The Flight of a South Georgia Storm Chaser

Tornado warning headed my way

2009-12-09T12:42:00.002-05:00

LINGERING THREAT FOR MARGINAL SEVERE STORMS OR EVEN AN ISOLATED TORNADO MAY PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON ACROSS THE DISCUSSION AREA. WW -- WHILE NOT IMMINENT -- COULD BECOME NECESSARY AHEAD OF ONGOING/BROKEN CONVECTIVE LINE.

It's headed this way. Not showing rotation though. Looks like hail.

Tornado watch close to home

2009-12-09T09:00:00.006-05:00

When they said this system would likely "squall out", they meant it! The tail of this monstrous blizzard forming low spans from Massachusetts into the Gulf of Mexico. It's a thin shred of a line, but embedded within it are ferocious winds, heavy rain, lightning, and a potential for tornadoes. Currently, there is a wild couple of tornado watch boxes covering portions of the southeastern US,specifically, Georgia and South Carolina.The one closest to my proximity is an oddly shaped watch box, which stops just to my north. We did have some clearing this morning, where I actually saw the moon, and the temps started out in the 70's. That gives the much needed heated to offer up the instability. The squall breaks apart just to our west, but I think potential might exist for isolated supercells ahead of the line. People located within the general vicinity of the red boxes need to be mindful of rapidly changing conditions and be ready to get into a safe spot, should the need arise.

Have a safe day!
~Dewdrop

From blizzards to tornadoes

2009-12-08T10:46:00.005-05:00

Well, there is major snow storm in the midwest... severe weather in the south as a low pressure system makes its way across the country. The snowfall in some areas is reaching record daily snowfall totals.Advisory about Dangerous Winter Storm

The Upper Mississippi River Valley Region will be impacted by a dangerous winter storm today through Wednesday. Significant snow, blowing and drifting of the snow, and the potential for white-out conditions all appear likely for this period. Winter storm or blizzard warnings are in effect for much of the region this afternoon through Wednesday evening.

The storm will strengthen over Oklahoma today, moving northeast to the southern tip of Lake Michigan by Wednesday morning. Snow has already spread into northeast Iowa, southwest and central Wisconsin this morning, and will continue to spread northward through the day today. Snow will continue to fall across the region through most of Wednesday, gradually diminishing Wednesday evening as the storm system moves off to the northeast. Accumulations across the region will be in excess of 6 inches. Amounts of 12 inches or greater are possible across portions of eastern Iowa into southern Wisconsin.

In addition to the snow, the winds will become strong and gusty later tonight, increasing into the 20 to 30 mph range...with gusts as high as 40 mph. This will lead to blowing and drifting of the falling and fallen snow. Poor visibilities will result, with white-out conditions possible. In the open and unsheltered areas of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa, where the winds will be strongest, blizzard or near blizzard conditions could develop overnight tonight through the day on Wednesday.

This early season winter storm will cause significant impacts on travel, especially during the morning commute on Wednesday. Be prepared for school closings and event cancellations on Wednesday. Roads will become very treacherous, possibly impassable at times. Stay abreast of the latest information on this developing winter storm via the links below.

Winter Monitor
Winter Storm/Blizzard Warning
Hazardous Weather Outlook
Expected local snowfall totals for the event
Graphic Weather Story
Winter Storm Safety and Preparedness Information

Now, on the southern end of this crazy winter storm, there is potential for severe weather. A threat for tornadoes exists in the south for today.

EXPECT INCREASE IN TSTMS...SOME ROTATING... THROUGH THE AFTERNOON ALONG THE LOWER MS RIVER VALLEY WITH DIURNAL HEATING.

Regardless of your location, looks like you have some sort of extreme weather happening or about to happen. Exercise extreme caution if you head out into any of it.

Have a great safe day!
~Dewdrop

Adventures in exploration

2009-12-07T09:04:00.009-05:00

We had a whirlwind weekend (about the only way my wind whirls in my life is just by the shear force my schedule generates...) I was a weather consultant for an event downtown that they almost cancelled because it was raining, until I said... "No, no, the rain is done. Sun is coming out. The show must go on." She trusted me, and lo and behold... sun! Whew. After that frantic preparations for the Christmas parade, which of course, had to coincide with THE COLDEST NIGHT OF THE SEASON! Fortunately, we were early in the line-up, so the warmth from the setting sun was still with us. We didn't completely freeze our tooties off. The long-johns helped. Woke up to 35° in my neck of the woods. YUCK! Dew turns into frost when we start getting those temps... yuck. With much of the country being inundated with snow, it's hard for me to complain too much about our chilly temps, but for south Georgia, it did get awfully cold over the weekend. My wonderful groom and I did have a wonderful time on an impromptu exploration adventure. Of course, I have some pics from that. We found a lovely trail along a creek (river?) complete with a fascinating stone church in construction. It was so charming. Actually, yesterday was a great sky day.The day started with an amazing fiery sunrise, perfectly textured. During our outdoor adventure, we saw a solar halo, and then the evening presented a sunset which rivaled the morning's sunrise.One thing my wonderful groom pointed out to me was the level of water rise during those September floods in Atlanta. You can see the pile of creek/river debris way up in the tree, well above the normal surface level.

