The_Weather_Vane

A Tribute to Tim Samaras

2013-06-02T10:11:00.003-04:00

If I were to say that I was not interested in Storm Chasing then that may be a lie. I don't think that I will chase storms, at least not like what you have seen on TV or on YouTube. My interest is really to take pictures and video from a far and safe distance. I was sad to see the news this morning on social media about the passing of a pioneer.. Tim Samaras. Tim became a celebrity working on the TV show "Storm Chasers" that was on the Discovery Channel. Weather enthusiasts also have seen his videos on National Geographic and on The Weather Channel.
I was very inspired by his work, especially with high speed camera images of lightning. So much so that I recently invested in a high speed video camera. High speed video is what you see when you see a slow motion video of lightning or cloud formations, etc. Tim was a brilliant engineer and he pushed to achieve breakthroughs in science and technology. He even recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded and the achievement was noted by the Guinness Book of Records.

I have expressed some anger regarding at some of the chasers during the storms in Oklahoma but now seeing that one of the most experienced and respected weather scientists perished during this same event led me to think that this was a rare and tragic event that weather enthusiasts need to learn from. Hopefully lessons learned from El Reno Oklahoma will help show how unpredictable a tornadoes path could be and it is something you need to respect and keep out of harms way.

Here is a video, one that I felt that really showed his achievements well.

Here are more of his videos from National Geographic.

http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/search?q=Tim+Samaras

NOAA Video - What is a Watch?

2013-05-31T22:45:00.000-04:00

What is a Watch?

For those who regularly see severe weather, please see this video and pass this information along to anyone else that may benefit from this.

I work at alerting folks in my area, but you can be informed 24/7 by buying a NOAA Alert Weather Radio (I have two of them).. Or visit the website shown in the video above at www.weather.gov

Hurricane Ready - Season Starts Soon

2013-05-25T12:00:00.002-04:00

Organizations such as NOAA, The National Hurricane Center, FEMA, The American Red Cross and Readygov are reminding everyone about Hurricane season which starts very soon..

Remember that Hurricanes do not just affect coastal areas. Many of us remember what has happened in recent history with Irene, Lee and Superstorm Sandy. The NHC has issued it's general forecast for this year and they are expecting an active Hurricane season.

These organizations have generously distributed this PDF guide about Tropical Cyclones to the public.

PREPAREDNESS GUIDE (NOAA) - Click to open

Tornado Genesis

2013-05-25T00:08:00.000-04:00

Here is a Nat Geo video featuring Tim Samaras who tracked down the birth of a Tornado near South Central Kansas. Winds were clocked at over 200 miles per hour.

Terrifying Twisters in North Texas

2013-05-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Northern Texas on May 15th had 16 tornadoes touch down and as you can imagine residents had a tough night dealing with these storms. Up to softball sized hail was witnessed during the severe storms. Sadly Granbury Texas had a mile wide EF-4 tornado with calculated winds of 180 mph. There were 6 casualties, over 100 injuries and loss of property.

Here is a video from the Red Cross that will give you an idea of the damage and the need for
support for the families affected by these deadly storms.

If you wish to donate to the Red Cross to help the people of Granbury Texas please click here:

http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations

For readers in PA you can follow The_Weather_Vane for forecast information and basic daily weather alerts.

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For Best Results get a battery powered NOAA Weather Alert Radio

Buy a Weather Alert Radio here at Amazon

Taking Pictures from Orbit

2013-05-14T00:03:00.003-04:00

Space Weather is something that has always fascinated me. You are going to end up asking me, how does taking pictures from orbit have to do with Space Weather? Well not too much however, seeing high quality images of the Earth gives us an idea of the conditions in both the atmosphere such as seeing the aurora and the in our sky with cloud formations, storms and at times, views of the surface such as ocean currents and river flows. Just looking at the complex and beautiful textures that can be seen from space is worth seeing this video.

Special thanks to Commander Hadfield for sharing such a great and informative video

from on board the International Space Station.

Strongest Solar Flare of 2013 (so far)

2013-04-11T23:28:00.001-04:00

Scientists at NASA have proclaimed that they have detected what apparently is the strongest solar flare so far for this year. This expulsion of solar energy from the Sun caused a radio blackout to occur that was measured as a M6.5.

