Record setting weather

[brainpanhandler]

[Joe Hillshoist]

I thought about you Joe when I saw this tropical cyclone blew through northern Australia.

Interesting you mention the lightning is different. It reminded me that the thunder in the last few summers seems markedly different to me. I grew up in the southern US and so I am familiar with thunderstorms, but I don't ever remember hearing thunder so loud in my entire life. It may well be a function of where I live now. I've only lived at my current address for 3 years. Maybe the sound propagates differently. I don't know. But the thunder around here occasionally sounds more like massive bombs going off across town. I mean there's none of the usual rumbling and build up to the crash. There's just an enormous explosion.

I'm on the other side of the continent from that cyclone, but its driving these massive low pressure fronts that can stretch the 4000 kms from Adelaide to Cape York. Last nights was a front that stretched about 1000km, give or take. We are just far enough south that we miss the cyclones, most of the time, the ones we have had hardly rate a mention, 120km hr winds and about 6 inches of rain - serious thunderstorms are worse than the cyclones we have had here. Tho I have seen the bad ones ... fom the front gate towering into the northern sky. Just a humungous boiling cloudbank, but it has presence.

We usually get floods out of them. They aren't unusual - where I live is about as far south as they get and that is very rare and they are usually weak, and only technically a cyclone. But there have been some strong ones in the last few years.

The thunderstorms are something else tho.

That explosive lightning and a huge bomb sound. It never used to happen but does now, usually a big bolt or discharge comes with it too, but its quick and violent. None of that tearing sound lightning usually makes as it buzzes past, and a deeper sounding boom.

Not every thunderstorm is like that, and it will happen with whats otherwise a "normal" storm.

But it happens most often in storms like the ones in the photo. Thats very low for a storm cell, and its only been the last few years that they come through so low, well in the past maybe one or two a year, and everyone would remark on it, but lately every second week we get a series of them. One of my local towns (kyogle) has been hammered for the second time in a week, thats actually the storm that did the latest damage.

The Gold Coast and Brisbane have been hammered constantly for months.

I reckon the boom has to do with how low the cell is, the actual lightning is coming from low in the cell, not high in a thunderhead. About 2 or 3 weeks ago we had a bolt that felt like an explosion. A pressure wave hit us inside the house. The strike was at least halk a km away, up to a K, with a small ridge in between.

It seems like a lightning bolt is an arc that transmits a huge amount of energy, but these sort of explosive thunderclaps, they sound deeper and feel more explosive.

With traditional lightning, as I'm gonna call it, its loud rumbling if its not close and a tearing sound if it is.

These new fangled strikes are big, loud, not as much tearing noises, just a bang that you feel as much as hear. the bolts seem brighter and bigger too, thicker at least.

WE followed a storm cell into town today, and were watching the lighting as we drove in. It was traditional sort of lightning, coming from high up the thunderhead, and arcing down with several pulses sometimes. Almost like its striking the same spot twice, or three times, not every bolt did that, but about 10 % did, but thats not unusual.

The loud booming strikes don't seem to do that. Its like one massive violent discharge, more instantaneous, (if thats possible with lightning.)

There are other changes with lightning that doesn't strike the ground too, and in fact sometimes there just seems to be more electricity in the air around the place, with what might be st elmos fire everywhere, while there are less of the traditional bolts.

Sorry its late, I'm tired, and have a feeling I'm not being clear.

[brainpanhandler]

[brainpanhandler]

If there`s an end in sight, the National Weather Service says only time will tell.

[Joe Hillshoist]

There are now 4 trees or significant chunks of trees lying in my yard.

Lucky none fell on the house. The avocado tree is still standing but I think we lost about 200 avo's, thats half its crop. And they are all still immature so they cant even be saved for some rather bitter guacamole.

The storm that hit last night was fucking wild. Winds at least 100km hr but probably more, shit everywhere, corrugated iron strewn through the paddock, trees down left right and centre. WE didn't lose power tho, cept briefly. And the roof didn't blow off the house, unlike the old dairy/shed next door, which lost several sheets off the roof.

If we didn't have a lot of healthy trees on the Western side of the house to break up the wind we would have lost the roof. Looks like I'll be chainsawing all day.

[brainpanhandler]

Triumph the insult comic dog on global warming

[brainpanhandler]

NASA satellites capture data on monster winter storm affecting 30 states (w/ Video)
February 1, 2011

It has already been called one of the largest winter storms since the 1950s and it is affecting 30 U.S. states today with snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain. NASA satellites have gathering data on the storm that stretches from Texas and the Rockies to the New England states.

....

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-nas ... inter.html

[brainpanhandler]

Intense Blizzard Rolls Across the U.S.

