The Scott Base webcam doesn't show a picture yet, but, there are a couple of Penguin Cams that are up:
Monday, April 23, 2007
All good things must come to an end (click on for animation)
April 23, 2007
1:30 PM
Antarctica
There is a 'settling' of the dynamics of the top ice and once again the 'hotter' environment surrounding Antarctica is intruding. The 'jet stream' is slower and returning to the simplicity of vortex flow around the cold ice (click on). Noted is the absence of wind over southwest area of WAIS which has increased temperature, same as last week (click on). There is a far stronger 'on shore' wind than last week when the heavier and denser frigid air of the Blue Ice literally 'water falled' over the Peninsula. To clearly illustrate the 'intrusion' of the heat from the surrounding tropospheric conditions I'll start with the warmest of the areas, an island which was subzero celcius last week but is above zero this week. That island is just off the northern reaches of the peninsula.
Base Orcadas, Antarctica
Local Time:1:40 PM GST
Elevation :: 20 ft / 6 m
Temperature :: 35 °F / 2 °C
Conditions :: Light Rain
Humidity :: 96%
Dew Point :: 34 °F / 1 °C
Wind :: 21 mph / 33 km/h / from the NW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: 29.24 in / 990 hPa (Rising)
Visibility :: 2.0 miles / 3.0 kilometers
UV :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Mostly Cloudy 492 ft / 150 m Mostly Cloudy 2953 ft / 900 m
(Above Ground Level)
At any rate the peninsula is warming and there is an encroaching heat intrusion at the southeast corner of Eastern Antarctica.
Dome C
Local Time :: 3:37 PM GMT
Elevation :: 10761 ft / 3280 m
Temperature :: -76 °F / -60 °C
Wind :: 12 mph / 18 km/h / from the WSW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Falling)
Aviation
Flight Rule :: NA
Wind Speed :: 12 mph / 18 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 240° (WSW)
Ceiling :: -
Vostok, Antarctica
Elevation :: 11220 ft / 3420 m
Temperature :: -60 °F / -51 °C
Conditions :: Low Drifting Snow
Humidity :: 45%
Dew Point :: -67 °F / -55 °C
Wind :: 16 mph / 26 km/h /from the SSW
Wind Gust :: -
Pressure :: in / hPa (Falling)
Visibility :: 12.0 miles / 20.0 kilometers
UV :: 0 out of 16
Aviation
Flight Rule :: VFR ()
Wind Speed :: 16 mph / 26 km/h /
Wind Dir :: 200° (SSW)
Ceiling :: 100000 ft / 100000 m
Indeed. Circumstances are still pleasant but worrisome.
Do I see a pattern here?
April 23, 2007
1430z
UNISYS water vapor satellite of the north and west hemisphere.
Not carved in stone, as the sun moves up the face of Earth to it's highest latitude there is going to be other manifestations in weather because of 'heat' build up under the CO2.
We are moving through tornado season and that will be followed by a hurricane season that might very well be as calm as last year. The reason being is the available humidity of the troposphere is moving up in elevation and not necessarily available for vortex formation over hotter oceans. With that upward movement of humidity (water vapor) the hurricanes that will result will be from the vortices themselves and not accumulated 'heat' on the ground. The heat on the very surface of Earth will result in that higher evaporation and drought.
But, for now the 'weather system' pattern is fairly obvious and we are looking at a repeat of last week only at a little higher latitude because of the progressing solar radiation.
By LINDA A. JOHNSONAssociated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - April showers aren't necessarily bringing flowers.
Instead, garden centers, nursery growers and landscapers across the country say heavy rains, unseasonably cold weather and snowstorms this month have been killing business, with the cold and mud preventing consumers from buying flowers, shrubs and vegetable seedlings.
East Coast garden center owners are using adjectives from "miserable" to "horrific" to describe the situation, and are hoping a warm, sunny weekend in many areas will help turn things around.
Spring planting has been delayed a couple of weeks for farmers who can't get equipment in soggy fields, and winter crops such as asparagus that should be getting harvested have not been.
"Right now, everybody's just waiting till it dries out," said Ben Casella of the New Jersey Farm Bureau.
Garden centers and wholesale nurseries from southern New England to South Carolina and through the Midwest say business is off - 50 percent at some locations. Meanwhile, fuel costs for heating greenhouses are up dramatically.
"This week, we have done about 10 percent of the business we should do," said George Lucas, owner of flower wholesaler Lucas Greenhouses in Monroeville, N.J.
TRENTON, N.J. - April showers aren't necessarily bringing flowers.
Instead, garden centers, nursery growers and landscapers across the country say heavy rains, unseasonably cold weather and snowstorms this month have been killing business, with the cold and mud preventing consumers from buying flowers, shrubs and vegetable seedlings.
East Coast garden center owners are using adjectives from "miserable" to "horrific" to describe the situation, and are hoping a warm, sunny weekend in many areas will help turn things around.
Spring planting has been delayed a couple of weeks for farmers who can't get equipment in soggy fields, and winter crops such as asparagus that should be getting harvested have not been.
"Right now, everybody's just waiting till it dries out," said Ben Casella of the New Jersey Farm Bureau.
Garden centers and wholesale nurseries from southern New England to South Carolina and through the Midwest say business is off - 50 percent at some locations. Meanwhile, fuel costs for heating greenhouses are up dramatically.
"This week, we have done about 10 percent of the business we should do," said George Lucas, owner of flower wholesaler Lucas Greenhouses in Monroeville, N.J.
article continues at link above
Tornadoes blast Texas Panhandle
April 21, 2007
Tulia, Texas
Photo of tornado damage in downtown Tulia
CACTUS – Downed power lines, flattened houses and roads littered with debris kept most residents from returning home Sunday in this rural Panhandle town hit hardest by an apparent group of tornadoes.
