Just to illustrate , here are monthly radiation values from NREL , the U.S . government agency that gathers such information the black line is the mean over 30 years , shading shows extremes in individual months for Seattle and : Spokane Seattle Radiation Spokane Radiation There is a huge increase in solar radiation between January and March and then a slow rise to the peak in
Good Monday afternoon! It has been a very nice day in terms of weather conditions across much of the southeast. Temperatures have got a little hot this afternoon, with many spots reaching the lower to middle 80s. After a cool start to the day, temperatures warmed quickly due to dry air and plenty of sunshine. [...]
As all of you have noticed spring is here ,and the first full week of spring brings the continuous warmer temperatures. Here in Bowling Green, we are still roughly 5+ degrees above the normal and should continue on that track … Continue reading →
As the week progresses a ridge will build and encompass Central Alabama. We will see temperatures increase a degree or two each day through midweek. By Wednesday the ridge will flatten out and temperatures will level out. Look for above normal temperatures to continue through the period. Rain chances really don’t become a possibility until [...]
We had a gorgeous day today, and I think a carbon copy of today’s weather will be in store for us Sunday. There is an upper low situated over Kentucky right now, which brought rain and cloudiness to some of Alabama’s northern counties in the late morning and afternoon hours. The low will slowly eject [...]
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Saturday , March 24, 2012 Hook Echo on the Washington Coast Ask any tornado stormchaser . nbsp You want to find severe convection , tornadoes and big hail Look for a hook echo on the weather radar . nbsp In fact , one of the big meteorological breakthroughs in the 1950s was when we tried out WWII surplus radars and found that severe convection , and often tornadoes , were associated with hook echos see sample Today modern radars paint out a wonderfully nuanced image of such echos , most of which are associated with huge supercell convective : storms This image is from a intense storm over . Oklahoma So why I am bringing this up now On Thursday , I received an email from a Canadian
Good Friday afternoon! It has been a nice end to the day after numerous showers and storms rolled across our state yesterday, last night and this morning. Check out the official 48 hour rain totals at the airports. Tuscaloosa picked up over 3 inches of rain and Hattiesburg, MS passed the 5 inch mark. According [...]
Good morning! The rain has ended in west Alabama this morning, and most spots have really picked up some very heavy totals. Some river flooding and creek flooding is possible through the weekend, so make sure you are flood alert. Don’t drive through flooded roads! As of this point, the main threat of flooding is [...]
: : Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Thursday , March 22, 2012 It's a Miracle : Normal Weather Returns Check out my KPLU podcast on the weekend weather : nbsp here It is hard to remember such an extended period in March where snow was falling somewhere over the lowlands of western Washington and Oregon . nbsp Even yesterday , the persistent snow plagued our region , with the area south of Portland and extending down to Eugene not only getting snow , but record-breaking snow . nbsp Eugene had a storm total of 7.5 inches . the most they ever had so late in the . season But I have good news . I think snow is over for the lowlands . and probably for the rest of the spring . nbsp The large scale atmospheric pattern is
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Thursday , March 22, 2012 GOES-West Weather Satellite Fails Update : nbsp It appears that the problem has been identified and can be fixed . nbsp Satellite might be back online by . Friday Yesterday the National Weather Service GOES-West GOES-15 geostationary weather satellite failed . In a geostationary orbit that allows it to stay above the same location in time , GOES-W is positioned over the equator at 135W at around 36,000 km above the surface . The folks at the National Weather Service are trying to bring it back , but right now there is no information on how long this will take or whether they will . succeed In the meantime , we are getting images from the other U.S .
Highlights • Pattern change for the rest of the week • Cooler temperatures and chances of precipitation through the weekend Forecast Deep upper level trough that has been producing heavy rain and severe weather in TX through the week, will … Continue reading →
Highlights Persistance forecast with high temperatures in the low 80’s and low’s around 60. Forecast As the upper level ridge and respondant low level southerly flow continue to amplify, our sensible weather will remain much of the same through Wed. … Continue reading →
: . : Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Sunday , March 18, 2012 The U.S . Has Fallen Behind in Numerical Weather Prediction : Part I It's a national . embarrassment It has resulted in large unnecessary costs for the U.S . economy and needless endangerment of our citizens . nbsp And it shouldn't be . occurring What am I talking about The third rate status of numerical weather prediction in the U.S . nbsp It is a huge story , an important story , but one the media has not touched , probably from lack of familiarity with a highly technical subject . nbsp And the truth has been buried or unavailable to those not intimately involved in the U.S . weather prediction enterprise . This is an issue I have mentioned briefly in
Unseasonably warm conditions continue to be the story across much of the eastern half of the US, as seen in the surface temperature map provided by TwisterData.com for Thursday at 18z (1PM). A large upper level ridge is parked over … Continue reading →
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Wednesday , March 14, 2012 Why is it so hard to forecast lowland snow Meteorologists can get windstorm forecasts right nearly all of the time . nbsp We hit the record high temperatures in July 2009 nearly dead on . nbsp We can give you a skillful forecast of a marine push in the . summer But snow forecasts , although improving , are often in . error Why Well , there are reasons . a lot of . reasons 1 You've got to get the amount of precipitation right--really right-- or you have a very bad snow forecast . nbsp On most days , the forecasts hardly talk about the amount of precipitation , just the probability of precipitation . nbsp Most people don't care whether 1 inch or 4 inch of
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Sunday , March 11, 2012 Storm Update Its showtime . nbsp The coastal storm is now rapidly intensifying offshore and winds are increasingly over the coast and over NW Washington . nbsp The latest runs indicate a similar path as previous model forecasts , with the low crossing the northern portion of Vancouver Island . nbsp But the storm is now forecast to be weaker by about 10 hPa the low is now predicted to be in the low 970s as it makes landfall , instead of the low 960s Still a serious storm , but a significant notch lower in . intensity Here is the latest infrared satellite image . You can see the developing storm with a cloud free notch on its western side . the low center is
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Saturday , March 10, 2012 Major Coastal Storm Forget the snow showers and other minor weather annoyances . nbsp We got bigger fish to fry . nbsp A major cyclone will rapidly develop on Sunday and then move northward off our coast , crossing the northern portion of Vancouver Island . nbsp A storm that will produce very strong winds and substantial waves along the Northwest coast , but pass far enough out to lessen the the threat of a major windstorm over most of the . interior Here is the latest UW WRF forecast 12km domain for 7 AM on Monday . nbsp Most of the major modeling systems . including the ensemble systems . agree with this solution , so there is a good chance reality will
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Thursday , March 8, 2012 Lenticular Clouds Will be talking about the weekend weather and lenticular clouds on KPLU tomorrow Friday morning at 9 AM you can also listen or read about it at : http : www.kplu.org Today there were wonderful displays of lenticular clouds a.k.a . mountain wave clouds downstream of both the Olympics and Mt . Rainier . nbsp Here are a few photos to enjoy . nbsp First one from the cam on top of my building , facing towards the : Olympics Or one downstream of Mt . Rainier , again from my : building A far better picture taken by Kevin Freitas in Tacoma was found online at this website You could see these lenticular clouds from space as viewed in the
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Monday , March 5, 2012 Double Convergence Zone and Snow Hits the Area As last night's run correctly forecast , the front did not bring any snow to the lowlands . nbsp As noted yesterday , it was a really interesting situation in which a small change in the configuration of the front caused a huge change in the snow prediction . nbsp An indication of how snow often requires getting everything right around here , particularly when temperatures are . marginal But we did get some snow today after frontal passage and in fact it is snowing over NW Washington as a write this . blog Today , as the front moved past , the winds turned northwesterly on the coast--the direction that sets up
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Sunday , March 4, 2012 Snow Threat Evaporates I just took a look at the latest model runs---both the UW and NWS models--and I had quite a shock . nbsp The lowland snows suggested in the previous model runs were GONE . nbsp To illustrate , here is the 24-h snowfall for the period ending 4 PM Monday . nbsp Lots of snow in the mountains , but virtually nothing in the . lowlands So what is going on This is really an interesting case and reveals some dilemmas in how we forecast and communicate our . forecasts As I noted in my earlier blog , getting much snow during a frontal passage , as will happen tomorrow morning , is very , very unusual . nbsp It is going against all my experience
: Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides updated forecasts and comments on current weather or other topics Sunday , March 4, 2012 Lowland Snow Timing Sunday morning's model runs are holding with a pulse of snow tomorrow morning and early afternoon with the front . nbsp 0 to 2 inch for most , but some could get more . nbsp Here are the latest forecast output for the 3-hr ending 10 . AM This run shows pretty substantial amounts 2-4 inches over north Seattle and the eastside . nbsp The previous model run had much less , so we don't have stable solutions . nbsp However , each run has tended toward more snow and the other model simulation done at the UW MM5-NAM shows a similar snow burst . nbsp The model run for the next three hours ending 1 PM is show next . nbsp The snow is moving