Have a beautiful day!
~Dewdrop

Cotton ball sky

2009-12-03T08:44:00.009-05:00

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Welcome all sky fans!!! I truly appreciate your visit and comments. I might not have time to respond to you, but I will try my best to visit!!!

Our hosts: Klaus Sandy Sylvia Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Thanks, also,to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!

Greetings from south Georgia. I have been promising Thanksgiving pics from our wonderful family Thanksgiving festivities, and I plan to do that today, but first, allow me to share with you, one of my more memorable skies. We have had several days of blanketed skies full of altocumulus clouds. An altocumulus sky resembles a bed of cotton balls in the sky. This one is especially memorable because it is from our wonderful sunset/sunrise trip, the one that occurred while tornado warnings were blaring back home for an "actually seen tornado", which turned out to be a microburst. Regardless of the missed chasetunity, it was a wonderfully romantic trip that my amazingly wonderful groom (gtb at the time) planned for me as a surprise. You can read more about that here. Oh, and here is my opinion about the missed storm. Anyhow, that's my sky shot for today. The Altocumulus sky made for an amazing sunset that evening.I'll briefly touch on yesterday's weather since there were watches and actual warnings throughout the day yesterday. The line of storms that passed through here lost much of their intensity just before arrival and then, ramped back up to produce significant rotation just beyond here... are we surprised??? I think not. Generally, the big story in this storm was the flooding rain and ferocious wind. One tornado was reported in the panhandle, but generally... that's all folks. Now, onto our Thanksgiving, which was wonderful in every way. We had much of my wonderful groom's family over to partake in our feast consisting of 2 big birds and all the fixin's! It was my wonderful groom's first time frying a turkey, but we are all SO GLAD he took the time to do it. It was scrumdiddlyumptious in all its juicy yumminess! He brined the turkey for many many hours while it thawed, and the men rigged up an Alton Brown-style lowering system for the bird, involving a ladder and some coat hook contraption. One hour later, voila! Here are some pics to capture the essense of our day.Incidentally, the tree behind the men in the picture above was struck by lightning the same day I caught this shot.Yeppers, same tree... :D I hope each of your Thanksgivings were blessed!

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Tornado watch south Georgia!

2009-12-02T09:50:00.003-05:00

TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

LARGE PART OF FLORIDA PANHANDLE
LARGE PART OF SOUTHERN GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1035 AM UNTIL 500 PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

DISCUSSION...STRONG UPPER LOW AND JET ROTATING EWD ACROSS GULF STATES WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE A VERY FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR SUPERCELLS ACROSS WATCH AREA AS WARM FRONT MOVES INLAND FROM THE GULF. WITH STRONG VEERING SHEAR PROFILES AND MLCAPES APPROACHING 1000 J/KG IN WARM SECTOR AS IT MOVES INLAND...TORNADOS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY SUPERCELL THAT DEVELOPS. AT 15Z A MESO-LOW IS MOVING NNEWD INTO SWRN GA AND WILL ENHANCE LOW LEVEL SHEAR AND TORNADO POTENTIAL THIS AREA.

2:00PM update: Dewvoid strikes again. Everything fell apart approaching me, and reformed on the other side.

Welcome back weather

2009-12-02T07:01:00.007-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family, friends and lots of blessings. We certainly did, and it was absolutely wonderful. As a result, I've been away from the blogosphere for a slight time, which encouraged a weather hiatus of sorts, leaving me refreshed and excited about today's severe weather potential in the south. Currently, I am at over 2" of rainfall since last night, and there doesn't appear to be any relief in sight. If we get a clearing in this before the main storm line approaches, we can expect some volatile weather today. Welcome back to weather watching Dewdrop... just barely outside a tornado watch box. The current tornado watch covers a portion of the southeast, including an area of south west GA, to my west, the FL panhandle and lower AL. I expect that threat to travel eastward with the movement of the system. We are told to expect flooding rain, hail and tornadoes.The current tornadic threat is a significant 10%. We don't generally see that kind of probability in my neck of the woods. You can click on the tabs on the link that the graphic brings you to, to see probabilities for hail and wind. The text of the outlook isn't powerful, but the chance exists, and they have highlighted that. Be vigilant and watchful, ready to get to safety.

I have a lot of catch up to do, but I'd like to get a chance to share some Thanksgiving shots soon.

