No article? Click "Republish" then click article title.
GENERAL WEATHER
February 16, 2010
February 13, 2010
February 12, 2010
February 11, 2010
February 10, 2010
February 09, 2010
February 02, 2010
November 25, 2009
November 23, 2009
November 21, 2009
November 19, 2009
November 18, 2009
November 16, 2009
November 15, 2009
November 13, 2009
November 12, 2009
November 11, 2009
November 10, 2009
November 09, 2009
November 05, 2009
November 03, 2009
October 31, 2009
October 28, 2009
October 27, 2009
October 26, 2009
October 24, 2009
October 23, 2009
October 20, 2009
October 09, 2009
Rockies vs. Phillies: Frigid fans and frozen fielders may set record for coldest Major League Baseball Game in history
DENVER, COLORADO (NationalWeatherOnline.com) - When the Colorado Rockies host the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, for Game Three of the National League Division Series on Saturday evening, it may very well be the coldest weather baseball has ever officially been played in.
Part of the challenge in determining for certain whether this will be a record chill is that "game-time weather records" are not a regular part of Major League Baseball record-keeping. Though the sport of baseball and the science of meteorology both may have a commonality of statistics and numbers, neither seems to keep long-term records of the other. Nonetheless, Major League Baseball can confirm that the coldest post-season, playoff game in the League's history was played in Cleveland, Ohio, at Jacobs Field, when the Indians hosted the Florida Marlins in Game Four of the 1997 World Series. That game featured a 38 degree temperature at first pitch.
A mile high, 38 degrees may very well seem like child's play on Saturday night. In fact, the forecast from NationalWeatherOnline.com calls for a first-pitch temperature of some ten degrees colder...28 degrees with a southeast wind between ten and twenty miles per hour, producing a wind chill of 16 degrees. At a baseball game. Somehow, in conditions that make headlines in mid-winter football games, pitchers will have to keep their arms warm and the seams turning, and outfielders may be fighting off frostbite. I suppose the hitters can take solace in a wind direction blowing out to left field, of course you'll have to make sure to light up the baseball to battle the dense cold air. Here's a question for the scientists in the crowd - will the density of the cold air merely offset the effects of altitude on air density, making the air act like a stadium closer to sea-level? No matter - now we're thinking too much, and thinking will be difficult to do in a mind-numbing cold.
For all this, will the frigid fans and frozen fielders walk away knowing they set a record for coldest baseball game ever? We know it will be the coldest post-season game, but what about coldest official game overall? Though there is an absence of records, the coldest game we could dig up was a Cubs/Pirates game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, when the wind chill dipped to 24 degrees.
24 degree wind chill? 38 degree temperature? That's so passe. Welcome to post-season baseball, Colorado-style.
This article may be reproduced, free of charge, with full credit to NationalWeatherOnline.com.
Coors Field image courtesy colorado.rockies.mlb.com
September 28, 2009
September 25, 2009
Unusual Arctic Warmth, Tropical Wetness Likely Cause for Methane Increase
Unusually high temperatures in the Arctic and heavy rains in the tropics likely drove a global increase in atmospheric methane in 2007 and 2008 after a decade of near-zero growth, according to a new study. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, albeit a distant second.
NOAA scientists and their colleagues analyzed measurements from 1983 to 2008 from air samples collected weekly at 46 surface locations around the world. Their findings will appear in the September 28 print edition of the American Geophysical Union’s Geophysical Research Letters and are available online now.
“At least three factors likely contributed to the methane increase,” said Ed Dlugokencky, a methane expert at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. “It was very warm in the Arctic, there was some tropical forest burning, and there was increased rain in Indonesia and the Amazon.”
Continue reading "Unusual Arctic Warmth, Tropical Wetness Likely Cause for Methane Increase" »
September 21, 2009
September 16, 2009
September 10, 2009
September 08, 2009
NOAA’s Powerful New Supercomputers Boost U.S. Weather Forecasts
IBM supercomputers used for climate and weather forecasts.
High resolution (Credit: NOAA)
NOAA has completed implementation of the final phase of a nine year, $180 million contract by installing the newest generation of IBM supercomputers for weather and climate prediction. The primary system, “Stratus,” and its backup, “Cirrus,” will allow NOAA to run more complex models in an effort to improve forecast accuracy and extend watch and warning lead times for severe weather, including hurricanes, tornadoes, air quality, wildfires, floods, tsunamis and winter storms.
“This new technology will provide us with more sophisticated models of the earth’s land, ocean and atmosphere, giving meteorologists better accuracy and precision in both long-term and short-term forecasting,” said Jack Hayes, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “More accurate weather forecasts allow the National Weather Service to warn individual citizens and whole communities about impending dangerous weather well in advance so they can take action to protect lives and property.”