Officials said at least 14 people were injured, including one critically, during severe storms late Saturday that knocked out power to about 20,000 customers in the region.
About 50 people were still unaccounted for in Cactus on Sunday, Moore County Judge Rowdy Rhoades said. He believes all of them are safe and likely evacuated after hearing tornado sirens in this mostly poor city, home of the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant raided by federal immigration officials in December.
"There are no fatalities – you can bank on that," Rhoades said.
Town leaders held an emergency meeting Sunday evening and issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew to "cut back on any type of looting," Rhoades said.
Officials said at least 14 people were injured, including one critically, during severe storms late Saturday that knocked out power to about 20,000 customers in the region.
About 50 people were still unaccounted for in Cactus on Sunday, Moore County Judge Rowdy Rhoades said. He believes all of them are safe and likely evacuated after hearing tornado sirens in this mostly poor city, home of the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant raided by federal immigration officials in December.
"There are no fatalities – you can bank on that," Rhoades said.
Town leaders held an emergency meeting Sunday evening and issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew to "cut back on any type of looting," Rhoades said.
Tornadoes In Texas Knock Out Power
April 21, 2007
Texas Panhandle, Texas
Texas supercell that later went on to produce at least 3 known Torndoes
At Least 14 Injured In Texas Tornadoes
April 21, 2007
Amarillo, Texas
Photographer states :: Some of the lightning action in the Vega TX area on April 21,2007 on the 1st storm chase of the year as lightning strikes over the Wind Farm n.©Gene Blevins/LA DailyNews©
This 'weather system' was obviously dangerous by the fact it has mulitple layers to it's weather front. The cloud on the ground seems similar to a 'roll cloud' which can also cause dust storms when not accompanied by rain. None of this is good news, except, we might be getting a better feel for early prediction when a weather system like this only results in injuries and not deaths. These patterns won't stop until the CO2 levels come down, so until then people have to be aware of their weather systems as they move through.
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park is:
Elevation :: 33 feet / 10 meters
Temperature :: 41 F / 5 C
Conditions :: Overcast
Humidity :: 81%
Dew Point :: 36 F / 2 C
Wind :: 9 mph / 15 km/h / 4.1 m/s from the NNW
Pressure :: 29.69 inches / 1005 hPa (Falling)
Windchill :: 35 F / 2 C
Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
Ultraviolet :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Mostly Cloudy 3800 feet / 1158 meters
Overcast 4500 feet / 1371 meters
(Above ground level)
end
Elevation :: 33 feet / 10 meters
Temperature :: 41 F / 5 C
Conditions :: Overcast
Humidity :: 81%
Dew Point :: 36 F / 2 C
Wind :: 9 mph / 15 km/h / 4.1 m/s from the NNW
Pressure :: 29.69 inches / 1005 hPa (Falling)
Windchill :: 35 F / 2 C
Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
Ultraviolet :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: Mostly Cloudy 3800 feet / 1158 meters
Overcast 4500 feet / 1371 meters
(Above ground level)
end
The Brady Argument
There has to be noted a movement thwarted by this administration and considering the composition of the Supreme Court could continue to be an issue. I alluded to it earlier and want to state it clearly here before moving on.
The 'idea' that every manufactured product, be it gun or not, is a good product to market for the sake of making money or having variety within our society is nonsense.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a society completely limiting among it's populous what is an acceptable gun and what is not. That was the spirit of the Assault Weapon Ban and it can't be ignored. Americans can demand legislation to prohibit certain weapons when they don't make sense for a society. I'll go as so far as to say, a society such as the USA could prohibit the manufacture of certain weapons known to be a problem in other societies as well when they are known to be manufacturered and/or shipped from the USA or it's territories/provinces.
That spirit if you will has been asserted in lawsuits with some success by survivors of such tragedies as Virginia Tech. Where weapons were readily available that serve no purpose to society. In other words, where a manufactured weapon such as an assault rifle is sold to people in the USA and it serves no purpose but to kill large numbers of people/animals, then the manufacturer by virtue of that activity to a market that intends to use it for that reason, is liable for it's actions and business decisions.
We need to do selectively ban weapons in this society both from manufacture and sale, but, with a hostile administration that simply cannot be accomplished.
by Anton Foek, Special to Corp
WatchOctober 25th, 2005
cartoon by Khalil Bendib
cartoon by Khalil Bendib
Every 15 minutes, someone in Brazil dies from a gunshot wound, according to the United Nations. Yet the world’s first ever referendum on banning civilian guns in this country failed to pass this past Sunday.
Instead the proposed ban went down to a resounding defeat with almost two thirds of the population voting no to the question: "Should the sale of all types of guns and ammunition be banned nationwide for everyone except the police and the military?"
Earlier this year, support for the ban had been running as high as 80 percent, but in recent weeks, the pro-gun lobby -- arms makers and various activist groups -- played on fears about the crime rate and the public swung dramatically against 
the proposal. The vote also represented the public’s lack of confidence in security forces -- mired in corruption and inefficiency -- to protect the populace. According to the BBC, middle class men were most likely to oppose the ban, while women and the poor favored it.
the proposal. The vote also represented the public’s lack of confidence in security forces -- mired in corruption and inefficiency -- to protect the populace. According to the BBC, middle class men were most likely to oppose the ban, while women and the poor favored it.For the millions of Brazilians who voted to end gun sales, the defeat was a blow to extensive efforts to curb an epidemic of murder that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the past 20 years. Many see this violence as a hidden civil war fueled by a proliferation of small arms -- an estimated 17.5 million guns -- with about 90 percent in civilian hands and half of them illegal. More than 36,000 died last year alone, twice the toll in the early 1990s.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)