Earthquake in Afghansitan

In trying to find a weather article that hasn't already been used today, I read on the weather channel website that an earthquake happened in Afghanistan today and I wondered if earthquakes were at all weather related. Earthquakes happen below the earth's surface and out of the atmosphere so it doesn't really seem plausible that they are related to weather. And I discovered that they are indeed not related to weather but sometimes may seem connected to a big weather event. Major storm systems associated with low pressure changes in the atmosphere can induce fault slips and then earthquakes. When stresses in the Earth's outer layer push the sides of a fault together, causing rocks to slip and energy to be released, then earthquakes happen. In conclusion, sometimes earthquakes happen following a big weather event and sometimes they don't.

2 Things to Expect This Winter Thanks to El Nino

Things to Expecting This Winter Thanks for El Nino (According to NOAA)

The strong El Niño's fingerprints are all over this winter's outlook.
This year's El Niño, which is forecast to become one of the strongest on record, is expected to influence weather and climate patterns this winter by impacting the position of the Pacific jet stream, NOAA forecasters say.

1. The South will be cooler than average, the North will be warmer.





2. The South will be wetter than average.

Blog Post for Katy Jones

Hurricane Patricia was expected to be the most dangerous hurricane in history. It was the strongest hurricane recorded at sea but fortunately did not cause any major damage or fatalities once it reached land. There was some damage that was due to strong winds of 165 mph and some mudslides caused by heavy rain. The reason for it not causing worse damage was because it hit a low pressure area in the mountains and the people in Mexico remained safe. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/24/americas/hurricane-patricia/

Wet Weather on the Gulf Coast

Severe thunderstorms have hit the Gulf Coast over the weekend. Parts of Louisiana were under water this morning and Texas has been hammered with downpours as well as the remains of Hurricane Patricia hit. These storms dropped over a foot of rain around Fort Worth, and 9 inches around Houston.


Louisiana has been hit hard as well with almost 9 inches of raining falling on its capital of Baton Rouge. These areas are still at risk for high winds and flooding as these storms work their way past. These winds can be expected to reach up to 50 mph.


Needless to say, it's not a good time to be checking out the Gulf Coast!


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/wet-weather-floods-isolated-tornadoes-threaten-gulf-coast-n451346

Winter 2015-2016 Outlook: 5 Things to Expect

Winter 2015-2016 Outlook: 5 Things to Expect
http://www.weather.com/forecast/national/news/winter-2015-2016-what-to-expect
The predictions for this year is a cooler south and a warmer north. A main cause of this is EL NINO which changed the location of the Pacific gulf stream. The South will also be wetter while the North is drier. California will get some drought relief but not enough to fix their problems.  Huntington looks like it is on the border of everything according to the maps so I guess I will have to find a wooly caterpillar to get our weather

Flooding Causes Train Derailment

The aftermath of Hurricane Patricia devastated parts of Texas this past weekend.  On Saturday, rain was falling at a rate of 2-3 inches per hour near Houston causing heavy street flooding and resulting in the cancellation of the half-marathon.  

In Corsicana, the floodwaters caused a train to derail.  Luckily the conductor and engineer were safely able to swim to higher ground.  Meteorologists claim that over 20 inches of rain has fallen near this area since Thursday.  Rain is expected to continue in parts of eastern Texas through Monday.

Retired Scientists are Building a "Cloud Whitener" Machine

I was searching Newsela for weather articles that I could use in my classroom. Newsela is a free website that provides current news articles with guided reading questions. The best feature about this website is that teachers can change the Lexile score of the article to differentiate the reading material for their students. This particular article is about a group of retired scientists who are concerned about the effects of global warming. They are building a "cloud whitener" machine that may help cool down the planet by shooting tiny droplets of water in the sky to create fog. This fog would increase the brightness of the clouds, which would allow the sun's rays to reflect back into space. Some scientists are concerned about how this machine may alter weather patterns. If the machine does work, other scientists worry that people may not change their ways to decrease the effects of global warming. I plan to use this article with my students when we discuss the different types of clouds and collect cloud data for GLOBE.

https://newsela.com/articles/cloud-whitener/id/11271/

Danger in Mexico

By Friday evening a very dangerous hurricane is nearing the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Hurricane Patricia became the most powerful hurricane in the western hemisphere with winds speeds reaching up to 200 miles per hour. Residents are preparing for the category 5 hurricane to reach land fall by Friday evening and it could be recorded as the most powerful hurricane to ever touch down on land. Air Force Hurricanes have measure Patricia at 894 Millibars. The next closest Hurricane registered was at 902 mb being Hurricane Linda in 1997.

