After an almost two weak period in which the upper-level wind pattern could best be described as “zonal,” a more active weather pattern is getting ready to kick in. A zonal wind pattern is typified by west-to-east wind flow. This is being replaced by a high amplitude (more northwest and
Read DetailsAnother in a series of strong cold fronts is heading for south Florida today. This time, the front is linked to a long-lived Pacific weather system (which brought flooding and mudslides to California, and heavy snow and flooding to parts of Texas, both earlier this week). Now the system is
Read DetailsThe National Weather Service has issued “lake effect” snow warnings and advisories for areas to the east of Lakes Erie and Ontario through Sunday evening (Fig. 1). These forecasts call for locally heavy snow and wind-blown snow with associated hazardous driving conditions. Forecasts for areas in New York State downwind
Read DetailsAcross the South, this Sunday morning, Jan. 8, 2017, folks were pulling out their winter clothing. Temperatures that plunged to below freezing levels across Texas and much of the Gulf Coast east to the western Florida Panhandle on Saturday morning did so again this morning. However, today, the sub-freezing
Read DetailsThe other day, I wrote about the arrival of a strong cold front in south Florida. That front arrived with a significant chill down. Low temperature readings, this Saturday morning (Dec. 31, 2016), were in the 40’s across many areas of southwest Florida. Even with relatively light north winds, wind
Read DetailsSanta has been in the news of late. So, I thought it might be fun to take a look at weather from Santa’s perspective. To do this, we’ll have to look at upper level and surface weather maps from a polar-centric perspective. Fortunately, NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
Read DetailsOnce a strong Pacific cold front barrels through south Florida later today, attention will shift to windier weather and much chiller temperatures. The combined effect of wind and temperature will contribute to unusually low wind chills for the area. Wind chill is a measure of heat loss from exposed skin.
Read DetailsLast week, I reported on south Florida’s record warmth and indicated that more records were likely to be broken. This week, I get to report that several south and central Florida locales have again set some warm temperature records. A total of seven occurred in the three-day period encompassing Christmas.
Read DetailsSouth Florida experiences “cool front” passages fairly often during the chillier months of the year. These bring wind shifts (winds northerly and northwesterly, quickly turning to northeasterly), and a modest drop in temperatures and a more significant drop in dew point temperatures. In summer months, very weak “cool fronts” occasionally
Read DetailsDateline: Vail, CO This article, which addresses the effects of altitude and latitude on temperature, could be for most anyplace(s) in the 50 states. But the western U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii), with incredibly wild swings of altitude across relatively small distances, offers some of the best settings. Since I
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