Cloud Stalker: May 2009

Monday, May 18, 2009

Hurricane season starting a little early

SPECIAL TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
340 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2009

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

SATELLITE IMAGERY AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT AN AREA OF
DISTURBED WEATHER HAS FORMED OVER EASTERN CUBA...THE SOUTHEASTERN
BAHAMAS...AND THE ADJACENT WATERS. SLOW DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM
IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO AS IT MOVES GENERALLY
NORTHWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER
AIRCRAFT WILL INVESTIGATE THE SYSTEM ON TUESDAY...IF NECESSARY.
THERE IS A LOW CHANCE...LESS THAN 30 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM
BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

If this turns into a named storm it will be the tenth consecutive year that a tropical storm formed in May. Typically named storms only happen every other May.

Drought relief is under way Florida is getting much need rain, and rain is forcasted for the next 5 days. I cant wait for my neighborhood to turn green again!
I have some pretty cool pictures i have taken, which i will share later. for now it's time to make dinner.
Jess
Yea its getting interesting around here!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Florida heat wave

It's only May and yes folks we are seeing temps reaching the 90's.
The drought is getting worse, Florida is 4.53 inches behind in rain already for the year. This is bad, and yes each day that goes by without rain is just making it worse.I read recently my county- Pasco is doing a good job with conserving our water.but that also means no fun in the hose for the kids this summer. Those of us without pools no how bad this sucks! While I'm here bitching about no rain five states,TX,LA,MS.Al.GA are getting pounded,storm after storm after storm. 30 Tornado's have been reported since Friday,and wide spread flooding hail storms and on
Saturday a severe thunderstorm warning went up at 3:06 pm in Dallas Texas At 3:30pm 70mph winds collapsed the Dallas Cowboy's practice facility. They are reporting that event as a MicroburstClick on Microburst to read how this event forms.
Scary stuff if you don't know whats going on weather wise around you. That's why a weather radio is an absolute necessity!! If you don't have one go out and get one before you become one of those people....you know what i mean.
Jess

HAIL (3/4 inch or greater)

Hail can cause significant damage to your vehicle, break windows and damage roofs of homes and businesses.
Hail can cause significant bodily injuries such as broken bones and even blindness if wind blown.
Softball (4.5 inches) sized hail was reported in Lake Wales, Florida on March 30, 1996.
Haildrifts, up to four feet deep of dime to nickel sized hail, occurred in low-lying areas near Zephyrhills, Florida on January 29, 1997.
Hailstones the size of softballs can fall at speeds faster than 100 mph

supercell

Supercells derive their rotation through tilting of horizontal vorticity (an invisible horizontal vortex) caused by wind shear. Strong updrafts lift the air turning about a horizontal axis and cause this air to turn about a vertical axis. This forms the deep rotating updraft, the mesocyclone.
A cap or capping inversion is usually required to form a downdraft of sufficient strength. The cap puts an inverted (warm-above-cold) layer above a normal (cold-above-warm) boundary layer, and by preventing warm surface air from sinking too far, allows one or both of the following:
Air below the cap warms and/or becomes more moist
Air above the cap cools
This creates a warmer, moister layer below a cooler layer, which is increasingly unstable (because warm air is less dense and tends to rise). When the cap weakens or moves, explosive development follows.
In North America, supercells usually show up on Doppler radar as starting at a point or hook shape on the southwestern side, fanning out to the northeast. The heaviest precipitation is usually on the southwest side, ending abruptly short of the rain-free updraft base or main updraft (not visible to radar). The rear flank downdraft, or RFD, carries precipitation counterclockwise around the north and northwest side of the updraft base, producing a "hook echo" that indicates the presence of a mesocyclone.