The eye of the Hurricane is expected to touch down in Mexico in Guadalajara, Mexico, Mexico's second largest city in the beginning evening hours on Friday. Depending on the pattern of the Hurricane the areas in Mexico could see strong winds, flooding, power outages, etc. A hurricane watch is on the area. Now we just wait and watch for the the effects.

Hurricane Patricia Weather Story

Record Setting Hurricane

Warmer than average ocean temperatures is having yet another affect on weather; increasing the strength of storms.  Hurricane Patricia has the highest recorded wind speeds of any storm, and that includes the then record setting Typhoon Haiyan that devastated the Philippians almost two years ago.   With sustained winds of 200 mph, Hurricane Patricia is set to send 40 foot waves against the Mexican coast, and as of now is aimed squarely at the tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo.  In addition to the intense wind and massive waves, areas are expected to receive at least 20 inches of rain, setting off flash floods and affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Landfall is expected for Friday, which means that by Sunday Texas will probably receive the remnants of the storm, worsening the flooding situation that already exists.

http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-patricia-mexico-coast

16th century Mexican Church revealed

Due to the drought in Mexico, a church that was built in the 1500's but was later abandoned, is showing itself. The church was built in 1564, but then illness hit in the late 1700's and the people left the area. In 1966, a reservoir was built, flooding the area and covering up the ancient church. Now, with the lack of rain in the southern state of Chiapas, this structure has become a tourist spot. A ferry is taking people out to view the historic temple. Similar stories have occured with the drought in California. I think it is pretty neat to see things that have been hidden for years. http://www.weather.com/climate-weather/drought/news/temple-of-santiago-reappears-mexico-drought
Check out the pictures on the link.

Weather Predictions for November

On Thursday, October 15, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a prediction for November's weather forecast.  As you can see from the first picture, West Virginia is in the "EC" region for precipitation probability.  This means that there are equal chances of having above average, normal, or below average precipitation amounts in November.

The second image was constructed by analyzing temperature probability.  West Virginia is in the "A" region meaning that it is predicted that there will be above average temperatures in November.

Autumn Weather is Here

I was surprised to leave for work this morning and find that I ALMOST had to scrape frost off of my windshield. As I drove from downtown Huntington to the rural Barboursville area I noticed that that temperature difference to be about 5-7 degrees cooler.

Most students commented that it was cold this morning so we used the iPad to ask Siri about the current temperature. (Sorry, my weather station has not been fully installed yet.) We discovered that this morning at 8:30 am it was 37 degrees. I allowed the students to use the iPad to ask Siri about temperatures in different areas of the world. We discovered that it was 81 degrees in the Bahamas and 48 degrees in Alaska. They are super excited to begin using the weather station.

It's getting colder, or is it...?

So with winter approaching, temperatures have been dropping. I, personally, am not a huge fan of the cold and now I'm really bundling up.

However, Alaska seems to still be experiencing unusual weather. Granted, it's not March anymore. But it's interesting to see that Alaska, one of the coldest regions on Earth, is seeing less snow. March is typically still a time of cold weather and I was surprised to read that they did not have any snow for much of February and into March. It makes me wonder what this coming winter season will bring.

http://www.weather.com/forecast/regional/news/anchorage-alaska-record-low-snow-season

Typhoon Koppu

As Hurricane Joaquin just passed through, our attention has been focused on the Carolinas and the recovery of those states. However, the Philippines have had their own bout of unlucky weather recently. Typhoon Koppu hit land in the Philippines Sunday morning, unleashing life-threatening rainfall. Flooding and downpours have caused at least 12 to be killed from Koppu, and many more injured or forced to leave their homes. Falling trees, landslides, and drowning either in flooded cities or by being pulled out to see, the Philippines has seen some rather heartbreaking results from this Typhoon.

Currently, the winds from Koppu has lessened, but the rains are still expected to be heavy and ongoing until tomorrow, which could easily cause more flooding and mudslides as over 65,000 villagers have fled their homes for higher ground.

http://www.weather.com/storms/typhoon/news/typhoon-koppu-lando-philippines-impacts

Did Cold Weather Cause the Salem Witch Trials?

Did Cold Weather Cause the Salem Witch Trials?

I thought this was a very interesting article.  Weather is always with us so many times we do not pay attention to it unless there is a disaster like a hurricane.  This article theorizes that lower than average temperatures coincide with witch accusations according to Oster.  Crop loss and hard times come out of the lower temperatures causes people to blame someone and who better to blame than witches who can control the weather.  This still happens today in Africa but instead of the problem being the cold it is too much rain but once again witches are blamed.  So instead of blaming a witch this Halloween season blame the meteorologist.