Please watch this brief video showing the solar flare courtesy of NASA

Flood Awareness Week 2013

2013-03-17T13:43:00.001-04:00

Did you know that the number one weather related fatality is from floods?

Starting tomorrow (March 18th to March 22nd) is National Flood Awareness Week and it is important to note what is the principle reason for deaths during a flood. I have been in a bad flood and the most dangerous situation I encountered was driving, where it is very difficult to tell how deep waters are during a flash flood and especially difficult during a blinding rain storm and at night. Please share with new drivers and remind friends and family to not cross flooded roads. If you happen to find a flooded road it is recommend to not cross and to find another route. Pull over and find another route to your destination (if you have a GPS learn how to set a new route).

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/hic/flood_safety/index.shtml

Driving: Flood Facts

The following are important points to remember when driving in flood conditions:

    Six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars causing loss of control and possible stalling.
    A foot of water will float many vehicles
    Two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles including sport utility vehicles (SUV’s) and pick-ups.
    Do not attempt to drive through a flooded road. The depth of water is not always obvious. The road bed may be washed out under the water, and you could be stranded or trapped.
    Do not drive around a barricade. Barricades are there for your protection. Turn around and go the other way.
    Do not try to take short cuts. They may be blocked. Stick to designated evacuation routes.
    Be especially cautious driving at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers.
For more information visit the source: ready.gov

It is important to understand that spring is almost here and this is when storms can cause flooding. March is particulaly a challenging time to forecast winter and spring storm that can produce any type of liquid or frozen precipitation in the same day! Be aware, watch the news or read online to know when a storm is coming before that morning or afternoon drive. The_Weather_Vane posts the forecasts and updates from The National Weather Service on a daily basis using social media sources such as Facebook, twitter and a Mobile App., but do not limit your sources for information. You can buy a battery powered weather radio that will work during a power outage. Even cell phone services may be interrupted during a storm. Look at the chart below from last year showing how important it is to be Weather aware this month.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/floodsafety/

How to be Weather Aware:

First, read the News by watching TV (daily) or search local news/weather on the internet.

It is important that you know of

If you know a storm in coming see if you need to evacuate and if the threat is not severe enough to leave then make sure you get, supplies and needed medications if you feel you will be without power.

For details about being ready make a plan, please visit here; http://www.ready.gov/floods

To follow The_Weather_Vane_ online, visit us on social media

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Twitter https://twitter.com/ENSO1998

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Do we need simpler Winter Warning messages?

2013-03-02T11:38:00.001-05:00

The National Weather Services is asking for help from the public. Apparently the messages that the NWS uses in their warnings and advisory's (WWA), are hard for some to understand and this process of making a simpler message is a result of the Weather-Ready Nation project (Click here to learn more).
I have to admit that some of the messages used are a bit difficult to follow before I read up on this subject last year, but that is where we should be concerned. In an event of an emergency we should not need a study guide on how to decipher warning messages during an emergency. Now of course, much of the public do not access the direct warnings from The National Weather Service, however those who do may greatly benefit from this proposed change. I firmly believe that our recent experiences with T.S. Irene and Hurricane Sandy has pushed concern from the public for clear warning messages and updates when a potential storm is detected. Have you read WWA warnings? Are they clear to you?

Here is what is used currently and the Proposed Simplified System (full details click (Here)

The language in the proposed official headlines will be translated to the proposed alternative

headlines as follows:

THE NWS HAS ISSUED A _____ WATCH

will be translated to

THE NWS FORECASTS THE POTENTIAL FOR ____

with the hazard type, level of certainty and expected impact(s) clearly stated in the rest of

the hazards message.

THE NWS HAS ISSUED A (N) ______ ADVISORY

will be translated to

THE NWS ADVISES CAUTION FOR ____

with the hazard type and expected impact(s) clearly stated

in the remainder of the hazards message.

THE NWS HAS ISSUED A ______ WARNING

will be translated to

THE NWS HAS ISSUED A WARNING FOR A ______

with the hazard type and expected impact(s) clearly stated in the remainder of the

hazards message.