Have a great day!!!
~Dewdrop

A Thanksgiving wish

2009-11-24T10:40:00.008-05:00

With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, I want to take a moment and thank all of the folks out there who take time to read my blog. I've been lacking in weather lately, which is supposed to be the meat of my weather blog, but when you have none to talk about, it leaves people like me to get creative.Our family will be arriving tomorrow to share in a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with us. The kids will have a wonderful time playing together. We have an all out feast planned, capturing everyone's traditions, as best we can. I am expecting to have lots of great pics, as we will roast one turkey with my wonderful Pampered Chef roaster (hosting parties rocks!) and my wonderful groom will be frying another. The brining process is being combined with the thawing to speed things along. Aside from two turkeys, we will also have dressing and stuffing. Me being a Yankee, it is important that I have stuffing, you know stuffed in the bird and baked to yummy perfection (yes, we have a thermometer!), but my very southern family is not going to slip by without some of mom's yummy dressing. Of course, while talking about mom's yummy stuff, I should mention that she will also be preparing 2 sweet potato casseroles. One will have a crunchy savory nutty crust, and the other will be smothered in a bed of sweet marshmallowy decadence. We'll have gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, peas, corn, green bean casserole... my dear sister-in-law's famous pea casserole... my wonderful groom's famous roasted butternut squash soup.Mom's yeast rolls, flaky crescent rolls... my wonderful groom's mouth-watering fudge... mom's pumpkin pie, a new recipe pecan pie, my family's traditional chocolate and banana cream pies and since Mini-Dew doesn't like any of those, apple pie. In my opinion, you can never have too many desserts. Of course, for drinking, we'll have everything from apple cider, to sweet tea, to soda... I expect about 20-22 of us to gather in our home and share thankfulness for the love of our wonderful family. I would love to hear what your family traditions are, to hear how you're celebrating Thanksgiving. Feel free to share. In the meantime, from our home to yours, we wish you all the blessings of a safe and happy Thanksgiving. May God bless you.~Dewdrop

P.S. A little isolated supercell would make Thanksgiving extra nice...

Sometimes the weather even cooperates

2009-11-23T13:36:00.012-05:00

Well, thankfully, the rain that was moving in from that low pressure system that flooded the Houston area last week, did a split apart just before arriving at the Florida panhandle (what are the chances?) on Saturday, leaving us with a dry game day! I never would have expected that with 50-70% chance of rain from a solid approaching system. Apparently, the Dewvoid can work in my favor from time to time. We were fully prepared with waterproof spirit face tattoos and ponchos. Lo and behold... not a drop! We must be living right!

We were in Tallahassee for the FSU game against Maryland. It was a great game, with an intense ending, which had us pulling our hair out. I heard "Well, that's it, we're done." "It's all over now." "They'd better pull it out against Florida or they're missing the bowls." "Hang it up." Then, from out of nowhere, they did it. They stopped them. They turned it over. The drove the ball and TOUCHDOWN FLORIDA STATE!!!! I bet the people who gave up and left are kicking themselves right about now. So, here is FSU football... Dew-style.They actually gave us our very own weather update.The huddle was great. Some of the players expressions were so full of passion.The band demonstrated sharp marching precision. I love the rows of people.I really love the "Unconquered" statue outside the stadium. One of my favorite parts of the game is when Chief Osceola comes out to the field and slams the torch into the center of the field. Well, since they were honoring the 26 year defensive coordinator, Mickey Andrews, Chief Osceola stopped and handed off the torch to Coach Andrews and allowed him to spike the torch. It was cool.

This next set is interesting... is that foot hold from the ground legal??? Oh well, FSU won!!!Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Blue skies smiling at me

2009-11-19T08:52:00.005-05:00

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 7:17

The photograph captured above is of a man attached to a motorized fan and a parachute. I decided that they were called paracopters, but I don't know the official name. It was beautiful weather, a slight chill in the air, just after Ida pressed through, leaving a dry cool air mass in her wake. Perhaps, some of you have experienced the intense blue sky that occurs after a tropical system passes through. It's what happens when a great deal of moisture is snatched away (pulled into the tropical system and away), generally leaving a mostly cloudless sky. A few cirrus clouds were scattered about for good measure. It made for some striking sunsets on both Friday and Saturday.... and since we drove west for both nights, we had front row seats for the main event! To read about how we GOT LOST, click on the link.

The sunlit sky appears blue because air scatters short-wavelength light more than longer wavelengths. Since blue light is at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum, it is more strongly scattered in the atmosphere than long wavelength red light. The result is that the human eye perceives blue when looking toward parts of the sky other than the sun.
~source

Blue skies smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies do I see
Blue birds singing a song
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurryin' by
When you're in love, my how they fly
"Blue Skies"
Eva Cassidy

Wishing you smiling blue skies.
~Dewdrop

Nothing... nothing at all...

2009-11-17T09:56:00.005-05:00

Nothing tropical out there as we approach the end of a rather uneventful season. We had 2 US landfalls of Tropical Storms during the entire season, a total of only 9 named storms. I was hopeful for the storm named Bill because it was the one my wonderful groom and I were anxious to chase, only because "Dewdrop" isn't on the list, but Hurricane Bill, a category 4 hurricane at a point, didn't reach land until Newfoundland. Only 5 of the 9 named storms, plus a couple of unnamed tropical depression made landfall. So, what are we looking at for next year. I predict that the big one will be Earl, mostly because the associated songs and show with Earl in the title would create some interesting irony. Just ask the Dixie Chicks, Goodbye Earl... Of course, Gaston might be entertaining, as the villain of Beauty and the Beast.

So, without tropical action and with Nor'Ida finally gone away, what have we got going on??? Well, we have one low pressure system spinning in the center of the country and one system off the coast of Washington state.The one off the coast is actually the more powerful system, with its hurricane force winds. I saw some footage of damage up there. You'll note in the graphic above that we have absolutely nothing going on down my way. Are we surprised??? I think not. So... we make our own fun!Have a fabulous day!
~Dewdrop

Get Lost!!!

2009-11-16T10:18:00.018-05:00

What a superb weekend my wonderful groom and I shared this weekend. It started with a great idea... GET LOST! My wonderful groom suggested(, or was it me?) that we take one weekend and just spin a wheel to decide our direction. Well, we did just that. With the spin of a wheel early Friday morning, we started our great adventure! We were perfectly content allowing God to decide our course (for the most part). Amazingly, God led us straight to my wonderful groom's dear children's school just at their lunch time, which turned out to be a special treat for Dad and his dear children (divine intervention). Then, we were on our way, trusting our Navigator with the great adventure... As it turns out, we were meant to head west. I guess the best thing to do would be to take you chronologically through our adventure, hitting the high points.

We, of course, made a point of stopping frequently along the course of our adventure, just for the sake of making sure I cover everything. Our first stop was at a beautiful cotton field, which is a common sight in south Georgia, and I thought it would be fun to have pictures of us in a cotton field (why not?!)We can't help ourselves, we are silly almost all of the time!!! Life is too short! We also stopped by a sunflower field, which looked like the winds of (at the time) TD Ida had gotten to, but I took some pics anyhow. My wonderful groom was checking out the nearby cemetary.We drove the long way south (ending up in Florida without realizing it), until we finally met up with I10, where the wheel pointed us west for 2 hours! We were thrilled. He had secretly hoped for a New Orleans trip, and I just wanted to experience Mississippi on this trip (Don't have a clue why... I know, now, that Mississippi isn't really worth it). So we headed west... stopping for photos along the way, being silly and happy all the way.Another spin and extra driving time for the time change (going into central time zone), we ended up in Alabama.As we moved toward Gulf Shores and the sky continued to grow darker, we decided that this would be our first night's stay. We visited the Wharf, which was dead! We went to see "This Is It", which was not worth the money... sigh. Then, we caught some seafood at the Original Oyster House, which was one of the many places Alabama Mike recommended when we shared with him that we were in his favorite place. Gotta love those last minute reservations during off-season. We were upgraded for free to an ocean front view, which had a nice patio and chairs overlooking the ocean. BONUS! We slept in that morning, and made certain to take some time to enjoy the beach.I particularly enjoyed the back-fan parachute contraptions (well, watching them). I dubbed them Paracopters. I'm not so sure I would want to go up with one, but they were fun to watch.There were two of them effortlessly gliding around the beach Saturday morning.

Back to the spinning... we left Orange Beach and Gulf Shores and made it to Foley, AL, when my wonderful groom discovered this building.Lambert's Cafe, the only home of the Throwed Rolls! We had seen this place on the Food Network and thought it would be exceptional! Well, sure enough, it was. We arrived just in time for the first roll throwing and got a some of Ol' Norm's pass-arounds within the first minutes (before we even had plates). Yes, they really "throwed the rolls", across the room to some folks! I assure you that between the abundant gigantic rolls, the larger the life portions and the bottomless pits of pass-arounds, you WILL NOT leave that place hungry! Not to mention, we had a super entertaining time! When we got back to the interstate, it was left again, and we ended up being directed to (get this) Daughin Island... you know, where TS Ida made landfall in Alabama, before bee-lining to the Atlantic coast and becoming (I heard this this morning).... Nor'Ida! Perfect name. Unfortunately, while we were out exploring, the Atlantic coast was being pummeled and now faces a substantial recovery effort.

Well, we explored Daughin Island some and passed up the $30 ferry ride, even though neither of us had ever been in a car on a ferry before. We would have probably both gotten car/sea sick. The scary bridge leading to the ferry made my heart skip a few beats.Incidentally, you couldn't tell that a Tropical Storm had just passed through.

