Those terrible step children

Someone asked a question yesterday about El Nino/La Nina yesterday and whether the ocean cooling had an effect on our summer. The latest data shows the ocean temperatures are normal to a bit above normal right now. Usually the warming or cooling of Pacific Ocean has nothing to do with any other season. This season may have been effected by La Nina. We did see below normal temperatures over the summer months and certainly a bit of a drought the last couple of weeks. Right now it doesn't look like the La Nina will have an effect on the winter. But of course time will tell.

Getting very interesting

Quite frankly it's been a really quiet summer for us and I really haven't been really motivated to blog about it. But...here we go with something pretty decent to talk about. Ike! How does this effect us? We'll maybe I've motioned it before here that a hurricane can really hold up our weather pattern and I think that could be a viable scenario for this weekend. Friday Ike is headed for south Texas.
As this storm makes landfall it holds together with a ton of moisture
It joins forces with a land based system and I'm interested in further development for us as we could see some heavy rains south of us through Sunday. You can still see some pretty warm temperatures for us as well as the 850 mb temperatures are about +12 Celsius.

Fay's here and she's got company

Sometimes I look at a web site where this local kook analyzes local media. He loves to pick on weather people and insisted last week that the scattered storms on Saturday night were a result of TS Fay. After I spit out Diet Coke all over my computer screen and cleaned up the mess I thought a little about how many times we have actually seen tropical moisture here and quite frankly I can count the number of times we have seen significant precipitation on one hand. That could be changing though. I not hoping for a hurricane to make landfall, especially in Louisiana but if this scenario does occur we could have a better chance of this moisture getting caught in a system moving in from the west. Here's an interesting look at the possibilities:

Here is the 0Z Wednesday or Tuesday at 8:00pm. It has Gustav making landfall sometime early on Tuesday morning. You can see a surface front to the north so there's a small chance this moisture could get caught up in it and head our direction. Let's hope that's the case. Here is the other interesting scenario the models are creating. Hanna moves over Cuba late Tuesday and looks to be on track for the Gulf.

Amazing video of windsurfer

You have got to see this video a windsurfer gets blown into a building. The amazing part is that the guy is going to be okay.

Are the leaves changing early

I had a viewer call and ask this question about leaves changing colors early. While I have noticed this in some trees this fall I don't really think you can blame it on the weather. The scientific reason for change has always been the daylight hours getting shorter. So maybe some trees have their clocks on a little earlier schedule this year. Anyway, here's site that makes for some more interesting reading on the topic.

Happy Birthday NASA

July 29
NASA Established to Explore Space
On this day in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created by an act of Congress. NASA was formed to learn about and explore outer space. Since its creation, NASA has sent astronauts to the moon and satellites to the farthest planets of our solar system. NASA has also sent robotic rovers to Mars and over a hundred Shuttle missions into orbit around the Earth. NASA is currently working with other countries to build a space station.

This Day In History>>1958 NASA Established.............The United States Congress passes legislation formally inaugurating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The establishment of NASA was a sign that the United States was committed to winning the "space race" against the Soviets. In October 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the world, and particularly the American public, by launching the first satellite into orbit around the earth. Called Sputnik, the small spacecraft was an embarrassment to the United States, which prided itself on its leadership in the field of technology. Sputnik also provided the Soviets with an important propaganda advantage in terms of reaching out to underdeveloped Third World nations that were looking for scientific and technological assistance. The initial U.S. response to this challenge was not altogether successful. The Eisenhower administration passed the National Defense Education Act that provided federal funds for improving the teaching of science and mathematics in America's public schools. In December 1957, the United States attempted to launch its own satellite. Named Vanguard, the "spaceship" got a few feet off the ground and then blew up. America had better luck with Explorer I a month later--the satellite completed its orbit of the earth. It was obvious to many U.S. officials, though, that a more organized and focused effort was needed. In July 1958, Congress passed legislation establishing NASA as the coordinating body of the U.S. space program. During the next decade, NASA became synonymous with the space race. In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States should set a goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Eight years and billions of dollars later, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module Eagle and onto the moon's surface on July 20, 1969. The great space race was over.

Summer is tough sometimes...

Believe it or not summer forecasts can be a tough call for several reasons. The fast moving wind patterns of the jet stream virtually disappear during the mid summer months. The forecast mathematical models want to bring in weather systems but many times these impulses get 'washed out' before they arrive. This week was a perfect example of forecasting 'gone bad'. The models want to bring cooler less humid air in next week and within two forecast runs the cool air is gone! So here's what the thinking is right now.

A couple of things to observe here. While we are going to see warm air here at +20 C very warm air to the west!
Warmer air on the move with an area of +25 C moving through Illinois
A trough sits across the area Tuesday afternoon with very warm air
Still warm but it looks like a bit of relief coming by late week.
A bit cooler with 850mb temperatures dropping to around +14 C