Here at StormTrack9 we have been counting down the top ten weather events of 2012, specifically for Northcentral Wisconsin and our viewing area (part 1 here, part 2 here). For a more detailed lok at the weather for the entire state, check out this report from the National Weather Service (pdf). One of the positive highlights of the year was that there were only 4 tornadoes in the state and none of them caused any injuries or deaths. One of the tornadoes was in Marathon county and only blew down a few trees. On the negative side, the heat was the biggest story of the year, causing multiple deaths and millions of dollars of damage to crops and infrastructure. We will finish up our Northcentral Wisconsin top ten list on Monday with numbers 3 through 1.

In addition to weather highlights, I have also been sharing a few other lists looking back at 2012 and forward to 2013. Here are a few more:

• Some real cool science videos of the year from Newscientist.
• One of those Newscientist videos is this mind blowing illusion.
• Some of the more interesting consumer electronics trends you will see in 2013.

Posted under Records, Seasonal Items, Weather NEws

Posted under Education, Environment, Natural Disasters, new media, Records, Seasonal Items, Severe Weather, Storms, Weather NEws, Weather Safety

Lightning image from the National Weather Service

Improved education on the dangers of and safety precautions associated with lightning has given 2011 the lowest number of lightning deaths recorded in the United States, according to the National Weather Service.

Of the 26 people killed by lightning in the United States and Territories, one was in Wisconsin.  According to NWS statistics, McKenzie Klar an 11-year old camping in Burnett County this past July was killed after she was struck by lightning when under a tree.

Both Utah and Michigan recorded three deaths, while the remaining fatalities were reported in Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Guam.   

The majority of the deaths were reported in late summer and early fall with July seeing the most.  Nine people were killed by lightning that month, but that number is down considerably from the 16 that is reported average amount.       

The 2011 totals beat the previous record low amount of fatalities by two since 2008.

To see the statistical breakdown of the numbers, check out this website: HERE.

And to see the complete article from the National Weather Service for yourself, check out this website: HERE.

Posted under Environment, Nature, Records, Recreation & Sports, Science, Seasonal Items, Severe Weather, Storms, Summer, Weather and Health, Weather History, Weather NEws, Weather Safety

Tony wrote an interesting blog entry yesterday about the National Weather Service  and future government funding, and it goes with a theme I was developing yesterday for the blog, but didn’t post because of technical trouble. It is the theme of technological progress which I have written about on more than a few occasions (these are very good: The Meaning of Watson and Information as Cheap Commodity).

As this relates to the National Weather Service (NWS), first of all they will probably be one of the last government agencies to get cut because of their critical role in helping society, economy, and military keep rolling  along but also because they are one of the most highly rated government agencies. Nobody likes the DMV or the IRS but nearly everyone likes the NWS.

Secondly, the NWS is probably overstaffed at the current time. Sensible funding changes would probably not diminish the service recieved from the NWS. As I have mentioned here (Information as Cheap Commmodity), weather data gathering and forecasting has become highly automated. Right now, each weather service office produces a local forecast. As a possible change, this could probably be handled by one team of meteorologists per state in one central location. Right now in Wisconsin we have local forecasts generated in La Crosse, Duluth, Minneapolis, Green Bay, and Milwaukee NWS offices. If the forecasting duties were centralized, it could save 2 or 3 positions positions per state. Since labor is the highest cost of any “business”, this could make a big impact. The local forecasters are experts in their area, but this knowledge is now highly transmissable. I would suggest that the NWS get ahead of the inevitable and dramatic future funding cuts (The U.S. government is terribly insolvent already) by studying and getting ready to implement such a plan. They could make the reductions gradually through attrittion, instead of layoffs.

As far as severe weather goes, that would still most effectively be handled locally, IMO. However, even severe weather detection and dissemination is becoming faster and more automated. During many severe thunderstorm and tornadic situations, the radar and computer that analyzes the radar data essentially make the “decision” first. There are algorythms that “alarm” when certain thresholds are reached (for hail, wind, tornadic air motions, etc..). Meteorologists then evaluate that “alarm” with other data they are armed with from spotters and knowledge of the currrent atmospheric conditions. If it all adds up, then a warning is issued. Sending the warning information out to the public is getting closer to  just a single click of the computer mouse.

Technological progress and innovation cuts both ways. It certainly helps to maintain our current standard of living but it also encroaches upon and sometimes eleminates our professions.