We left there and once again were directed west! Here we were almost in Mississippi! When we got to the interstate, we spun for another hour of west on I10!!! That would put us nearly in Louisiana!!! Well, we voyaged through Mississippi rather uneventfully and made a decision that being that close to New Orleans meant we had to go there. We decided that was our next plan, or detour... as we called it. While in New Orleans, we visited Bourbon Street, eating my wonderful groom's favorite cuisine, and listening to his favorite music... For breakfast, what other than a trip to Cafe Du Monde for some Cafe au Lait and a pile of beignets!!! Powdered sugar doughy goodness!!!!We did some more sight-seeing and exploration around the French Quarter before making the long trek home.The only evidence of Hurricane Katrina that we saw was the remaining damage to portions of I10 over Lake Pontchartrain. Other than that and some barren areas of land where vegatation had previously been, where we were, you couldn't tell it had happened. What a wonderful excursion!!!! It's so much fun to get lost.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Historic flooding event in process on the mid-Atlantic coast

2009-11-12T08:56:00.012-05:00

THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED DURING THE HIGH TIDE CYCLES THIS AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY MORNING.

Please join me in praying for all those who will be impacted (or have already been impacted) by the system formerly known as Ida, now just a no-name storm.

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. FLOOD WATERS ARE USUALLY DEEPER THAN THEY APPEAR. JUST ONE FOOT OF FLOWING WATER IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SWEEP VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD. WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED ROADS MAKE THE SMART CHOICE...TURN AROUND...DON'T DROWN™

God bless those involved in the coastal storm.

3:20PM EST Update: Unfortunately, the remnant low of Ida has aligned with high tide to create a nightmare scenario. Fellow storm chaser and Southern Weather Brigade member, Mikey is located about 1/4 mile from the coast in Norfolk. Please include his family and friends in your prayers.

~Dewdrop

Could we have another "perfect storm"???

2009-11-11T09:03:00.009-05:00

If you've seen "The Perfect Storm", you are familiar with the set-up I am about to describe, which is actually the set-up which could occur on our east coast today and tomorrow. Yesterday, we saw Hurricane Ida, become a Tropical Storm and make landfall in Alabama. A slight surge occurred causing some flooding. The moisture was pulled away from the center of circulation as the system became extra-tropical. The remnants of extra-tropical Depression Ida continue to push east, even this morning, as a significant low, being pushed off shore by a high pressure to the northwest.Here's the problem, sitting off the coast is an area of low pressure, which has a low likelihood of development, but could merge with the remnants of Ida to form a powerful low pressure system, as it continues to move to the northwest.Hypothetically, as the newly merged low pressure system (with its counter clockwise motion) were to move to the northwest and interact with the high pressure system (with its clockwise motion), a pressure gradient would set up. Link
The pressure gradient would force the air through the two fronts amplifying the impact. Back in 1991, when this occurred, it was referred to as "the perfect storm" or "no-name storm" or "The Halloween Nor'easter of 1991.

The 1991 Perfect Storm, also known as the No-Name Storm, was an unusual nor’easter which was extratropical, and absorbed one hurricane, and ultimately evolved into a small hurricane within an extratropical system late in its life cycle. The initial area of low pressure formed across Indiana before moving offshore of Atlantic Canada, where the cyclone reached its peak intensity. The unnamed hurricane of 1991 was the last tropical cyclone of the 1991 Atlantic hurricane season, and its fourth hurricane. By November 2, Atlantic Canada experienced the effects of a landfalling tropical storm. Damage totaled $208 million (1991 USD)[1] and the death toll climbed to 12 people including 6 onboard the Andrea Gail and one Air National Guard pararescue jumper, TSgt Arden "Rick" Smith. Most of the damage occurred while the storm was extratropical.

The Halloween Nor'easter of 1991, as an extratropical cyclone (today's case would be Ida), with its associated high winds from the pressure gradient between the high to its northeast and its low pressure center (sound familiar???), created large waves. Canadian buoy 44137 reported a wave height of 100.7 feet October 30. NOAA buoy 44011 reported maximum sustained winds of 49 knots (56 mph) with gusts to 65 kt (75 mph) and a significant wave height (average height of the highest waves) of 39 feet. (The central Atlantic coast of the US is under an imminent threat.)

It lashed northeastern U.S. with a storm tide of more than 13 ft above a storm surge of approximately 5 ft, and piled on top of that 30 ft waves. The worst of the storm stayed offshore. Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts had gusts up to 85 mph.

The "perfect storm" moniker was coined by author and journalist Sebastian Junger after a conversation with NWS Boston Deputy Meteorologist Robert Case in which Case described the convergence of weather conditions as being "perfect" for the formation of such a storm.