Weather Changes this Week in the U.S.

Three big weather changes are expected this week. Moisture will be returning to the Gulf Coast, bringing rain to the South. The Northeast and Midwest will see warmer temperatures, which is a departure from the frost and snow that some areas recently experienced. After recent flash flooding this past weekend, the Southwest will see drier conditions.



http://www.weather.com/forecast/national/news/three-big-changes-next-week-gulf-moisture-southwest-dry-temperature-flip-flop

California Mudslides

California can't seem to catch a break when it comes to weather.  It seems as though they're either in drought conditions with wildfires or experiencing flash flooding and mudslides.  The latter was the case yesterday with some parts of Southern California receiving 4-6 inches of rainfall in a short period of time, sending mudslides cascading into valleys.  This stranded numerous motorists and left thousands without power yesterday evening.  Unfortunately they are expected to see more showers and thunderstorms today, with the Antelope Valley being at the biggest risk for more flash flooding.  These thunderstorms have been set off by an upper-level low pressure system that has been moving around the Southwest for the past couple of weeks, and looks to cause problems for Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Texas this weekend.





http://www.weather.com/news/news/california-flooding-mudslides-stranded-motorists

When will we get snow?

Like Stephen, I was about looking at weather.com and saw the same information about snow coming.  I was about to post about it and saw his blog.  I guess I should be faster.  ;)  I decided to look into when we are supposed to get snow here.  I found the following information on almanac.com:

OCTOBER 2015: temperature 60° (3° above avg.); precipitation 3" (2" above avg. east, 1" below west); Oct 1-7: Sunny, then scattered t-storms, warm; Oct 8-12: Sunny, chilly; Oct 13-21: Rain, then sunny, nice; Oct 22-26: Rainy periods, mild; Oct 27-31: Sunny, cool.

NOVEMBER 2015: temperature 47° (1° above avg.); precipitation 2.5" (1" below avg.); Nov 1-2: Sunny, mild; Nov 3-6: Rainy, mild; Nov 7-11: Rain to snow, then sunny, cold; Nov 12-15: Showers, mild; Nov 16-19: Snow showers, cold; Nov 20-27: A few showers, mild; Nov 28-30: Snow showers, cold.

 

It looks like we can expect snow as early as November 7th, according to this information. 

 

It also looks ahead for the upcoming year and gives an overview as you can see below:

 

Winter will be colder and slightly drier than normal, with above-normal snowfall. The coldest period will be in mid- to late January, with other cold spells in mid- and late December and early and late February. The snowiest periods will be in early to mid- and mid- to late December, February, and March.April and May will be cooler and drier than normal.Summer will be hotter than normal, with below-normal rainfall in the east and above normal in the west. The hottest periods will be in late June and early and late August.September and October will be much warmer than normal, with the hottest period in early September, and will have near-normal rainfall.

It says "above-normal snowfall".  Makes me wonder if we will end up losing those days at the end of our school calendar and possibly even cut into spring break.  I love a good snow day, but I also like getting out early and having a week off in March.  I am so conflicted!

SNOW UP NORTH???

I was routinely doing my daily weather check and I ran across a story of snow in the northeast this weekend. It is so hard to believe because it seemed as though summer drew out longer than ever before (I'm not complaining) here in WV. There is a shift in weather that is bring a cold mass to the mid-west and east. That mixed with a cold front Canada will bring cold temperatures this weekend to our neck of the woods and possibly even snow in northeast. Its hard to believe winter is coming..

• Snow in the North 

• Minneapolis/St. Paul: First official 30s and possibly the first official freeze (32 degrees) of the season expected this weekend. Highs may not get out of the 40s Friday and Saturday.
• Chicago: First 30s of the season possible this weekend. Frost/freeze possible, particularly in the suburbs. Highs only in the 50s Friday-Sunday.
• Cincinnati: First 30s of the season possible this weekend, which could result in the first frost, particularly in the suburbs. Highs will only be in the 50s this weekend.
• Buffalo: After an above-average high of 70 on Monday, expect only 50s for the remainder of the work week. Highs may not get out of the 40s this weekend. Lows in the 30s are possible for the first time this season this weekend, with a frost/freeze possible Sunday and Monday mornings.
• Cleveland: Highs in the upper 40s or low 50s expected this weekend. First lows in the 30s of the season possible this weekend.
• Hartford: Following low to mid-70s on Monday and Tuesday, highs will hold in the 50s this weekend. The first freeze of the season is possible, as well.
• New York City: Highs in the 70s Monday and Tuesday will give way to 60s for the rest of the workweek. 50s are possible this weekend, with early morning lows dipping into the 30s.
• Pittsburgh: Also starting the week in the 70s, highs slide below average with 50s or upper 40s Friday-Sunday. First lows in the 30s of the season possible this weekend, with a frost or freeze expected.
• 
  
  
  

Walterboro, South Carolina

As Hurricane Joaquin hit the Carolinas, my Facebook page had a intimate look at the results from a friend in Walterboro, South Carolina. As a teacher, she not only posted information about the hurricane, but school closings for her county as well.

