Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Tell me about it...

Maybe the weather is screwy for a reason.
More rain and snow is falling in Canada, Britain and northern Europe, two-thirds of which is attributable to human activities. Britain is suffering one of its wettest summers ever, with severe flooding in England. More rain is also falling in areas immediately south of the equator including Brazil, southern Africa, Indonesia and Australia. Nearly all of this is caused by mankind. But countries immediately north of the equator, in Africa, India and parts of China, are getting less water. [More]
(Be sure to follow the link to a helpful map)


Meanwhile, the sun is quiet. A little too quiet...
While sidewalks crackle in the summer heat, NASA scientists are keeping a close eye on the sun. It is almost spotless, a sign that the Sun may have reached solar minimum. Scientists are now watching for the first spot of the new solar cycle to appear. The 11 year long solar cycle is marked by two extremes, solar minimum and solar maximum. Solar minimum is the period of least solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. During this time sunspot and solar flare activity diminishes, and often does not occur for days at a time. [More]
And if you've been wondering like me, where are all the forecasted hurricanes?
Though hurricane season begins on June 1, the stormiest months tend to be August and September, when conditions in the Atlantic basin are most ripe for a hurricane to develop. During these months, ocean temperatures are warmer and there is typically less wind in the upper atmosphere to shear the tops off of developing storms.

Some seasons have seen unusually late starts. The 1992 season, for example, didn’t start up until August. And boy did it start with a bang: Hurricane Andrew decimated South Florida. [More]
Could it be weather guys enjoy the media coverage so much, they are taking a page from the Homeland Security Dept. who seem to be making ORANGE as low as we'll ever see? Try to imagine who would have the guts to lower it to green, for example.

All I want to know is why we can't get as similar 5-day forecast on Friday as we get Sunday. These weekend price plunges are bumming me out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are having hurricanes across the lands this year instead of coming from the sea.

Anonymous said...

I want to know how they are "making" it rain so I can do the same thing when we have another summer like 2005.

John Phipps said...

All:

I think one thing Jan and I love most about winter, is spending less time fussing about the weather. My first thought upon finishing harvest is "OK, the weather can't hurt me much now."

When did weather go from an external phenomenon to an adversary? I think my age is showing.