tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post1275682201272801307..comments2024-03-18T22:19:34.702-07:00Comments on Cliff Mass Weather Blog: Why can't we forecast these thunderstorms?Cliff Mass Weather Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-49603800164630128952012-07-17T17:36:36.657-07:002012-07-17T17:36:36.657-07:00"Heck with all that", ... If I may Cliff..."Heck with all that", ... If I may Cliff. ..... What about what's going on more specific at, this point, West to East - "of the Rockies", .... "colder", to hotter. ? (!!)richard583https://www.blogger.com/profile/00415086002282750839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-23716259351857007242012-07-13T09:41:24.645-07:002012-07-13T09:41:24.645-07:00July 13 at Port Townsend: woken by thunderstorm at...July 13 at Port Townsend: woken by thunderstorm at 3:30 am that is still going on 6 hours later.Gentianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03786497621000460121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-24452151855877820792012-07-13T09:40:37.630-07:002012-07-13T09:40:37.630-07:00July 13 in Port Townsend - woken by thunder around...July 13 in Port Townsend - woken by thunder around 3:30 am, still going on six hours later!Gentianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03786497621000460121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-64499284742738613432012-07-13T09:39:21.528-07:002012-07-13T09:39:21.528-07:00Thunderstorm at the north end of the sound has bee...Thunderstorm at the north end of the sound has been going on for about 6 hours!Gentianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03786497621000460121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-54285935210236116182012-07-12T20:05:09.357-07:002012-07-12T20:05:09.357-07:00I'll take a crack at it, even though I'm o...I'll take a crack at it, even though I'm only an amateur astronomer. <br /><br />The earth follows an elliptical orbit, with the sun at one focus of the ellipse. The earth travels through space more quickly when it's near the sun and more slowly when it's farther from the sun. The length of the solar day (the time the sun is above the horizon) depends both on the earth's 24-hour rotation around its axis, which doesn't change with the seasons, and the earth's speed through space, which does change with the seasons. The earth is closest to the sun on January 4th, so northern hemisphere winters have slightly shorter days.<br /><br />I should add that the earth's orbit is only slightly elliptical so it doesn't make a huge difference. The earth being closer or farther from the sun is not what causes seasons, what causes seasons is the earth's tilt of 23.5 degrees being toward the sun in summer and away from the sun in winter.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16260807460417787614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-16858640448369496362012-07-12T16:21:04.583-07:002012-07-12T16:21:04.583-07:00Weatherologist,
I don't believe Drew was aski...Weatherologist,<br /><br />I don't believe Drew was asking why winter days are shorter than summer days - he was asking why the daylight duration of our longest summer day is not identical to the night duration of our shortest winter day.Westside guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07171473508596734156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-80023809757425858272012-07-12T00:23:42.998-07:002012-07-12T00:23:42.998-07:00Because day starts when the disc of the sun touche...Because day starts when the disc of the sun touches the horizon and ends when the last bit of it passes the horizon. The sun is not just a point, so this takes a few minutes.Sysiphushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15476958068098426202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-77323108561263025472012-07-11T21:10:02.043-07:002012-07-11T21:10:02.043-07:00Thanks Thompsonized...but if I understand correctl...Thanks Thompsonized...but if I understand correctly Cliff was talking about smoke higher up in the atmosphere. I'm asking about the ground-level haze of the past few days. Does that have a smoke component too? <br /><br />If it does, I'm surprised it's not getting more coverage.Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13400304542602805292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-56193212712231577712012-07-11T21:05:45.931-07:002012-07-11T21:05:45.931-07:00Cliff, my various weather gizmo's and forecast...Cliff, my various weather gizmo's and forecasting experience up here in the Puget Sound area point towards us seeing Isolated T-Storms develop rapidly after maximum heating Thursday afternoon.<br /><br />I'll check again in the morning, as the models & their products have been admittedly schizo all week, but I'm calling for rapid formation over the central Cascades and a steady N-NW advection towards UW!<br /><br />-AG2 Tom Jenkins, USNRJinxyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05392194923909806912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-24215668481073150712012-07-11T19:39:09.470-07:002012-07-11T19:39:09.470-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.The Weatherologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16183629701100059613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-74257952405472021252012-07-11T18:31:33.118-07:002012-07-11T18:31:33.118-07:00Hi, again, Cliff,
