7Stormteam Weather Blog

Last Week in July: Expect More Rain…

As we dry out form some of the hefty downpours this Sunday, we had a small taste of what’s in store for this work week.  Of course we’re used to some afternoon popcorn variety storms, but we’ll see quite a bit more starting overnight Sunday and into Monday.  You can point the blame at a very active northern branch of the jet stream, not typical for this time of year.

The jet stream does a couple things for our weather.  Roughly defines, it’s a fast moving river of air at about 30,000 feet above out heads, where jets fly.  This current helps to separate very cold and dry blobs of air from very warm and moist blobs of air.  Secondly, it helps to steer any upper level “storm impulses” in our “ocean” of air above our heads.  These counter-clockwise spins in the upper levels usually interact with the cold and warm air at the surface to form low pressure systems with associated cold fronts and warm fronts.  This time of year, the sun’s most direct rays beating down in the northern hemisphere, so we tend to heat more of the country and the jet stream is pushed north into Canada.  Thanks to prevailing weather patterns and stubborn flow, the jet stream will be making its appearance pretty far south into the lower Mississippi Valley this week.

The dipping jet in our case will not bring that cool and dry air to us, but it will steer those upper level impulses just to our north just about daily for the majority of our work week.  These will try to spark low pressure systems at the surface, and that means more rain for us.  Rounds of showers and storms will form south of the jet and the mid level flow will push them from a general north to south direction from Arkansas into Louisiana.  Expect off and on stormy activity through primarily the daylight hours Monday-Thursday.  We happen to be sitting in a prime area for these storms to advance, feeding off our warm moist air as the progress southward.

Any of the storms that do form will contain very hefty downpours that can and likely will cause some flooding to poor drainage areas and low lying locations as well.  Some storms will produce some gusty winds as well, which could cause damage.  Expect frequent lightning in many of the storms and of course any storm has the potential to produce damaging hail.  The threat for a tornado is minimal, but cannot be ruled out due to the changing wind speed and direction from the surface of the earth to the top of “weather producing” sky, known as the tropopause.

To prepare for the wet weather, an umbrella or rain coat would be a great idea.  It wouldn’t hurt to check the yard for toys and objects that could float away or be blown away.  Just be aware of the weather for the next few days, and keep it on KPLC for the latest weather updates.

-Meteorologist Jeff Jumper

Crepuscular Rays in Lake Arthur

(Image Courtesy: Theresa Lyons)

It’s a scene we see from time to time during the hazy months of summer here across Southwest Louisiana.  The sun rises or sets in along a golden horizon with a few low clouds gliding across summer sky.  The picture above is from Theresa Lyons, our weather watcher in Lake Arthur.  Notice the rays of sunlight beaming from the gaps in the clouds.  These are known as crepuscular rays, pronounced craw-pahs-q-lar.  I’ve read the word comes from the Latin, meaning around the twilight hours.  Let’s first talk about the skies before we get into the crepuscular rays.

The white light we see from the sun is contains each and every color.  The particles and haze in the atmosphere will scatter (bounce back to space) the colors in the white light that we don’t see.  When the sun is along the horizon, it has to travel though much more atmosphere to get to our eyes than it does when it’s directly overhead; therefore, the more atmosphere the sun’s light travels through, the more light that gets scattered by the sky.  So at sunrise or sunset, we see lots of reds, oranges, and yellows.  The blues, greens and purples get bounced back into space before they can reach our eyes.  During the day, all colors but blue are bounced by the atmosphere thanks to the higher angle of the sun. 

So back to our crepuscular rays.  The sun rise is common time to see these rays appear, hence the name given to them meaning twilight.  A good set-up for these rays to appear is having a nice haze in the morning with a few puffy cumulus clouds.  The haze acts to scatter the light even more which helps us to see the light.  Throw in some clouds, and there you have it.  Areas blocked by clouds are void of light and areas the sun light can move through look like rays!  These rays are actually parallel like the double yellow lines on the roadway, but because of our perception of them, the look to start at the sun and spread out in the sky.  Think of looking down a long road and those double yellow lines look like they are merging into one, even though you know they aren’t!  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  This picture got about 400 out of me.  If you want more information, check out the following links.  Enjoy the beauty around you!  Thanks for the picture Theresa!

