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976

Your Local Weather / Grand Forks Weather

« on: August 20, 2011, 11:14:38 PM »

Since I'll be living here for the next few years, I figured I might as well make a thread following local weather here in Grand Forks.

Current Conditions
Currently, the temperature is sitting at 59 degrees, with light winds out of the west. Scattered cloud cover. Some scattered showers were noted about 60 miles to the southwest, moving slowly eastward. I'm expecting temps to reach 50, with a few scattered regions in the upper 40s.

Forecast

• Tomorrow, highs will be in the upper 70s, with lows reaching the mid 50s. No rain anticipated.
• Monday, the first day of school for some here, will have temps in the mid 80s for highs and lows sitting in the low to mid 60s. Small chance of thunderstorms.
• Tuesday, the heat comes, with highs in the lower 90s, and lows in the lower 60s. No rain anticipated.
• Wednesday, highs go back to the upper 70s to lower 80s. Lows reach the mid to upper 50s.
• Long term, no severe weather is anticipated.

Climatology

• The high today was 77, 3 below the usual average. The record for today is 100, reached in 1976.
  
• The low last night was 50, 4 degrees below average. The record for today is 32, set in 2004.
• Trace amounts of precipitation were recorded today, which is a tenth of an inch below average for today. Month to day, we have 3.04 inches, about 1.19 inches above average. For the year, we have had 15.57 inches, 1.37 inches above average.
• The highest wind speed recorded today was out of the NW at 31 mph. The gust today was 40 mph, out of the NW.

I'll try to do something like this every day, since I'm planning to archive a year of weather in Grand Forks since I'm a meteorology major on campus.

977

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Irene

« on: August 20, 2011, 07:59:24 PM »

This is NOT an Emily Situation by any means based on the model i've looked at so far....

Never said it was. Sorry if I made it seem that way  .

I don't think we have enough data yet to say this is gonna be a big, major storm yet, though, because it's actual track still could mess it up in the long run. If she interacts with land severely enough, she make just impact the United States as a tropical storm. If she makes it into the Gulf of Mexico...well, that's a different story. But for now, I'm hesitant to get excited for any major hurricane. A strong tropical storm or weak hurricane is a real possibility, however.

978

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Irene

« on: August 20, 2011, 07:31:20 PM »

Auto-updating maps and wind speed probabilities from the National Hurricane Center. If Irene can avoid major interaction with land as it passes over the Caribbean, then it has a pretty strong chance of developing into a hurricane (possibly a second time) before nearing Florida. Speaking of which, the Sunshine State is right in the middle of the cone of uncertainty, so unless we have another Emily situation, it looks like residents will likely see something from this storm.

Storm Track:


Wind Probabilities:

979

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Central 2011

« on: August 19, 2011, 11:42:31 PM »

Yeah, you've got a point, and I should have kept that in mind. But still, the fact that we're this far into the name list this early in the season (early being used loosely) is worth noting.

980

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Central 2011

« on: August 19, 2011, 11:33:20 PM »

I've been looking at the 2005 hurricane records. Although things looked pretty pathetic compared to that infamous season a few weeks ago, we are now uncomfortably close to the pace of the 2005 season. It all relies on little Jose, who looks like it may have some development trouble as it encounters some dry air in its path.

Jose, in 2005, formed on August 22nd. That's four days away. Although chances are slim in my opinion, if that occurs, we will have officially tied the 2005 pace for at least one day. Our K storm will have to have formed the next day to match Katrina's formation on the 23rd.

Nothing to get excited about, as a lot can change pattern wise, but it is worth noting. Who knows? We may jump into the Greek Alphabet again this year. O_O

981

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: August 19, 2011, 10:31:54 PM »

The good news: I'm here in North Dakota and the temperature has not gotten above 85. The stiff breeze also helps.

The bad news: the stuff I was shipping to Grand Forks got placed on the wrong truck, and now my stuff is sitting somewhere in Bismarck. And I won't get it until Monday, so until then, I can't move into my dorm room.