Who cares if you can/cannot for...Hi, again, Cliff,<br /><br />Who cares if you can/cannot forecast the occasional thunderstorm during Seattle's PEAK GREAT WEATHER MONTHS?<br /><br />I don't.<br /><br />I love this weather. Who would not? <br /><br />Summer has arrived in the Puget Sound area. Nothing finer on the face of the earth.<br /><br />You people do a GREAT JOB. The forecasts are much improved despite the nay-sayers. Really. <br /><br />I just wish that you forecasters would miss more often when lousy, cool June weather is forecast. Unfortunately, you usually nail the cool weather. LOL.<br /><br />I very much enjoy your blog. Every line of it.<br /><br />Thank you,<br />RodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-2334583100258665272012-07-11T17:05:32.538-07:002012-07-11T17:05:32.538-07:00Drew, the earth is moving faster in its orbit duri...Drew, the earth is moving faster in its orbit during our winter solstice as compared to our summer solstice.<br /><br />The earth's orbit is not completely symmetrical around the sun. During northern summer, we're actually further away from the sun than during northern winter.<br /><br />Another side-effect of this is that, while the winter solstice is the "shortest day" of the year, the progression of sunrise times and sunset times does not reverse on that day. Our earliest sunset occurs roughly December 12, but the sunrises continue to get later until around early January.Westside guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07171473508596734156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-73912264003783863332012-07-11T12:29:58.584-07:002012-07-11T12:29:58.584-07:00In response to the question asking about the haze,...In response to the question asking about the haze, there is an msnbc article on it today http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/10/12666655-from-russia-with-love-siberian-wildfire-smoke-means-rosy-sunsets-in-seattle?liteThompsonizedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13502838763091809393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-89039511376563764562012-07-11T11:49:48.436-07:002012-07-11T11:49:48.436-07:00I have an unrelated question and I tout I'd tu...I have an unrelated question and I tout I'd turn to this group for help:<br />Why is it that there are 16 hours of daylight during the summer solstice (based on 6/20/12 sunrise at 5:11 sunset 9:11) and 15 hours and 34 min of night at the winter solstice (based on 12/22/11 sunrise at 7:54 am and sunset at 4:20 pm)? What is the reason for the inconsistency? In my search I've read a little about axial tilt and refraction but don't know if I'm barking up the wrong tree. Thanks in advance for any help pointing towards further understanding!Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10442850894545188766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-42025472924319994052012-07-11T01:51:30.039-07:002012-07-11T01:51:30.039-07:00I'm wondering about the murk in the air too. I...I'm wondering about the murk in the air too. It is definitely humid (for western Cascadia in the summer) but it is more than that. Thinking either the Asian smoke or general smoke-haze-particulate from points south and east in the intermountain west, given all the fires (now including SE Oregon) and the southerly (even Monsoonal) wind pattern that brought up the moisture and enabled the T-storms.<br /><br />(Agree also with the person who said the comment security thingy is getting almost impossible to read.)danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410265751559651429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-17594404807951941862012-07-11T00:28:45.705-07:002012-07-11T00:28:45.705-07:00"Forecasting convection is very difficult for..."Forecasting convection is very difficult for many reasons. Thunderstorm initiation is complex and highly sensitive to the 3D conditions of the atmosphere." I really to this statement of yours. Very informative and interesting idea.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.inquirer.net/philippine-typhoon-news" title="Philippine Storm" rel="nofollow">Philippine Storm</a>applehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171864721425671813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-73824234156242084762012-07-10T22:41:56.300-07:002012-07-10T22:41:56.300-07:00Hey Cliff,