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gl)/guides/mtr/opt/air/crp.rxml

http://www.demark.org/essays/CrepuscularRays.html

-Meteorologist Jeff Jumper

Another Day, More Thunderstorms.

Be sure to check the weather page of kplctv.com to get the latest radar views. Here is a direct link to the radar page with radar images for each parish in our viewing area. We just had the first severe thunderstorm warning issued for the threat of winds in excess of 58 mph, this will be the primary threat today from all storms the develop. Hail is also possible but not to be as bad of a problem. Of course lots of lightning will accompany these storms so be very careful. Remember if you can hear thunder you are close enough to be struck by lightning!

Neat Apollo 11 Website!!!

On July 16, 1969 at 8:32 am CDT Apollo 11 launched from Launch Pad 39A at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was the mission that went to the moon; with Neil Armstrong becoming the first man on the moon when he climbed out of the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969 at 9:56 pm CDT. There is a website where you can follow the Apollo 11 mission all the way through Neil Armstrong’s historic step. This site has the actual audio transmissions between Apollo 11 and Mission Control in Houston. Plus there are hundreds of restored photos and never before seen videos on this site as well. This is part of the John F Kennedy Presidiental Library. Here is the site: http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/

"NO GO" for the launch of Endeavour

Looks like the the launch will be delayed yet again due to thunderstorms too close to Launch Pad 39A. They will try again tomorrow or Wednesday... Here is the latest radar image, the storm north of Cape Canaveral was the problem...

Follow the launch of shuttle Endeavour

If you have an intrest in space flight you may find this link intresting: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/launch_blog.html This is a blog of the activities leading up to the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. It has many intresting tidbits about the launch process, especially if you are unfamiliar with everything that happens leading up to launch. The launch is scheduled for 5:51 pm central time. Weather could be an issue today, the launch was postponed due to thunderstorms in the area yesterday (Sunday). This is a view from 7 StormVision HD as of 3:15, storms are currently developing to the south of Cape Canaveral and moving to the east. If the launch were scheduled for right now weather woudl likely not be an issue; we will wait and see what happens at 5:51 pm. The launch pad is located right along the coastline east of Titusville. If you want to watch a live feed of NASA TV which has all the launch proceedings and will have the launch live you can find the link here: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/ click on the link that says"Primary RealPlayer Stream" at the top of the page... -- Wade

It's a small world afterall...

After almost a year at KPLC, I took my first vacation home to Pennsylvania.  My parents live in a town called Trucksville, a small town outside of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton metro, in an area called the “Back Mountain”.  Yeah sounds kind of weird when I write that, but it is still considered home to me.  Regardless, that’s just some background information on what I am about to write.

I accepted the job at KPLC in July 2008 and had about a month until I moved in August of 2008.  I spent much of that time visiting family and friends and saying goodbye as I prepared for my 1,400 mile trek to Lake Charles, Louisiana; admittedly a town I had never heard of before July last year.  (I only learned about Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport through the Dallas Area School System.  Yes, another odd note for SWLA, I lived near an area named Dallas, PA which was actually established before the more widely known and more populated Dallas, TX).  After packing the U-haul, it was the last night with family and friends and we decided to head out to a popular pizza place about ten minutes from my parents' house in a town called Harveys Lake.  Harveys Lake itself is the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania; surrounded by boathouses almost all the way along its shoreline.  As I traveled down highway 415 in the back seat of my parents' car, I gazed out the passenger’s side window, absorbing the scenery for one last time.  Everything was in place, as it had been for nearly twenty years of my life.  Then as we were about to arrive at Grotto Pizza, I caught a quick glimpse of a sign that shocked me.  I thought I saw “Welcome to Lake Charles”.  It was high atop a shed that houses electrical bucket trucks along the side of the road, in a fenced in area.  I clearly thought it was just my mind playing tricks.  I shook it off as just being nostalgic of leaving home and hunger creeping into my thoughts.

So finally, as I said earlier, I took my first trip home since September last year.  I made it a point to travel route 415 and check out that sign again to see if I was crazy or seeing things.  Sure enough, my mind was not playing tricks on me.  To prove it I took a picture.  It was a sign that clear as day said “Welcome to Lake Charles”.  It sits atop a roadway sign from Texas reading “Farm Road 39”.  Now how it got there, I don’t know, I can only speculate.  How long has it been there?  Still, I have no answer.  I must have traveled past that sign fifty times in my life and never noticed it.  My best guess is that living in such a wonderful country as we do; the sign may have made its way back to Pennsylvania after a hurricane.  I say it’s a wonderful country because in times of disaster people from all over this nation reach out and lend a helping hand, no matter where they live or how far they may travel.  I would assume the electric company sent a crew to SWLA during Hurricane Rita in 2005.  While working long hours, they may have found this sign laying on the roadway or in a pile of debris and brought it with them to remind them of the time and effort put into getting Lake Charles back on its feet.  Of course, as I said it’s only speculation and my imagination running wild.  I hope no one feels angered by this discovery of a missing sign.  I just find it amazing how no matter where you go, you’d be amazed to find how interconnected we are in this small world!  Maybe it was there for me, welcoming me to my new home and helping me realize that no matter how far I may travel, home is only as far away as I want it to be.

 

-Meteorologist Jeff Jumper

It's back; El Nino has returned...

Here is the latest from NOAA on the return of El Nino... El Niño Arrives; Expected to Persist through Winter 2009-10 NOAA scientists today announced the arrival of El Niño, a climate phenomenon with a significant influence on global weather, ocean conditions and marine fisheries. El Niño, the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters, occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months. NOAA expects this El Niño to continue developing during the next several months, with further strengthening possible. The event is expected to last through winter 2009-10. “Advanced climate science allows us to alert industries, governments and emergency managers about the weather conditions El Niño may bring so these can be factored into decision-making and ultimately protect life, property and the economy,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. El Niño’s impacts depend on a variety of factors, such as intensity and extent of ocean warming, and the time of year. Contrary to popular belief, not all effects are negative. On the positive side, El Niño can help to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. In the United States, it typically brings beneficial winter precipitation to the arid Southwest, less wintry weather across the North, and a reduced risk of Florida wildfires. El Niño’s negative impacts have included damaging winter storms in California and increased storminess across the southern United States. Some past El Niño’s have also produced severe flooding and mudslides in Central and South America, and drought in Indonesia. An El Niño event may significantly diminish ocean productivity off the west coast by limiting weather patterns that cause upwelling, or nutrient circulation in the ocean. These nutrients are the foundation of a vibrant marine food web and could negatively impact food sources for several types of birds, fish and marine mammals. In its monthly El Niño diagnostics discussion today, scientists with the NOAA National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center noted weekly eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures were at least 1.0 degree C above average at the end of June. The most recent El Niño occurred in 2006. El Niño includes weaker trade winds, increased rainfall over the central tropical Pacific, and decreased rainfall in Indonesia. These vast rainfall patterns in the tropics are responsible for many of El Niño’s global effects on weather patterns. NOAA will continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation in the tropical Pacific, and will provide more detailed information on possible Atlantic hurricane impacts in its updated Seasonal Hurricane Outlook scheduled for release on August 6, 2009. NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov. On the Web: Forecast: http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.html NOAA’s El Niño site: http://www.elnino.noaa.gov

Rain back with a vengeance

The rain began yesterday evening but the heaviest of it is happening this morning. A storm over DeQuincy has dumped upwards of 5 inches of rain so far since 3 am Tuesday morning and it is still pouring. A flood advisory has been posted for the southern part of Beauregard parish. That means that there could be some minor flooding issues especially along roadways. Northern parts of Acadia parish have already gotten more than 6 inches and are also under a flood advisory this morning.

All of this rain is because of a front just north of Lake Charles. This front will be slowing moving southward bringing numerous showers and thunderstorms through the day. Most of the rain should come to an end later tonight with just a few lingering showers.

Stay tuned for the latest.