We will retain the term “Warning” because of its direct connection to protection of life

and property but plan to eliminate the individual hazard products within the Warning

category.

You can voice your opinion on the proposed changes to messages used by The National Weather Service. If you wish to review more information and to submit your suggestions and what the message should be changed to, please do so here by clicking this next link; Send your comments or suggestions

Information about this story was respectfully collected from The National Weather Service website;

nws.weather.gov/haz_simp/#proposed

The_Weather_Vane works to help our community be better prepared for severe weather

Meteorite Explosion in Russia

2013-02-15T07:25:00.001-05:00

There are numerous reports by the global Russian news agency RT on twitter this morning with posts mentioning that an explosion may have injured over 700 people. More information being reported as witnesses claimed that they saw a burning streak in the sky and and an explosion soon after that blew out many windows and some doors outside of Chelyabinsk in central Russia.
There are unconfirmed reports of debris in three locations and a possible crater that was located.

Scientists are have yet to report if this meteor was related to the 2012 DA14 Meteor that was known to pass very close to the Earth today. We do not know if other meteor fragments could be expected in the next few days to strike the Earth.

Below is the video from a dash cam.

Not Quite a Blizzard

2013-02-09T11:45:00.001-05:00

The Weather Channel got a lot of negative remarks about naming this historic storm "Nemo"
Frankly I am not really concerned about how a one cable channel goes about it's business, why be so negative about their efforts to spread the word about severe weather.

Here in Montgomery County PA, we received a glancing blow from the merging storms. I spent yesterday watching radar images, station model wind temperature and wind direction. The barometric pressure was steady at first then in the early afternoon the pressure dropped rapidly (a clue of the low pressure system knocking on our door). To a weather aficionado like myself this event was like watching a good movie, a storm like this does not pass our way that often. This type of storm is something that scientists watch, record and study to improve forecasting techniques and sometimes create new high tech tools.

Here is a pic that I took from my balcony this morning.

I actually really like this picture because the light levels were just right. Unfortunately I was not feeling too well which prevented me from measuring snow totals last night and early this morning. I hate to guess but I estimate that the snow total for Horsham (PA) was about 3 to 3.5 inches when all was done.

There were many weather reports stating different snow totals, one must remember that when there is a complex storm like this that it is VERY difficult to accurately predict when and how much precipitation is generated. I for one think that Meteorologists did a very good job with their forecasts.

Here is a great animated image from space (NASA) where you can see the two storm merging.

How much snow do you think you received?

What if Weather Satellites Stopped working?

2013-01-09T23:39:00.003-05:00

I could not help to share this interview with you, my readers. I have brought up this topic before when the GOES 13 satellite malfunction several months ago.

Please watch this video courtesy of the Huffington Post and the interview with several experts in both weather and satellite technology.

2012 - Weather blog in review

2012-12-21T11:49:00.004-05:00

The_Weather_Vane in 2012 - a year of blogging..

I am happy to say that I witnessed many events this year which helped push me to document and learn more about weather events. Last year I took two courses at the Mt. Holly National Weather Service so that I can be a volunteer Storm Spotter. With this I report key information that Meteorologists use to help produce "ground truth" so that they can compare data with other advanced weather tools and information. This year I learned about Tsunamis, Space Weather events and read and wondered how much more I should do to learn about Meteorology and being a Writer.
After thinking of new ways for me and this blog to evolve I have stepped things up to a new level. I have enrolled with an online Meteorology program with Penn State. I am anxious to learn even more as I exercise my mind in writing here and learning from experts.
If you are new to the blog I am here to help. Here is a summary of events with links to each story that I posted throughout this year.