Counties were closed Friday October 2nd as a precautionary measure for the storm about to hit.

As the hurricane hit over the weekend, extreme flooding occurred, closing down roadways and causing people near sources of water to be asked to evacuate.







Some before and after photos of Joaquin's damage in Columbia, SC.







http://www.weather.com/news/news/before-after-images-south-carolina-floods?cm_ven=Facebook_TheWeatherChannel_Weather_JKo_Article_No_7_20151005_twcplayer
As the water recedes, today will mark for some counties the first day the haven't had to cancel or delay school in over a week as a result of Joaquin. With all the damage done, it will take a lot of work and time to repair damages done. It's quite remarkable that a single storm can cause such a nightmare for so many people.

Below: How most South Carolina residents are probably feeling after Hurricane Joaquin.

Weather Station

BMS is up and running with their weather station. You guys can check out our station's info at weatherlink.com. Our station is BMS-1. We put it up on the roof, attached to our A/C shroud. Here is what the current info is:

Station:	BMS-1
Temperature:	77.6 F
Humidity:	38%
Wind:	2 Mph S 191°
Barometer:	29.704" - Falling Rapidly

Crazy ways living things survive floods

So with the flooding occurring in South Carolina, a phenomenon can be seen that is pretty interesting. In order to survive, colonies of ants will form a raft of each other's bodies to float above the water with the queen on top. The ants can survive for weeks but are constantly struggling to survive against turbulent water and predators.

http://www.weather.com/science/nature/news/fire-ants-flood-water-south-carolina

Fall is starting to show itself in some parts of the country.

We have started to experience some of the cooler fall weather and the leaves are beginning to turn and to fall from the trees. Some states in the east may even see some snow this week.

But the west is still suffering. They don't know what season they are in anymore. They have been hitting record highs for this time of year and the trend is expected to continue this week.



The warmth comes from this jet stream that is over Canada, keeping all the colder air north instead of turning southward. By the time the jet stream turns southward, it will be cooling off the eastern states instead of the western states.

The west will continue to suffer through droughts and wildfires. They may have some hope in a upper-level of low pressure that is expected to move into the Southwest this weekend as a cold front approaches the Northwest. This will bring cooler temperatures and a chance of rain.

Weather Prediction: Farmer's Almanac

I have always been curious about the accuracy of the Farmer's Almanac. It was first published in 1792 and is still going strong today.

What is the Farmer's Almanac?

The centerpiece of the Old Farmer's Almanac is its winter weather forecast, which naturally has sparked a backlash from professional meteorologists. But faulty information or inaccurate findings haven't kept the almanac from finding an audience of some 10 million monthly visitors to its website. Along with the weather forecast, the almanac throws in gardening tips ("Planting by the Moon"), a recipe for curried apricot and peppercorn chutney plus such minutiae as how deep a moose can dive.

Despite claims that the 2015 Old Farmer's Almanac's winter weather predictions were 96.3 percent accurate, many meteorologists and outlets say any forecast should be taken with a grain of salt. Many meteorologists liken the almanac's forecast to getting your palm read from a psychic.

Here's what the almanac is saying about the upcoming winter. Virtually no part of the U.S. is safe from the cold weather, and residents of the East Coast, the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast should be prepared to bundle up. There's also going to be plenty of snow for the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest and the Ohio Valley. If you're looking for some type of escape, Texas, Florida, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Oklahoma will experience mild and dry weather. Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi will experience normal and dry weather, according to the almanac.

More Coral Bleaching

A global coral bleaching event is occurring for the third time due to record high ocean temperatures.  This bleaching has been taking place in Hawaii, but scientists it has now spread to Caribbean reefs as well.  This bleaching event began in the Florida Keys in August, but seems to be diminishing there as waters cool for the season.  Although coral reefs appear to be more like rocks than living things, they are composed of millions of tiny organisms that are actually very sensitive changes in water temperature and pollution, turning white as they die.  Coral reefs are host to an enormous amount of biodiversity and as they vanish, so too do numerous species illustrating yet another ripple effect in the biosphere. Unfortunately the strong El Niño that should bring much needed rain to the West is contributing to the higher water temperatures that are killing reefs.  This first occurred in the strong 1998 El Niño, and was followed again in 2010.  As temperatures fall for the season, the bleaching ceases, but the damage sustained is permanent.




http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/100815-noaa-declares-third-ever-global-coral-bleaching-event.html

Bridge Day 2015

West Virginia's 36th Annual Bridge Day celebration is less than a week away!  On Saturday, October 17, it's estimated that over 80,000 spectators will travel to Fayette County to witness one of the largest extreme sports events in the world.  Hundreds of BASE jumpers will take the nearly 900 foot plunge off the bridge into the New River.  