A massive winter storm system is rolling across the Plains and Midwest U.S., headed for the New England Region. Snow amounts of up to three feet have been dumped in some parts of Illinois and Indiana, and more is on its way. Whereas the Midwest is plagued with snow, ice will be the danger in Pennsylvania. Temperatures are warming from Maryland south, which will bring only rain to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
This animation shows the last 24 hours of GOES-East satellite infrared water vapor imagery. The blue colored areas show the most intense, moist areas of the atmosphere that are responsible for these major precipitation events. Also included, at the end, is the snow precipitation amounts from Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2011.

http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/imageoftheday.php

The animation at the link is interesting. Took a couple of minutes to load, but worth the wait. I'm hunkered down inside. Not fit for man nor beast...

[Cosmic Cowbell]

Take care down under Ozlings...

[Jeff]

Take care down under Ozlings...

Seconding. This thing is scaring me on the other side of the world.

Australia's Cyclone Yasi may destroy even 'cyclone proof' homes

Feb 2 (Reuters) - Australia's Cyclone Yasi, with winds of up to 300 km (186 miles) per hour, is so powerful it could blow apart even "cyclone proof" houses, engineers said on Wednesday.

Yasi is headed for major towns and cities along the northeast coast. It is believed to be the strongest ever to hit Australia, surpassing Cyclone Tracy which largely destroyed the northern city of Darwin in 1974.

"Once you get to extreme cases, you are in uncharted ground and the test data I have got I would not trust it if I had to live there myself," said Dr Robert Leicester, a researcher with the government's national scientific research body.

...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/ ... 0120110202

[82_28]

I just have a question and it's one I've had for years. I have absolutely no terminology to do my question any justice either. Bear with me please. I'll just kinda stamp it out.

Earth is a finite place

If one huge ass storm is as energized as it is such as this cyclone and the monster winter one in the US, does it "suck" energy out of the rest of the atmosphere?

Like basically, is there only so much storminess possible in an atmosphere that it gets to a point that only a few massive storms can exist at once until "totally" irreversible or shall I say proof that global climate change is so glaring that not even the biggest fool can deny it any longer? Not like it's anything to get self-satisfied about, but what is the data I suppose about having duel hemispheric and seasonal storms of such strength?

I would suppose such data would be hard to come by just by dint of the worldwide spotting and recording of this data is extremely new. We seem to be flying pretty damned blind. . .

[82_28]

My friend is stranded at work in Chicago. They put him up in a hotel. It sounds awful.

Blizzard continues to rage, drifts may reach 6 to 8 feet later tonight

Weather conditions across the Chicago area have gone from bad to worse over the past couple of hours as winds gusting to 60mph whip heavy snow into drifts. Intense thundersnow is now moving into northeast Illinois and weather conditions will continue to go downhill throughout the night. Unfortunately, the situation is going to get a lot worse overnight before things slowly improve Wednesday afternoon.

You can keep up on Chicago area conditions here.

http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/

[mentalgongfu2]

INFO from Clinton County Iowa

Been listening to the (police) scanner all night. Snow on Hwy. 30 is 3-4 feet deep. Winds of 30-50 mph or above. Crashed semi blocking westbound exit to Hwy. 61. Every on-duty deputy and municipal police officer either is stuck in snow or has been stuck and only got free after waiting for a snowplow. At latest report, 3 of the region's DOT snowplows are themselves stuck and waiting for a blower machine. Drifts on the city sidewalks are several feet deep; I can't imagine what it's like in the country. The entire county is for all practical purposes impassable. Volunteer fire departments have been sending out snowmobiles to rescue those unlucky enough or dumb enough to be caught on the road. The county mounties managed to get unstuck a couple with a newborn child on a county road south of Delmar. Why they were on the road 5 hours into the well-publicized blizzard was not discussed.

Coming from one who usually pays no mind to the dire predictions of winter storms - this one is a doozie.

[smiths]

Mass evacuations are underway in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland in anticipation of what forecasters expect will be the largest cyclone ever to hit the continent.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurri ... _Yasi.html

Yasi threatens to batter the coast with 300km/h winds and a storm surge up to 7m late tonight.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/cyclone-yasi

Category five Cyclone Yasi's size and power will dwarf Cyclone Tracy, the most devastating storm in Australian history, and could cause even more widespread destruction.

Don't panic if roof lifts off: authorities
Windows will explode, roofs will lift and homes on stumps may simply fall over and crumble when category five Cyclone Yasi crosses the coast, experts say.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environ ... 1ad92.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/cyclone-yasi/

http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics ... arison.htm

[Gnomad]

Damn.
Everyone down under, try to be safe.