Check out this video my brother captu...Hey Cliff, <br /><br />Check out this video my brother captured. Unaltered, real time footage. Absolutely amazing...<br /><br /><br /> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVLnkcH70Kgsmokejumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358322512081660205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-84029282531559803402012-07-10T21:54:45.108-07:002012-07-10T21:54:45.108-07:00Was waiting for these to come by in the mtns! Inst...Was waiting for these to come by in the mtns! Instead they parked right outside the yard. We live in Edgewood, just above SR 410 and 167. Nice light show for puget sound! <br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uis61ptuUCQ&list=UUe0I5tKP6kM6vnYacug2jgQ&index=1&feature=plcp/" rel="nofollow">Light Show</a><br /><br />Captured from deck as storm tried to approach!LMeyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02685347962425599461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-83323924821905154692012-07-10T21:38:42.662-07:002012-07-10T21:38:42.662-07:00I noticed those evening clouds, and thought they m...I noticed those evening clouds, and thought they might signify a thunderstorms were on their way. Then I forgot about it and went to bed. Dreamt I was outdoors walking around and a thunderstorm was coming in, one with lots more thunder/lightning than the one or two strikes that the normal wimpy Northwest t-storms have.<br /><br />Eventually, the thunder woke me up and I realized it wasn't just a dream. Good light show even if it did disturb my sleep.David B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12945730624561307494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-77617059937269415952012-07-10T16:01:12.848-07:002012-07-10T16:01:12.848-07:00My kids were camping in the backyard while I lay a...My kids were camping in the backyard while I lay awake fearful. I said to DH, it's raining! He says, dont' worry, the tent is under a tree. Great...my kids are under a tree in a lightning storm! The lightning was a few miles away but still. Only one kid even heard it.TVNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13009390667773034005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-51658758057023331442012-07-10T14:53:26.954-07:002012-07-10T14:53:26.954-07:00I was right at the right spot for once! I was in ...I was right at the right spot for once! I was in my sailboat anchored off Blake Island when a thunderstorm rolled through about 1:00 AM Monday. Not quite as intense as the Eastern variety, but there was a goodly amount of thunder and lightnig and about a 5-minute cloudburst. Not sure that the rig was grounded, I put a chain oround the mast dangling over the side and into the water as the storm began, just in case I got a direct hit, but according to my counts the lightning was 2-3miles away.Anselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13835758313287462921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-55286575288387158582012-07-10T14:03:38.254-07:002012-07-10T14:03:38.254-07:00Cliff, is the ground-level haziness seen yesterday...Cliff, is the ground-level haziness seen yesterday and today in Seattle (probably elsewhere too) at least partly comprised of the Asian forest fire smoke? To me it has a slightly "smoky" look.Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13400304542602805292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-83937395531849289922012-07-10T10:46:20.059-07:002012-07-10T10:46:20.059-07:00duh...should have added the pic link https://twitt...duh...should have added the pic link https://twitter.com/#!/thompsonized/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FprQSl1C6Thompsonizedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13502838763091809393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-16425030284303145642012-07-10T09:53:12.764-07:002012-07-10T09:53:12.764-07:00Got a once in a lifetime shot out my front window ...Got a once in a lifetime shot out my front window in Eburg from this storm.....it only took me 41 years and it was like a Jordan McDonald's commercial....in the house, through the front window, finger at the ready, good intuition, just in the right spot, a lot of luck with a cell phone!Thompsonizedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13502838763091809393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-50306193466015504402012-07-09T23:14:35.387-07:002012-07-09T23:14:35.387-07:00A brillant thunderstorm line rolled thru Yakima ar...A brillant thunderstorm line rolled thru Yakima around 8pm. Boarderline severe. Nice shelf cloud, dust gust front. A few strong cloud to ground strikes, but it was non stop cloud to cloud.<br /><br />I was hoping for a strike total?<br /><br />Anyway, it was weird because Sunday was the hottest day we've had in a couple years. 107 in Ellensburg and a few hrs later that. And it poured rain. Yakima reported 0.00 but power was knocked out to the entire city. No way could that be correct.smokejumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358322512081660205noreply@blogger.com