Well, here comes the potential for the perfect conditions again. It could happen similar to the events of 1991. Wouldn't that be interesting??? Regardless, the shores of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia can expect flooding and wind.

Have a blessed day!
~Dewdrop

Ida downgraded to extra-tropical as she moves ashore

2009-11-10T10:12:00.007-05:00

THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM IDA MADE ITS FIRST LANDFALL AROUND 540 AM CST...1140 UTC... ON DAUPHIN ISLAND ALABAMA... WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 45 MPH... 75 KM/HR.

THE CENTER OF IDA MADE ITS SECOND LANDFALL AROUND 700 AM CST... 1300 UTC... JUST TO THE NORTHWEST OF BON SECOUR ALABAMA.

Fortunately for us here in south Georgia, a great deal of the associated moisture was quickly lifted up to our north into that frontal boundary. North Alabama and Georgia were both inundated with heavy rain as the racing outer bands of Ida were ripped away from the core circulation. Fortunately, the fast movement should help in preventing too much horrific flooding. There is a band currently training over a good part of south Georgia. I am expecting that to move my way and cause a mess down here, but it shouldn't be too terribly bad. In any case, Turn Around, Don't Drown™. That line is actually presenting itself well on satellite. The now, extra-tropical Depression Ida is expected to traipse across the south and eject on the east coast and perhaps head south toward the Bahamas.The models pretty much look like spaghetti at this point, so it's anyone's guess. I like the one that has it doing a loop-de-loop in West Virginia and then racing out into the Atlantic. I think the models pushing it southward are accurate. The National Hurricane Center shared this suspicion and have decided on this as their official forecast.It looks like a wet day for most of Georgia.

Looky, looky, is there more on the horizon...? (Not likely!)Have a beautiful day!
~Dewdrop

Tropical Storm Ida Breezes

2009-11-09T19:06:00.007-05:00

Well, you can see on this image that persistent Tropical Storm Ida is bearing down strongly on the Gulf Coast. The expectation is that there will be wind and rain, causing power outages and flooding, a storm surge of 3-5 feet is anticipated. Locally, we are starting to get increased breezes, southerlies and easterlies competing for power in my neck of the woods, as the outer bands of Tropical Storm Ida press inland.
Being in the northeast quadrant of a land falling tropical storm, there is a possibility of some weak and brief spin-ups (tornadoes), but our main concern her is the potential for lots of rain as Ida catches the frontal boundary and hangs a right, which is the forecast.Yep, we are definitely in the cone; looks like rain!

~Dew

What's Ida going to do???

2009-11-09T08:18:00.006-05:00

Yes, the now Hurricane Ida is bearing down on the US Gulf Coast, losing intensity as she makes her way toward us. She has lost some of her beautiful (yes, I am weird) structure. She has lost a tremendous amount of symmetry and intensity over this morning. Hurricane Ida reached category 2 strength yesterday, and as she has journeyed northward into an area of cooler waters and a more hostile environment for such tropical activity, we see her losing structure and strength. As of this morning's most recent advisory, Hurricane Ida is a category 1 hurricane, with her sites set on the Pensacola/Mobile area for a full impact tonight.With Ida rapidly losing intensity, the big issue is less where she'll hit directly, but how much rain she carries with her, and her interaction and absorption with the front now making its way across the US. The eastern US will most likely all be impacted in some way by the now Hurricane Ida. Granted, I don't think it will be nearly as dramatic as TWC is making it out to be. Given the timing, it doesn't look like I will be chasing this November hurricane. If only it was moving in this weekend...

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

What's in store for Ida?

2009-11-06T10:32:00.004-05:00

Regarding the now, Tropical Depression Ida, currently flooding out Honduras and after slamming into Nicaragua as a hurricane, this is what the models see as the potential trajectory for her future. I am bothered by the westward training, as I don't really think that is a realistic path...

THE INTERACTION OF IDA WITH THAT TROUGH IS CAUSING A WIDE VARIETY OF MODEL SOLUTIONS... RANGING FROM A FASTER CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO LANDFALL TO IDA REMAINING SEPARATE FROM THE TROUGH AND STAYING OVER THE CENTRAL GULF WATERS. ALTHOUGH SOME OF THE MODELS HAVE SHIFTED WESTWARD SINCE THE LAST RUN...CLIMATOLOGY AND THE FORECAST STRONG UPPER- LEVEL SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS SUGGEST THE EASTERN SOLUTIONS ARE LIKELY CLOSER TO REALITY.

... but neither does the National Hurricane Center, who have a cone extending into my neck of the woods.Which might put it in the... big bend of Florida. For me, that would make it a chaseable event. I can get to the big bend in time to intercept, but I can't make it there Thursday... sigh. With the frontal boundary bearing in, though, a greater likelihood (in my very strong and amateur opinion) would be closer to Tampa... as a strong TS or extratropical storm.