TWV first anniversary Sept
I reported storms as a Storm Spotter and made many updates to the blog.
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/09/theweathervanes-anniversary.html

Storm Chaser Andy Gabrielson killed by drunk driver Feb
Tragic accident for a dedicated professional storm chaser
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/02/andy-gabrielson-pro-storm-chaser.html

Tornado Warning June
Horsham was mentioned on the Weather Channel Live
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/06/tornado-warning-in-se-pa-612012.html

What is a Tsunami My father's story Jan
My father witnessed two tsunami's
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-is-tsunami.html

First Dual Pole Image (NJ/PA NWS) Jan
Dual Pole Radar upgrade test
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/01/first-dual-pole-image.html

Lightning in Horsham May
One of a few lighting photos I took from my balcony
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/05/lightning-in-horsham-part-ii.html

Extreme Weather - Dallas TX Hail Storm June
Video of a terrible hail storm in Dallas with a hail stone size list.
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/06/extreme-weather-dallas-tx-hail-storm.html

Hurricane Sandy became Superstorm Sandy
I have to talk about all my posts about this storm. Many news outlets and weather watchers complained about the over use of hype and scare tactics reporting about this storm that was coming up the East Coast. I for one am happy that I spoke up about this storm. I was talking about Sandy online and posted here on the bog days before it hit our area. Did my warnings help you?

Being Ready for Hurricane Sandy (my first talk about this storm) Oct 26th
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/10/being-ready-for-hurricane-sandy.html

Hurricane Sandy - Before the storm (I was bringing news updates during the storm)
Oct 28th
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-before-storm.html

Hurricane Sandy reaches PA (photos after the storm) Oct 29th
I took many pictures of storm damage around Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties in PA
Get your "The_Weather_Vane" App for your smartphone
http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-reaches-pa.html

Finally, here is a video from one of my favorite online Weather Sources Wunderground.com

Near Earth Asteroid

2012-12-16T18:21:00.001-05:00

What is considered too close for comfort?

An asteroid measuring roughly 3 miles across passed near the Earth last week at a distance of about 4.3 million miles away. So what is considered too close for comfort? To give an idea of the scale of this asteroid at its closest distance to the Earth, Toutartis 4179 passed at 4.3 million miles away. Our own moon is just 238,900 miles from us and Mars varies in distance because of the Earth and Mars have unrelated orbits around the Sun. Mars at is closest distance is 34 million miles and at the farthest could be 250 million miles out. Scientists state that even though Asteroid (Toutatis 4179) passed safely away from the Earth that it will return in the year 2069 and that time it will pass even closer to the Earth at 1.8 million miles. To give an idea how much damage this asteroid could do if it collided with the Earth, scientists state that the asteroid that would have killed off the dinosaurs would have been 6 miles across so if in one of its future runs it could cause catastrophic damage.
I for one would wish that NASA would have in place an early warning system for large objects like this so that we could have enough time to do something to protect the Earth.

Below is a video from multiple space radar images.

Article sources are from NASA and space.com

Superstorm Sandy

2012-11-20T01:18:00.000-05:00

This time Last year we had just a light snow storm but this year that was definitely not the case.

Sandy was a tropical storm that had Meteorologists scrambling to make a difficult and challenging prediction of it's path. Thankfully the weather experts used the best tools they had between the eye in the sky satellites, Dual Pole Radar, Hurricane hunter missions and several conflicting computer models. Even though the Mid Atlantic and Northeast were hit pretty hard we still should thank NOAA , NASA, The National Weather Service and The National Hurricane Center for keeping us very informed that this giant hybrid storm that was aimed at us, All their hard work paid off giving us many days of advanced warning. We need to look back and see if we ever have a storm like this come at us again to see what else we could have done to be better prepared.

Back in August of 2011 I walked around and took pictures of the damage that Tropical Storm Irene inflicted nearby. I wrote about it's 10 feet high flood waters around Penny Pack Park and the flood in Hatboro near the creek. Just after my witnessing the damage from that storm I became a Trained Storm Spotter and I am glad I did that. Along with writing for this blog, I have learned about storms and how to be prepared and I am finding ways to keep people in my community informed.
So this time I took this storm (Sandy) very seriously, I read about it's potential storm track and I gradually bought supplies such as canned food, bottled water and lots of batteries. I soon learned that this was a wise choice as I lost power for three days and then left home because of the lack of heat and hot water.

Social media played an important role in passing information about this storm quickly. The pic below was take on the evening of October 29th. I had already lost power for several hours and my cellphone batter was running low on reserve power. I took several pics like this through the storm and posted them online to chronicle the time, temperature, humidity and more dramatically the very low barometric pressure. As the pic shows the pressure was only 949 mb which I believe was lower than what I saw with T.S Irene. I posted my Now cast information as long as I could until my phone battery quit. Later that evening I heard a loud crack and it turned out to be a limb from a tree that fell on top of the a car.

No Power, no heat on 10/29/12

After the Storm

The next day my brother Dan who is a photographer and a fellow Storm Spotter basically called me and said lets drive around and see if we could get some pictures of damage so we did that and went on a quick ride.

Here are a few pictures I took during our leisurely cruise through Montgomery county.

Dresher PA 10/30/12 Photo by P Saavedra

Route 152 - Dresher PA by P. Saavedra

Dreshertown Plaza by P. Saavedra

Upper Dublin, PA - P. Saavedra

Germantown Section of Philly - P.. Saavedra

Whitemarsh, PA - P. Saavedra

Whitemarsh PA - P. Saavedra

Senton Ave & Butler Pk, P. Saavedra

Whitemarsh PA by P. Saavedra

Whitemarsh Country Club - P. Saavedra

smoke and fire in Wyncote, PA - P. Saavedra

After experiencing what is the strongest storm that has hit this area in many years, I am glad to say that I do not know of any injuries that has occurred I have to say that the last picture shows a branch that fell right when I was taking that shot and it started a small fire. I am just glad that I was not too close.

Finally I wanted to share a new tool for communicating Weather awareness. The next evolutionary step I had to take was for mobile technology. I wanted to give my readers a gift in the form of a free mobile app. You can download the app for Android.

Hurricane Sandy reaches PA

2012-10-29T16:21:00.002-04:00

Here is an update

Hurricane Sandy has arrived in PA, winds have picked up in Philly to around 47 MPH.
Reports of trees falling over onto a home in Hatfield and in Norristown PA, that occurred earlier today and Philadelphia Schools are closed again tomorrow.

At this point you should not go outside at all, road conditions will deteriorate through the evening and
I do not expect to have continous electrical power throught the afternoon to evening.
Sandy is expected to hit our area after 6-8 PM tonight and winds will get stronger, so
please keep listening to the news as the wind is not just the only dangerous factor of this storm. If live near a creek or a low area, leaves are blocking storm drains and you may find yourself in a flash flood.

This map shows the latest information of the storms track

Animated satellite image of Hurricane Sandy in the Atlantic.

NASA

If you want information about the storm sent to you by text message, they visit this local website to subscribe; http://readynotifypa.org/

If you want to get updates from the National Weather service and check Radar and forecast information, click here; http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/p/local-radar-news.html

Hurricane Sandy - Before the storm

2012-10-28T09:51:00.002-04:00

Here is some information that can help most people in SE PA
Remember that all of the state of PA is under a state of emergency, please find your local government town, township or city sources on the web for information regarding preparation for this storm.

6abc news reported that the Mayor of Philadelphia declared a state of emergency for the city effective 5 PM today through 5pm on Tuesday.
We could see 24 to 36 hours of heavy rain from this storm event. Winds of over 40 miles and hour will knock down branches. If we see winds of at least 58 miles and hour or more that could knock down large branches and some trees which they say could cause long term power outages for PECO and other electric companies.
You should have batteries for a radio and flashlights for at least 3 days.
I also suggest you have a cell phone car charger.

Please visit the 6abc news story and video from the Mayor here; http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8862760

The American Red Cross has set up shelters in Philadelphia
Sunday beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Philadelphia:
West Philadelphia High School
4901 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

Roxborough High School
6498 Ridge Avenue
Philadelphia, PA

Samuel Fels High School
5500 Langdon Street
Philadelphia, PA
(All open at 4pm Sunday)

Other Pennsylvania shelters include:

Montgomery County:
Pottstown High Schooll
750 North Washington Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
(Opens Sunday 7pm)

Cheltenham High School
500 Rices Mill Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
(Opens Sunday 7pm)

Norristown High School
1900 Eagle Drive
Norristown, PA 19403
(Opens Sunday 7pm)

Chester County:
Avon Grove High School
257 E. State Road
West Grove, PA 19390
(Opens Sunday 7pm)

Lionville Middle School
550 W. Uwchlan Avenue
Exton, PA 19341
(Opens Sunday 7pm)

Delaware County:
Showalter Science and Discovery School
1100 West 10th Street
Chester, PA 19013
(Opens Sunday 7pm)

If you are seeking more information about being prepared or finding more information from the local Red Cross then please visit their web site at; http://www.redcross.org/news/article/SEPA-Red-Cross-Preparations-for-Hurricane-Sandy-Update

Here is the website for PEMA (PA emergency management agency; http://www.pema.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pema_home/4463

Get your children involved in storm readiness here ; http://www.ready.gov/kids

Hurricane tracking tools here; http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/p/national-weather-map.html
Local Weather info Alerts and Warnings from the National Weather Service; http://climatedriver.blogspot.com/p/local-radar-news.html

Being Ready for Hurricane Sandy

2012-10-26T23:55:00.000-04:00

There is a fine line between informing the public of a dangerous situation and taking a story about a weather event and hyping is up to scare people. The purpose of this blog page and the social media is to keep people aware of possible danger. I want people to listen to the experts at the National Hurricane Center, The National Weather Service and NOAA as they watch the skies with satellites, dual pole radar and with super computers to inform us with the best available information.

Hurricane season normally ends November 30th, but now we see what could be a historic and dangerous storm to impact a very highly populated area. I already see many states around the mid Atlantic area issuing states of emergency and evacuations plans for coastal areas.

The map below shows what Sandy will be doing over the next 5 days, they call this a hybrid storm.
Let us not forget what a Tropical Storm or Hurricane can bring.. These storms could trigger multiple strong thunderstorms and we will need to watch for flood warnings and even tornado warnings.
We could see 24-48 hours of sustained wind and rain if the storm hits Delaware into Philadelphia.

Being Ready

Please check local news and weather reports regularly.
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected in this case within 24 to 36 hours.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, within 48 hours.

Please read and learn about flood and flash flood terminology and safety tips.
Driving through a flooded area can be extremely hazardous. Almost half of all flash flood deaths happen in vehicles. When in your car, look out for flooding in low lying areas, at bridges, and a highway dips. As little as SIX INCHES of water may cuase you to lose control of your vehicle. Remember - turn around, don't drown.

Flood Watch: Flooding is possible. Tune in to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for information.

Flood Warning: Flooding is occurring or will occur soon; if local officials give notice to evacuate, do so immediately.

Flash Flood Watch: Rapid rises on streams and rivers are possible. Be prepared to move to higher ground: listen to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.

Flash Flood Warning: Rapid rises on streams and rivers are occurring; seek higher ground on foot immediately.

For detailed information visit www.ready.gov

Supplies (Red Cross)

Water - one gallon per person, per day
Food - non-perishable, easy-to-prepare items
Flashlight
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
Extra Batteries
First Aid Kit
Medications (7- day supply) and medical items
Multi-purpose tool
Sanitation and personal hygiene items
Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address,
deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
Cell phone with chargers
Family and emergency contact information
Extra Cash (ATM machines need electrical power to dispense cash)
Emergency blanket
Map(s) of the area
Fill gas tank of your car or Truck (Gas Stations need electrical power to pump fuel)

Prepare your home
Remember to bring in anything that can be blown away in a storm (lawn furniture, bicycles, etc.)
Turn on your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting. Keep them closed as much as possible so that food will last longer if the power goes out. Place a few zip lock bags of water in your freezer so that you can move them frozen to the refrigerator in case you loose power.
Turn off your propane tank.
Unplug small appliances.

For more information, visit www.redcross.org

An Aurora & Suomi NPP

2012-10-14T00:47:00.002-04:00

Satellites can record and collect important data but that is not all they can do. The Suomi NPP satellite with its multiple instruments can also capture images high above the Earth that we admire and use to study space weather. Back in the evening of October 4th, a solar flare erupted and shot particles of energy out of the sun which some of this energy was hurled towards the Earth. This energy collides with the outer atmosphere and affects our magnetic field, and this effect causes the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights to be seen in the Northern areas in Canada, Russia Alaska and other areas to the north. The image shown below was taken by the high resolution VIIRS. There are other images of Auroras taken by the International Space station as well.

A recent online article on a Nasa website mentions that the solar energy particles that strike our atmosphere has an almost fluid like wave effect over the Earth.

The Weather Vane has tools to help monitor the solar storms that create the Auroras, some of these solar storms can affect satellite communication, certain radio transmissions and in extreme cases power grids in Canada.

Here finally is the image captured by the Suomi NPP on October 8th, 2012

Background and image credit NASA http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=79373

Weather Satellite Malfunction

2012-10-04T07:04:00.001-04:00

You cannot help but to be concerned when a weather satellite malfunctions during Hurricane season.

As mentioned before the NOAA's GOES 13 Weather Satellite was not able to transmit its data and GOES 14 which is another satellite started to be used as a backup to help meteorologists to examine the entire eastern part of the U.S. and the Atlantic Ocean for potential storms.

On October 1st NOAA reported that they had the two satellites switch positions in orbit so that the GOES 14 has same viewable position that the GOES 13 had when it was working properly.

Here is a video showing the two satellites that were moved in orbit

Story source and video credit NOAA

One Weather Satellite Less

2012-09-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

GOES 13 NOAA's Geostationary Operations Environmental Satellite

An important weather satellite that helps us to watch the US east coast was down recently. With swift action the GOES 14 satellite took the place of the much needed GOES 13

Here is a great animated image of GOES 13 in action last year that followed Hurricane Irene.

Current status information for GOES 13

http://www.oso.noaa.gov/goesstatus/spacecraftStatusSummary.asp?spacecraft=13

Here is some background information on GOES13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOES_13

A Weather Ready Nation, the next Steps

2012-09-23T14:12:00.001-04:00

WRN

Back in December I wrote about a large national project called a "Weather Ready Nation".
This is a project where several organizations have joined forces to inform public to being prepared for weather emergencies due to storms. Before this project the information we received was really only to alert of weather events and emergencies, however educating the public was difficult because there were too many fragmented national organizations that were trying to communicate public safety awareness. Internet technology had to be utilized effectively and messages from the scattered organizations were not being made mainstream into public media enough. Newspapers, Television networks and other media sources unfortunately depend on what readers and watchers want to see and they are controlled by its paid advertising campaigns. Public safety messages rarely are noticed because we have to admit some of the messages have been a bit boring or thought to be unnecessary because some areas of the country only see a strong storm every 50 years. Being a storm spotter I listen to co-workers and friends and they state the same thing. Meteorologists like to scare the public to think that a storm is coming and then it does not happen. 2011 was a busy year for weather events, records were broken in snowfall, temperature extremes and drought. These changes to our landscape has cost our county billions of dollars.

NOAA, The National Weather Service and several other national organizations started this project to help the public to be prepared and to do so they will need to use the internet and smartphone technology which has become very popular and a logical choice to communicate quickly and to many people at a time. Other communication tools are considered because if there is a power failure, some methods of communication would not be reliable. The video at the bottom mentions the need to improve forecasts, alerts and the need to improve the way we are educated by using new media.

The Next Steps

Communication was only one part of the advances made by this project, here is a list of new or upgraded tools to keep our nation informed and to be prepared.

Suomi NPP Satellite - A relatively new advanced satellite to measure weather readings and study our climate - more here : NPP overview

NOAA's Dual Pole Weather Radar upgrades - Here is my write up; Fort Dix upgrade - what is dual Pole video

Updating communication via Cell Phones, Google Maps and Social Media - My first report about WRN

Testing the system via Pilot Project in different cities -Six locations one of them in Silver Spring MD, to bring life saving information to make a life saving decision. from the source

Being prepared does not mean that you have to rely on others to make a decision, you can find the way to learn how to be prepared. "Be a Force of Nature" is the slogan from NOAA's National Weather service. This blog has made the commitment to being prepared and to pass this message along as well. You can find information here but even better go to the source; www.ready.gov

Here is a video from The National Weather Service about WRN and the National Dialog event they had last December.

Original source- WRN Advancing toward a Weather-Ready Nation

Fire Tornado

2012-09-19T20:29:00.002-04:00

Witness a rare phenomenon where a brush fire meets a twister in Australia

You must see this video

The_Weather_Vane's Anniversary

2012-09-15T00:27:00.000-04:00

September 15th I wrote and posted the 1st story...