Below are some of the positive aspects of technological progress an energy revolution (the blog entry I began working on yesterday):

It is times like these that I like to remind everyone that perception is not always reality and that things are probably not as bad they seem (Except with Fukushima, where it IS MUCH worse than it seems). With the market meltdown occurring now and numerous apocalyptic AGW warnings, you might get a bit depressed about the future. Fear not, because even though there are some negative trends, progress continues.

The economy and AGW are intertiwned and both are flashing warning signs right now. Many commentators rightly highlight the fact that most governments and big banks of the world are literally and functionally insolvent and their debt is dragging down the economy. Many climatologists would point to the recent record heat wave and become even more worried about AGW in the future (although many of the records are being assisted by the urban heat island effect). While these trends might be true, let us not forget that everyday, industrious people around the world are working hard to create a better future. New inventions allow us to squeeze more GDP out of every ounce of oil (or other fossil fuels). Workplace innovations and information technology increase worker productivity every year. More efficiency meanes more profits (even during a difficult macro environment) and a lesser effect of theoretical future warming.

So what are the latest technological breaktroughs that have flown under the radar?

How about the increasing use oof solar energy, in particular, solar thermal energy. California-based Brightsource, is developing a new solar thermal power plant design which will store heat with molten salts, allowing the power plant to produce electricity even after the sun goes down. This is not a new idea but commercialization has thus far alluded the alternative energy market.

In related solar thermal news MIT has come up with a new solar thermal design that combines the heating and storage of molten salts in one tank. This should result in more economical operation.

Also from MIT, the new flow battery they designed  (that I bloged about last year) is getting closer to reality. A compact commercial version is expected within a year or two. This particular battery design could double the current range of many electric vehicles.

There have been many other battery breakthroughs and dramatic technological advancements that relate to AGW in the past week but I will have wait until tomorrow to get through them all.

Posted under Alternative Energy, Technology, Weather NEws

We have several ways to warn people about severe weather, whether it is from the severe storms in the summer to the winter storms in the winter when you hear certain terms most people understand what they mean.  For example if they hear “tornado warning” they know to take shelter because a tornado is close.  If a “winter weather advisory” is scrolling on the screen that typically makes people aware that we will be seeing winter weather ( ice, snow, sleet) that will make travel difficult.

There is now a new study being done by a few forecasts offices including Duluth to determine if there should be a new warning called “extreme cold”.  This would be used in locations that have the potential to see extremely cold temps in the winter without the wind chill.  We already have a wind chill warning but there are times when without wind the temp can plunge to bitterly cold readings.  Right now  besides a special weather statement or a hazardous outlook we have no way to issue a “warning” to the public. 

I think this is a new idea that could be utilized.  It is rare to see 40 below zero across the US but by no means impossible.  That being said ,it will not be over used.  It is important to warn people of what extreme cold can do including hypothermia and frostbite.  In temps that  cold frostbite can occur on exposed skin in only a few minutes.

I will be interested to see how the test season went this winter.  For more info check out Duluth’s NWS Page.

Have a good night! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Uncategorized, Weather NEws, Weather Safety, Winter Weather

One thing you constantly here us talking about is models.  We use models constantly to produce our forecasts, look at latest trends, and provide you with the most accurate details of what is to come.  Some of the models go a few days outwhere others go 16 days out.  Models are done by the government and the National Weather Service and they are also done by private companies.  An easy way to show people models is using the spaghetti diagram for hurricanes.  Many times you have similar lines but sometimes there area few lines going in every which direction.    Models can give us a glimpse of future temps, winds, pressure, precip etc.  We must then decipher that information and forecast what we feel will happen. 

The National Weather Serive just finished an upgrade process for their supercomputers that produce these model outputs.  The process of upgrading has been going on for 9 years and cost 180 million dollars!  They have a new primary system called “Stratus” and a backup system called “Cirrus”.  These improvements will help to improve the models and lead to better forecasting accuracy, warning for severe weather, hurricanes, winter weather etc. 

The way we get this model data is local observations along with data from weather balloons ( check out my blog a few days ago ) are pumped into these computers.  These obs include temps, wind, pressure, satellite data etc from all different levels in the atmosphere.

The new systems are four times faster then its predecessors. They are able to make 69.7 trillion calculations per second.

Some other highlights as stated in the article include:

• The microprocessors inside Stratus contain 2,000 miles of copper wiring, enough to stretch from Washington, D.C. to the Grand Canyon.
• It would take one person with a calculator 3 million years to tabulate the number of calculations that Stratus can perform in a single second.
• Stratus would fit in half the size of a tennis court.
• Stratus is 34 times more powerful than the most powerful supercomputer in existence a decade ago.

Posted under Science, Severe Weather