Best part of the day: first day the dorms were open, and two kids have already been busted for alcohol possession. You can probably guess what they came to college for. 

982

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Central 2011

« on: August 19, 2011, 09:13:04 AM »

If by analogs you mean tracks, Wikipedia is the site to go to. They have track maps for every recorded tropical system from the 1851 hurricane season onward. I use it a lot to compare tracks.

Looking at the latest NHC analysis, #3 looks to be Irence and #2 looks to turn into Jose. Assuming Jose forms in the next couple days (which is a bit aggressive), it is worth noting that the "J" storm from last year formed on September 12th.

983

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: August 15, 2011, 07:40:33 PM »

I'll be out for the next few days as I move out of my home in South Carolina and into my new one: a cramped dorm room in Grand Forks, North Dakota, which I will call home for the next 4.5-5 years. I'll hopefully be back on the forums by Saturday.

984

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: August 15, 2011, 07:00:51 PM »

I find Canadians more friendlier and courteous than Americans. I'm guessing they are more laid back, but they often say thank you or "excuse me" if you bump into them, or hello as you pass by. Then again here in NJ, hospitality is not our strong point :/

NJ doesn't have a strong point in anything. Period.

I like the New Jersey accent. Does that count for something?

985

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: August 15, 2011, 10:40:13 AM »

Guess I am a closed-minded American but I think you are taking that a little far. Americans are certainly rude sometimes but having been around Europe I can tell you it is not limited to here. Out of curiosity you say we are not statistically the greatest country in the world. What are you basing that on? Income? Health? Education? Its ignorant to think that we are superior to all other countries but it is also ignorant to ignore our importance in the world. If you look at all of Americas aspects I think its hard to argue that we are one of the greatest and most powerful countries in the world. That is no excuse to treat others like dirt but shouldn't be ignored either. When a major disaster occurs in the world who is the first country people look to? We are a great country and a great society. We certainly have our faults but so does the rest of the world.

I never said that we were a terrible rotten country with nothing to be proud of, nor am I trying to say that we have zero influence in the world. I'm not arguing that point. I'm merely trying to say that we, as a society, are a bit more rude than, say, the society of Japan, or France, or Germany. I just find it embarrassing what unbelievably poor manners I've seen when travelling around somewhere within the United States, and how polite and well-mannered many of the Europeans I have met have been (this is across 10 different countries). Are there exceptions to this? Certainly. But I'm saying in general.

986

Questions, Comments, Suggestions / Re: What I'm enjoying here...

« on: August 15, 2011, 02:38:38 AM »

I'm hoping to make a career out of meteorology, so it's a small wonder I take part in those discussions so avidly at times. Yes, Eric is right. Thank you all for those inquisitive and pleasant discussions.

987

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: August 15, 2011, 02:35:56 AM »

The closed-minded American won't admit it, but we are probably one of the more rude countries out there. Sure, we think that since we're the United States, that we're the greatest country in the world (and face it, statistically, we're not), that our attitude and our way of living is the best out there. For those of you who have the opportunity to travel, please do. For those of you who do, keep doing it. You'll realize how hospitable and pleasant foreigners are, and if you get them talking, how much they'll sometimes laugh at the smugness of the United States. I'm heading to Australia next semester for a few months, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have the same attitude towards the U.S. that some European folks have.

988

General Discussion / Re: NWS website redesign

« on: August 15, 2011, 12:32:02 AM »

I personally think it looks better than today's design. The new one has a bit more class, and it looks more public friendly than the current version.

989

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: August 14, 2011, 07:48:32 PM »

First that stage collapse in...Canada, was it? And now this. Both caused by the same thing. I agree with Patrick; if the concert directors had taken a look at what happened in Canada, they would have been smart and called off the concert.

990

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: August 14, 2011, 03:08:17 PM »

86 and partly cloudy. Under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 PM tonight.