THERE CONTINUES TO BE A LARGE DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE MODELS ON HOW MUCH INTENSIFICATION TO EXPECT WITH IDA. THE STATISTICAL GUIDANCE GENERALLY SHOWS A RATHER MODEST AMOUNT OF RESTRENGTHENING... WHILE THE REGIONAL HURRICANE MODELS SUGGEST THAT IDA WILL BECOME A
HURRICANE AGAIN.

This is how she currently looks over Honduras, as she grasps for her place over water.That's Ida.

Have a great weekend!!!
~Dewdrop

Hurricane Ida arrives in the Caribbean

2009-11-05T09:20:00.008-05:00

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Welcome all sky fans!!! I truly appreciate your visit and comments. I might not have time to respond to you, but I will try my best to visit!!!

Our hosts: Klaus Sandy Sylvia Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Thanks, also,to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!Well, with all the beautiful skies I've been having lately, it surprises me that I didn't have any current pics that I haven't already shared, so I hit the archive. This is a wonderful winter sunset back from 2007. There are several things about this image that I really love. 1. The color, the golden amber glow was a wonderful way to end the workday. 2. The way the sun appears as a brilliant ball of fire, close enough to reach out and touch. 3. The way it appears to be melting the sky beneath with is golden yellow whirling below and the coral flash wafting above. 4. The golden glowing rim of cloud... telling me some clouds have a golden lining. 5. The way the light of the setting sun hits the contrail in the upper left of the shot, glowing brilliantly back at the beaming sun. 6. The trees showing their vulnerability as they lay barren against the cold winter, awaiting with eagerness, the newness that arrives in spring.

Lo and behold, we've got the 3rd hurricane of the Atlantic Basin's 2009 season. Yes, you read that correctly, here we are November 5th, and we are just on number 3. Can you name them? The first made landfall in Newfoundland, and actually took the life of a little girl in Maine, and that was Hurricane Bill (what a name!). The other was Hurricane Fred. Remember that one? No? Well, he hung out around the Cape Verde Islands, but he did not make landfall. Both reached major hurricane status during their lives. Now, we have Hurricane Ida. She formed off the coast of Nicaragua, and has (as of the most recent advisory) made landfall in that treacherous mountainous country, Nicaragua. When Hurricane Ida emerges on the other side, she is expected to gain strength over water... and then emerge into the Gulf of Mexico. All Gulf coast interests should be keeping their eyes on Ida. We will plan an intercept if she makes it up during next weekend. It's too far out to know how the models will hold up. What the models are saying...

Have a blessed day!
~Dewdrop

We've got Tropical Storm Ida...

2009-11-04T16:23:00.003-05:00

We've got Tropical Storm Ida, packing winds of 60mph, but look at this...She's expected to make it to the Gulf of Mexico and strengthen after a wet assault on Nicaragua and Honduras.

~Dew

Don't turn your back on the tropics just yet

2009-11-04T09:13:00.004-05:00

Well, looky looky, down in the Caribbean Sea, we have an area of low pressure that the National Hurricane Center has identified as having a high probability of development into a tropical cyclone. It's been a while since we have talked about anything going on in the Atlantic Basin... it's been a dud season, but here we are with a late bloomer, which is actually presenting itself rather nicely on satellite.It looks very well organized to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if after reconnaissance, they skip tropical depression and immediately call it Tropical Storm Ida. You might be thinking... but the season is over... not so, the Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season lasts until November 30, and tropical cyclones have formed beyond that date in the past, so it's mostly just a time frame for expected occurrence.

Yesterday, I was leaving work and there was an amazing contrail that had feathered out to look like a giant spine (crooked like mine) across the huge expanse of sky. It was very cool, so... you know what I had to do...Then, last night, we had a beautiful altocumulus obscured moon with full and brilliant corona. I just sat back and enjoyed it this time.

Have a beautiful day!
~Dewdrop

Mooooon....

2009-11-03T10:38:00.007-05:00

Ok, so I got into a debate with Mini-Dew the other night about the state of the moon. You see, when it is close to full, she calls it full, and I tell her that only once in every 28 day cycle is it completely full. She doesn't believe me.Outside of the one day of full moon, there are varying stages of fullness, which might appear full, but we cannot see the full face of the moon. Yesterday was our full moon for the month. The next won't occur until December 2. If you click on the graphic above, you will see the year of moon phases.
In honor of the phases, I decided to post my shots of 2008's lunar eclipse, where the phases are mimicked in the course of the eclipse, which is caused by the earth passing briefly between the sun and a full moon.
February 2008 lunar eclipse ― The only total lunar eclipse of 2008 occurred on February 21, 2008, beginning at 01:43 UTC, visible from Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on December 21, 2010.
My favorite stage is when the moon is fully eclipsed and it glows red in the shadow.
The following scale (the Danjon scale) was devised by André Danjon for rating the overall darkness of lunar eclipses:[3]

L=0: Very dark eclipse. Moon almost invisible, especially at mid-totality.
L=1: Dark Eclipse, gray or brownish in coloration. Details distinguishable only with difficulty.
L=2: Deep red or rust-colored eclipse. Very dark central shadow, while outer edge of umbra is relatively bright.
L=3: Brick-red eclipse. Umbral shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim.
L=4: Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse. Umbral shadow is bluish and has a very bright rim.
Makes you want to howl, doesn't it?

