no frost yet this month

so far as i know, winnipeg hasn't had frost yet this fall. and it's highly unlikely that we'll freeze tonight. so september will have been (unofficially) frost-free in winnipeg.

i wonder: when was the last time that happened?

an excerpt

this is an excerpt from an area forecast discussion from the lake charles, la weather office.

by the way, the weather office there survived hurricane rita. :)

DISCUSSION...FIRST EXPERIENCE IN A HURRICANE FOR THIS ILLINOIS BOY. PARTICULARLY MISSING HOME RIGHT NOW. SOUNDS AS IF A 747 IS SITTING UPON THE ROOF REVVING ITS ENGINES. WIND EQUIPMENT HAS FAILED HERE BUT BELIEVE WE ARE NOW SEEING WINDS POSSIBLY IN A 70 TO 90 KNOT RANGE HERE AT LAKE CHARLES. NOS GAUGE AT CALCASIEU PASS REPORTED A
GUST TO 112 MPH...AND THEN FAILED. ANTICIPATING A 15 TO 20 FOOT STORM SURGE AND UNSURE AT THIS TIME IF THIS WILL IMPACT US. WAS JUST INFORMED THAT AIRPORT TERMINAL NEXT TO OFFICE HAS COLLAPSED. JUST HAD A BRIEF COMMS FAILURE BUT NOW BACK UP. UNFORTUNATELY...SINCE WE ARE NOW IN A DIAL BACKUP MODE...WILL BE UNABLE TO UPDATE GRIDS AND WILL TURN THIS RESPONSIBILITY OVER TO OUR CURRENT BACKUP OFFICE SAN ANTONIO. WE WILL MAINTAIN SHORT-TERM RESPONSIBILITY...NOWCASTS... HLS`S...TAFS...WARNINGS...AS LONG AS WE HOLD TOGETHER.

ten thousand

this morning, u of m weather central received its ten thousandth visitor. i put the counter there when i first posted the page, and i was the first visitor.

of course, i imagine i gave the site probably 2000 of those hits--it's the page my browser is set to at home.

but over the past few months, with more publicity and more met students at the u of m, the numbers have increased quite rapdly.

so thank you. thank you for visiting the site, for giving me reason to continue doing what i do. if you have any suggestions for the site, don't forget to email me!

rita and columns

rita is scary. her pressure is lower than katrina's was. 898 mb. 3rd strongest in recorded history in the atlantic. yikes. maximum sustained winds of 145 knots.

i'll be watching it closely. i'm on another night shift tonight.

on another note, i've been asked to write a semi-regular column for canadian sight, a canadian weather discussion board. my first column is in the (edit: it's now in its own columns forum.) it still may change--and if it does, i'll try to remember to fix the link above.

the most distressing part about the column? i have to use capitals! darned shift key! ;)

my pictures

holy smokes, i uploaded them a long time ago, but i don't think i gave the address.

they're at this link.

more virtual chasing

spc has just issued a tornado watch for northern texas and southern oklahoma. this is a good situation--surface low, upper impulse coming in, juicy dewpoints, dryline, warm front/outflow boundary.

once the forecasts are done you know what i'll be watching!

the beginning of autumn

i look out my window and see a gray sky, a few raindrops, and generally a brisk, drab day--something i got used to while growing up on the we(s)t coast. but now, having lived on the prairies for 9 years, i'm not so used to it anymore.

it means the end of storm chasing season. it means the beginning of cooler weather. it means the onset of that s-word for precipitation is nigh.

but of course, it also means a new beginning. (i know, this term is usually attributed to spring, but hear me out.) a chance for growth of meteorological knowledge; a chance to refine the chasing course and the synoptic met course; a chance to appreciate weather other than severe thunderstorms.

actually, thinking about it, i get more and more antsy. we're at the beginning of a bunch of seasons with diverse weather--especially the shoulder seasons of autumn and spring. freezing rain, ice pellets, heavy snow, blizzards, you name it.

it doesn't get the blood pumping as much as thunderstorms, but i'll take it.

good news

pictures are now ready. email me and i'll give you the link.

sorry, chasers from the trip only.

auto obs

more and more stations across canada are going automatic.

today, 4 from across our region went fully automatic. lynn lake, nipawin, norway house, and north battleford.

here's the last ob from lynn lake.

METAR CYYL 010900Z 02008G15KT 7SM -RA OVC007 07/07 A2987 RMK SC8 FAREWELL FROM YYL FINAL MANNED OBS SLP130

that's sad.

i wish i were wrong

so katrina weakened and moved a bit farther east. the "serious potential that i don't even want to think about" unfortunately happened anyhow.

this was a fascinating storm which will be talked about for years, maybe centuries.

but right now isn't the time to talk about it meteorologically. i'm so very concerned for the people of the gulf coast who are homeless and will remain so for months. at least.

if you can, please give something to a charity working down there. i recommend the american red cross.

it makes me think, though. toronto got hammered with a (relatively) minor rainstorm last month, acoompanied by hail and the occasional tornado. and it was fairly chaotic for a few hours there. (nothing like the big easy is now, of course.) but what would happen if a major storm, say, a tornado-bearing storm, were to smoke winnipeg? would you be ready?