The very first blog post I wrote last year was about myself and why I started this blog. I did not want to repeat what was already written however I want to write about my experience while working on this blog throughout the year.

To start the blog I had to think about what to write and to keep a regular theme which has changed a little bit over time. I started to report local weather observations here but I quickly noticed that the blog was not read by just local readers. A simple weather report was not enough to inform and to entertain weather fans. I left the forecast posts for my social media sites and then only reported storm events and had the idea to try to travel around the area to report storms and take pictures. Tropical Storm Irene really had an important impact for me, I started to realize that a blog like this should not be just about weather reporting but should also involve communicating the need to be prepared for severe weather, other natural and man made disasters. Along with doing research for storm events around the world, and weather science stories, I have met many online contacts and groups through social media. I started to be much more active online and found more ideas for stories, great sources of information by many weather experts, scientists and journalists. I have posted a few stories in the local Patch newspaper and the blog is linked to the Time Herald paper. I have been more active on Twitter as @enso1998 and post daily on The_Weather_Vane Media page on Facebook. I had also connected with educational organizations, FEMA, The National Weather Service and with a local traffic blog writer @PaDriverWatch, where we exchange updates via twitter and on each others blog home pages with the idea that weather and traffic safety should be reported to the public especially now that most people carry smartphones and have the ability to access this information quickly.

Weather topics is what this blog is mainly about, but public safety, emergency communication, and space weather technology are now new topics. As the year progresses into the Winter season, I will take more pictures to report how our area looks like again with a fresh coating of snow and ice as I have been doing from the start. I also have been making progress becoming a better writer, reporter and photographer.

For 2013 I want the blog to have a more interactive experience, I want to conduct polls and ask questions to get readers more involved. The internet is a powerful tool and we should not take this for granted.

And finally I want to thank all my readers and followers, I hope the blog helps you to be informed and to be prepared.

Build a Kit to be Ready

2012-09-08T12:50:00.003-04:00

Being informed is very important so that you and your family will be able to take action in advance for a natural disaster. Today on the news we are hearing of a tornado watch issued for NY and CT, what better time to take a look of what you would need in case our area has a severe storm watch issued.

Build a Kit

A disaster supplies kit is simply a collection of basic items your houshold may need in the event of an emergency.

Try to assemble your kit well in advance of an emergency. You may have to evacuate at a moment's notice and take essentials with you. You will probably not have time to search for the suuplies you need or shop for them.

You may need to survive on you own after an emergency. This mean having your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 72 hours. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours or it might take days.

Additonally, basic sevices such as electicity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days or even a week or longer. (depending on how strong the storm or event is) Your supply kit should contain items to help you manage during these outages.

Family Supply List

Emergency Supplies:
Water, food, and clean air are important things to have if an emergency happens. Each family or individual's kit should be customized to meet specific needs, such as medications and infant formula. It should also be customized to include important family documents.

Recommended Supplies to Include in a Basic Kit:
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First Aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Infant formula and diapers, if you have an infant
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Dust mask or cotton t-shirt, to help filter the air
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)

Clothing and Bedding:
If you live in a cold weather climate, you must think about warmth. It is possible that the power will be out and you will not have heat. Rethink your clothing and bedding supplies to account for growing children and other family changes. One complete change of warm clothing and shoes per person, including:
- A jacket or coat
- Long pants
- A long sleeve shirt
- Sturdy shoes
- A hat and gloves
- A sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
Family Supply List (continued)
Below are some other items for your family to consider adding to its supply kit. Some of these items, especially those marked with a * can be dangerous, so please have an adult collect these supplies.
- Emergency reference materials such as a first aid book or a print out of the information on www.ready.gov
- Rain gear
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
- Cash or traveler's checks, change
- Paper towels
- Fire Extinguisher
- Tent
- Compass
- Matches in a waterproof container*
- Signal flare*
- Paper, pencil
- Personal hygiene items including feminine supplies
- Disinfectant*
- Household chlorine bleach* - You can use bleach as a disinfectant (diluted nine parts water to one part bleach), or in an emergency you can also use it to treat water. Use 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Medicine dropper
- Important Family Documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container