If extreme sports aren't for you, maybe you're planning to attend Bridge Day for the food, crafts, or beautiful fall foliage.  Regardless of your reason, the weather will impact your visit.  The current forecast for Bridge Day is mostly sunny with a high of 55 and a low of 31.  There is a 0% chance of precipitation, and the wind will be northwest at approximately 11 mph.  

This past weekend when I stopped at the New River Gorge visitor center, a few leaves had turned, but the majority of the gorge was still green.  Leaves are expected to peak around mid to late October.  Hopefully this week's weather conditions will allow for a colorful Bridge Day!

Coolest Air Mass Approaching

A pattern change is occurring this week, which will bring cooler temperatures to areas in the Midwest and East. Temperatures will be dropping into the 40s and 50s later this week. Some locations may see frost or possibly snow. The following image illustrates when the first snow of the season usually happens. The data was taken from the National Weather Service over a period of 30-years.




http://www.weather.com/forecast/national/news/pattern-change-winter-preview-northeast-western-warmth

Winter is coming!

How wind sculpted Earth's largest dust deposit -- ScienceDaily

How wind sculpted Earth's largest dust deposit -- ScienceDaily

I found this article about how wind formed the Loess Plateau.   They went out on the Plateau to experience the weather and noticed that the wind patterns and the ridges matched up.  They then decided to take google earths images and compare them to the past weather patterns and showed that the wind and plateau matched up.  I think that many times the importance of weather in shapeing our world is taken for granted but weather also over time can shape our world

South Carolina

The rain finally stopped but the cleanup is probably going to take months. I was listening to the radio this morning and heard that the devastation could be up to a billion dollars. They were asking for donations and supplies to send to South Carolina. I saw pictures of of South Carolina this week and even though it is on a smaller scale it looked similar to pictures of New Orleans from Katrina. 

Last year my basement took on 4 inches of water when my power was out and the cleanup was unbelievable. I can't imagine most of my house under water. My heart goes out to the people affected in South Carolina. Included are pictures and the rainfall during this time. 

South Carolina Story

Which model to chose from?

I don't know if any of you watch the weather channel as much as I like to, but there is always talk about the different weather models out there. Most common, of course is the American and the European. Usually these models differ with their predictions, sometimes by a little but other times by a lot. The recent hurricane, Joaquin, is an example of the vast difference in the models.



With all of them to choose from, there are some models out there that are way off, while the majority shows a similar direction. The broad range of paths is what meteorologists use to create that wide red pathway on the forecast.

For the U.S., Hurricane Joaquin was a bullet dodged.


However, for the Bahamian Islands, apparently the damage inflicted has been devastating. Joaquin, at that time a Category 4 hurricane, roared ashore and devastated many of the smaller, less populated islands. Weather.com had a video journalist visit one of these small islands, Crooked Island, and this is what he discovered.


http://www.weather.com/safety/hurricane/news/hurricane-joaquin-bahamas-impacts

This post was for Brian Clary who has not been able to join the blog and therefore cannot post anything.

Homecoming Week Forecast

Homecoming Week Forecast

By: Maggie Chenoweth, James Ford, and Shane Craig

Wes and Brian Anchorage Forecast

Anchorage Forecast

Here comes Joaquin!

Happy not to be in Charleston, South Carolina this week. Hurricane Joaquin is currently a category 4 hurricane and is expected to move past Charleston and possibly make landfall in northern North Carolina. We'll see what he does this weekend!


Man biking through the waters in Charleston, SC.


Forecast Tracker

Baseball size hail in Italy

This past weekend in Naples, Italy, there was a baseball size hail that feel from the sky. The storm injured many people and animals. The storm was cause by a fierce change in the jet stream into Europe. The radar only showed a thunderstorm or cluster of storms. Instead baseball size hail fell with winds up to 75 mph. It is estimated that the storm caused at least $2 billion to over 70,000 homes and $1 billion in damage to crops.

This story seems out like it is straight out of a fairy tale. I  can't imagine seeing a normal storm on the radar and receiving this type of hail. It just goes to show no matter how closely we study the weather it can still be unpredictable.

Hail baseball story