The new supercomputers, based on IBM Power 575 Systems, are four times faster than the previous system, with the ability to make 69.7 trillion calculations per second. Higher computation speed allows meteorologists to rapidly refine and update severe weather forecasts as dangerous weather develops and threatens U.S. communities. Billions of bytes of weather observations are fed into the system each day, including temperature, wind, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, and other oceanographic and satellite information taken from the ground, air, sea and space.
Interesting facts about Stratus:
- 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.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
September 04, 2009
August 31, 2009
Frigid 2010 forecast: More Crazy Weather Ahead
2010 Farmers’ Almanac Forecast Revealed
For Immediate Release – August 30th, 2009
After a late start to summer, and a soggy one in many areas, the new, hot of the presses, 2010 Farmers’ Almanac is here, and within its pages is a prediction for an “Ice Cold Sandwich” winter.“With the economy still shaky, and people keeping an eye on their spending,” reports Peter Geiger, Philom., Editor, “thewinter weather outlook is more important than ever. Many folks are looking to the most respected sources for long-range weather outlook–the Farmers’ Almanac–so they can prepare for whatever Mother Nature may send their way.”
Last year, the 2009 Farmers’ Almanac predicted an exceptionally long, cold winter for most regions. As promised, bitter cold and heavy snow punished much of the nation, coming on early in the season and lingering through the start of spring. When spring finally did arrive, it came bearing heavy rains, with twice the annual average falling in many regions.
How Cold Will this Winter Be?
The 193rd edition of the Farmers’ Almanac warns that this winter’s frigid forecast offers no respite in sight, especially for states in the center of the country. “Very cold and bitterly cold” is how the Farmers’ Almanac describes the winter in the Great Lakes, Plains, and South Central states, while temperatures on the East and West Coasts will be more in line with average to normal winter conditions. For residents of the East Coast, who bore most of the brunt of last winter’s fury, this may be good news, but the prediction of an “ice cold sandwich” is sure to send chills down the spines of Midwesterners.
While nearly three-quarters of the country is expected to see near or below average precipitation this winter, significant snowfalls are forecast for parts of every zone. Residents of Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states can expect some a major snowfall in mid-February, with possible blizzard conditions in New England.
Continue reading "Frigid 2010 forecast: More Crazy Weather Ahead" »
August 25, 2009
August 23, 2009
August 19, 2009
NASA's A-Train of Satellites "On Track" With Hurricane Research
> View larger imageThis artist's concept shows the various satellites that fly in formation in the "A-Train." This graphic (not to scale) depicts the satellites that make up the Afternoon Constellation -- "The A-Train." Listed under each satellite’s name is its equator crossing time. Note that though Aura crosses the equator eight minutes behind Aqua, in terms of local time, because it is along a different orbit track, it actually lags Aqua by fifteen minutes. Note also that CALIPSO trails CloudSat by only 15 seconds to allow for synergy between Aqua, CloudSat, and CALIPSO.
Credit: Alex McClung NASA has several satellites that orbit the Earth one behind the other on the same track. They're called the "A-Train" and one of the things they study is tropical cyclones. There are also other satellites outside the A-Train that are used to study different aspects of tropical cyclones. The satellites that form the A-Train provide unique information about tropical cyclones, the collective term for tropical depressions, tropical storms, hurricanes and typhoons.
"Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are both a curse and a blessing for highly populated tropical and subtropical nations, bringing both terrible destruction and life-sustaining rainfall each year," said Bill Patzert, climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Many scientists have hypothesized that in the future our warming climate will change hurricane-induced rainfall patterns, perhaps increasing the destructive power of these storms. NASA, NOAA and university scientists are mining the wealth of scientific information from A-Train instruments to improve our understanding of current and future hurricanes. These data will help officials plan for better coastal protection and the most effective public policy."
Continue reading "NASA's A-Train of Satellites "On Track" With Hurricane Research" »
Back to Weather Headlines Page
Categories
- Avalanche
- Blizzard
- CLIMATE
- Coastal Storms
- Cold Snap
- DROUGHT
- Earthquakes
- FLOODING
- Fog
- Games
- GENERAL WEATHER
- HEALTH AND THE WEATHER
- HEAT WAVE
- Ice Storm
- INTERNATIONAL WEATHER
- Landslide
- Lightning
- OCEANS
- Ozone Layer
- PUBLIC INFORMATION
- RAW VIDEO
- REFERENCES
- Sandstorm
- SEA ICE
- SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS & TORNADOES
- SIDETRACKS
- Snow Storm
- Space Weather
- TROPICAL STORMS & HURRICANES
- TROPICAL WEATHER
- TSUNAMI
- VOLCANO
- WILDFIRES
- Wind
- Winter Storm
NATIONAL IMAGERY
- U.S. INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY
- U.S. COLORIZED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY
- U.S. VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY (Daylight Hours Only)
- U.S. WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY
