Messages

856

Questions, Comments, Suggestions / Sloooooooooooooow tonight

« on: September 02, 2011, 02:54:11 AM »

Is it just me, or is the forum really running as slow as molasses tonight?  It takes every page a much longer time to load than usual, and posting is next to impossible.  It took me three attempts (thank goodness I was able to copy and paste) just a single reply to a message a few minutes ago.

857

Hurricane Central / Re: Tropical Depression 13

« on: September 02, 2011, 02:45:22 AM »

Actually, I have to say that it appears that The Weather Channel jumped the gun regarding T.D. 13, too.

I noticed that some time before 7:30 pm EDT, a red banner appeared talking about the tropical depression forming, yet the National Hurricane Center had not yet released any information to the public about it on their website, and TWC even didn't post any coordinates or other data about the depression until the 8:00 advisory came out.  The on-screen maps still labeled the system as a "tropical wave," but the red banner said "tropical depression #13 had formed" for over half an hour before the first advisory from the NHC came out.

Talk about not setting a good example... 

858

Hurricane Central / Re: Tropical Depression 13

« on: September 02, 2011, 02:42:21 AM »

Yeah, there are a ton of rules I have to follow to make sure no one receives "special treatment" compared to anyone else.  The confusion and drama you saw here are precisely why these rules are in effect.

Very well said.    Those rules are in effect for a reason, and I'm glad they're there.  Imagine the chaos that would exist otherwise.  In fact, without these rules, there wouldn't be any reason to have the NHC as the one sole authorized voice for tropical cyclones in the northern Atlantic and northeastern Pacific.

If anyone could make their own assumptions, classifications, and statements, I can't imagine the disorder that would result.

859

Hurricane Central / Re: Tropical Depression 13

« on: September 02, 2011, 02:39:34 AM »

For starters, you don't need to wait for the NHC to make an announcement. That announcement comes from the Hurricane Hunters. All the NHC does for we, the people, is give us a glorified press release.

I'm sure skywarnal and the local stations get the same weather info the NHC gets from the Hurricane Hunters. Many local meteorologists report directly what the HHs observe..and there's nothing that says you can't do that. So if the HHs say a depression has formed, many stations say so and wait on the NHC to give future tracks and forecasts. It certainly happens in my neck of the woods.

Not quite.  The Hurricane Hunters make their observations and report back to the NHS.  They don't, however, have the power or the authority to make a unilateral declaration.  Legally, only the National Hurricane Center has the right to make the final determination and announcement based on the data returned from the Hurricane Hunters, and from other observations, too.

Media and others may report data directly from the Hurricane Hunters, but they can not say that a depression (or anything else) exists until the National Hurricane Center says so.  They can certainly speculate, but they can not actually overrule the NHS without basically saying that the only internationally-approved meteorological organization to monitor and forecast tropical cyclones in the northern Atlantic is wrong, and I, a meteorologist at WXYZ, am a better authority.

Any meteorologist who would do so would be taking a major risk, both professionally and legally.

860

Hurricane Central / Re: Tropical Depression 13

« on: September 02, 2011, 02:35:13 AM »

Anyway, this statement from NHC in their 11 PM EDT advisory about this depression is really disturbing to me:

RAINFALL...THE DEPRESSION IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN
ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 15 INCHES OVER SOUTHERN LOUISIANA...SOUTHERN
MISSISSIPPI...AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA THROUGH SUNDAY...WITH POSSIBLE
ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 20 INCHES.

That's not a drought-buster... that's catastrophic.  And we all know what can happen when New Orleans gets just a little too much water. 

861

General Discussion / Not a weather poem, but my favorite

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:31:20 AM »

The café

She walked into a smoky café
That happened to be along her way
Upon the stage a band was playing
The band leader was slightly graying

She ordered a coffee, black and hot
It was too bitter; she liked it not
She paid the waiter and took a seat
The band had trouble keeping a beat

Her neighbor asked if she had a light
The flame pierced the darkness of the night
In the corner sat a lone young man
He wore a hat and had a deep tan

He sat there, staring deep into space,
As if he was in another place
She felt sorry for him, all alone,
And guessed his feelings were like her own

The band played a different song, still jazz
She looked down at the ring that she has
From an old flame, now long-forgotten
Bitter aftertaste, truly rotten

She noticed the young man’s eyes were green,
The brightest color she’d ever seen
She tried hard to read his expression,
And she saw he was full of tension

She was mesmerized, captivated
And did what she had contemplated
She got up, walked over to the man
If anyone can help, then she can

She asked gently if she could sit down
The man said “yes,” although with a frown
Silent once more, he stared at his hand,
While their neighbors applauded the band

She asked, “Have you ever been in love?”
By this time, the man had had enough
He asked, “So, you don’t remember me?”
He moved closer, sitting knee-to-knee

She felt uneasy and quite afraid
He spoke again, though his nerves were frayed
“That’s the ring I gave you as a gift…
A rotten waste of money,” he quipped

It was him – she just couldn’t believe
She just wanted to get up and leave
He said, “Sit down, please, let’s have a talk,
Or, if you’d prefer, we’ll take a walk”

He asked why she left ten years ago
She couldn’t believe he didn’t know
“I was pregnant and, well, scared,” she cried,
“But after two days, the baby died”

She sobbed, “I blamed you for everything,”
And then, slowly, she took off her ring
“I loved you, Johnny, without a doubt,
But all I wanted was to get out”

“I loved you, too; I’d have loved the kid,”
He held up a hand, his tears he hid
“But why,” he asked, “couldn’t you tell me?”
“That’s simply the way it had to be”

She slowly stood up and walked away
There was nothing else for her to say
She left the ring and walked out the door
He tossed it with disgust on the floor

The band now played a happier song
He still didn’t know what he did wrong
Softly, he ordered another beer,
Dreaming, as always, that she’d stayed near

17 September 2009

862

General Discussion / A poem about raindrops

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:29:19 AM »

* * *

I listen to the raindrops
And the whispers through the trees
I feel the joy of sunshine
And the darkness speaks to me

The starshine sends its greetings
As the clouds go floating by
I'm glad to hear the thunder
And the singing of a stream

The birds, they sing a chorus
The air so bright and fragrant
Living in a care-free world
And I've just been invited

What is it that you're saying?
And what am I meant to know?
Please teach me how to listen
And show me where I should go

15 May 2007

863

General Discussion / A poem about the sunrise

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:28:24 AM »

Watching the sun rise

Sitting in my room, watching the sun rise
While up above a lone bird flies
And the sky slowly changes its color
A cloud drifts behind another
The dawning of a new day commences
Eschewing any pretenses
I am simply a passive spectator
Not a giver, but a taker
The stars, candles of the night, disappear
How they once seemed to be so near
The purple of the sky gives way to blue
The grass sprinkles under its dew
Before me is a metamorphosis
Of a world that seems so boundless
Nature performs in all of its splendour
With a presence warm and tender
Magical changes happen with such ease
And the wind whispers a fresh breeze
The dark shadows move about on the ground
By a cloud the sun has been crowned
The horizon starts to glow a bright red
Another day has just ended
The lantern of the day sinks out of view
The sky takes on a darker hue
All the nighttime candles are lit once more
And the Milky Way starts to pour
Sitting in my room, watching the sun set
Once again, I'm in nature's debt

5 June 2008

864

General Discussion / Assorted Weather Poems

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:27:27 AM »

Clouds

What shapes do I see in the clouds,
Forming amongst these airborne shrouds?
Covering the sky, floating past
Each one more unique than the last

Nature's rich imagination:
An expression of elation
Creativity unsurpassed
The sky: a canvas deep and vast

As if molding a lump of clay,
Nature takes some time out to play
The wind sets the clouds into place
As thick as stone, as light as lace

29 June 2008

865

Hurricane Central / Re: TD-13 (possible-to-be Lee)

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:24:57 AM »

No, it wasn't worth this drama, but I can tell you something. I was excited to do this for once, I have been excited with everything I do related to weather, but guess what? That was crushed. 

There are legitimate excitements, and there are excitements that just confuse the out of everyone else.  This case is a perfect example of the latter.

I don't understand what you wanted to accomplish.  Any one of us could have said that there was going to be a depression in the Gulf of Mexico, but we know that that call goes to the National Hurricane Center, not to us.  It could have even been a very educated assumption, researched with all the experience in the world and all the tools of the trade, but it's still not anyone's call but the NHC's.  People can certainly make the argument that the NHC made a mistake, and they even review each season after it's finished to catch and correct any mistakes that they themselves made.  (That's how Andrew in 1992 got upgraded to a category 5 hurricane.)

But to say that there's a tropical cyclone before the NHC makes that statement is jumping the gun, and needlessly so.  If you want to be the one to officially make such a call, then you should do what you need to do to work at the NHC.  If you do so, however, it's necessary to keep in mind that making a call prematurely, just for the sake of making that call, would be terribly inappropriate.

866

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:20:18 AM »

When I was in middle school meteorology was the field I wanted to study in, but high school quickly did a 180 on that.  I still love math and science, but they hated me.

That's the story of my life, too! 

Except that my feelings about math are exactly the same as its feelings about me. 

867

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: September 02, 2011, 12:19:37 AM »

I am studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma and am, so far, very excited about it. For those of you who may not know, The National Weather Center is located on the campus, and it is both school-operated and government-operated. Therefore, because of the location of The National Weather Center on campus, this university has a very good meteorology and research department. In addition, from looking at and hearing about past weather events, Norman gets all kinds of weather: tornadoes in the spring (something they specialize in), excessive heat in the summer, and winter storms in the winter.

That sounds very exciting, and the perfect place to study meteorology!  Best of luck!

868

Hurricane Central / Re: TD-13 (possible-to-be Lee)

« on: September 01, 2011, 10:17:12 PM »

This was a one time and first time accomplishment for me. All I knew was that it had formed just as everyone else like the local stations that were reporting on it did. We had no clue about it until the actual advisory. Won't happen again.

What kind of "accomplishment" is this?  It was obvious to everyone who paid attention, as suggested by the NHC, that a depression was extremely likely to form.  However, it's not official until the NHC releases a statement.  Your comments before the fact made it seem like you were eager beyond all belief to "break the news" to us before the official source.  And for what?  Was it worth this drama?

869

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: September 01, 2011, 02:07:15 PM »

Whatever happened to Jonetta Jones. I liked her.

She was seriously injured in a car accident several years ago and, sadly, will not be returning to work.

870

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: August 31, 2011, 12:17:23 AM »

Sounds like everything's going well for you!