Aside from that, temperatures across the nation start to plunge into a more seasonally appropriate range, as a high pressure line-up rolls in taking over almost the entire country with clear skies and cool breezes.I wouldn't expect this too change anytime too soon, which is good news for those areas recovering from recent flooding.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T10:19:00.005-05:00

I was outside yesterday evening, packing up some of the Halloween decorations that we were amazingly able to squeeze into only two boxes (go us!), when the moon caught my fancy. The display of clouds had caught my eye all day, with the altocumulus, cirrocumulus, and cirrus all blending together in the sky, it looked like the approach of fall. As the moon approached fullness (which is tonight, by the way) and the clouds created a drapery of puffy altocumulousness, I was struck by the amber corona racing into the sky around the moon. It was fascinating, so I quite literally dropped everything and raced outside with my tripod (I don't dare shoot night shots without my tripod).

We had a wonderful time on Saturday. Fortunately, our local sprinkle showers didn't start until after the trick-or-treating hay ride... whew! We had a great time, lots of friends, lots of food, lots of fun! I think everyone had a great time... and hopefully, everyone's bellies did ok. Here are some of my favorite pics.Yes, they TPed by living room! LOL!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!!!~Dewdrop

Iridescence in the sky

2009-10-29T09:33:00.006-04:00

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Welcome all sky fans!!! I might not have time to respond to you, but I will try my best to visit!!!

Our hosts: Klaus Sandy Sylvia Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Thanks, also,to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!

Oh boy, have I got a treat for you! I actually shot it this morning. It was such a joy to catch a glimpse once again of yet another fairly uncommon phenomena. I have researched cloud iridescence in the past, but I have never witnessed it first-hand, that I can recall. Cloud iridescence occurs when light (generally it occurs in the clouds close to the sun's location in the sky) hits small individual water droplets or even small ice crystals and the iridescence (like a smudged rainbow in the clouds)is a diffraction phenomenon, where light is apparently bending around the small water droplets and spreading out its waves past small openings, not to be confused with the refraction phenomenon, where light's direction is changed due to a change in velocity, such as when light encounters a large impenetrable area, creating an almost angled reflection. Such refraction occurs when light hits larger quantities of water and will tend to generate a halo, arcs or perhaps a rainbow. Those are different effects. Diffraction is almost a smudging of light, where refraction displaces its original path.
Cloud iridescence or irisation is the occurrence of colors in a cloud not dissimilar to those seen in oil films on puddles. It is fairly uncommon phenomena and is usually observed in altocumulus, cirrocumulus and lenticular clouds but very rarely in Cirrus clouds.
In my case, the cloud iridescence occurred in cirrocumulus clouds. To read more about cloud iridescence, feel free to check out this link. These little love letters from God thrill my heart.

In weather, a storm system that dropped feet of snow (I hate that word) in some places in and around Colorado, has now created a severe weather scenario in the plains. The front has turned into a squall line of severe weather for some, as it races across the country as a virtual wall of wind and rain.

Have a beautiful day!
~Dewdrop

Updated Halloween forecast

2009-10-28T09:28:00.004-04:00

With the snowstorm in the midwest and the battle between summer and winter ensuing, we are expecting some severe weather in the plains. Of course, as it makes its way toward the Dewvoid (see post below), it should diminish. What does that mean for Halloween??? Well, this is the precipitation forecast for Halloween, as it stands...So, the northeast... the Rockies... and Dewville. Of course, rain on Halloween night, while we have all those kids over, trapped inside my house, or riding on wet hay... figures. Some are surprised to learn that I am not a big fan of rain. Rain is good in moderation, occasionally falling to ward off drought, but as a general rule, rain inhibits instability which is necessary for thunderstorms and severe weather, which is really what interests me. It's no fun chasing rain. 1. You get wet. 2. Your gear gets wet. 3. The pictures aren't good at all. So, you see, though I am a storm chaser, and I am extremely passionate about weather, I am not a big fan of the wet stuff, and before you ask, I don't even generally spell the word s#@w. I only used it as a part of a better compound word.

So, you see the green... where it is green on the map, the current expectation is that trick or treating could be washed up.

Have a blessed day!
~Dewdrop