Monday, June 6th, marks the 72nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France during World War II and the weather forecast for that historic event makes for quite an interesting story in what turned out to be a pivotal moment in world history. Years of detailed planning went into the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, but success hinged on one element that no military commander could control — the weather. Defying his colleagues, Captain James Martin Stagg advised General Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower to postpone the invasion of Normandy by one day from June 5th to June 6th because of uncertain weather conditions in a weather forecast that was arguably the most important of all-time.
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The Global Forecast System (GFS) computer forecast model produced by NOAA is the foundation for all of its weather and climate models including those used for hurricane prediction and other high-impact types of weather. The operational version of this forecast model has just undergone a significant upgrade in the never-ending attempt to improve accuracy. This upgrade is the latest of several model improvements that are to be rolled out by NOAA in the next several months thanks to increased supercomputing power acquired earlier this year.
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While weather played an important role in the Titanic disaster just over one hundred years ago, it was an even more direct cause of the Hindenburg airship disaster 79 years ago this Friday – at least that is the prevailing belief. On May 6th, 1937, while the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg was attempting to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, a flame appeared on the outer cover of the rear of the ship. Within 34 seconds, the entire airship was consumed by fire and the golden age of airship travel was over.
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As we approach the 104th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic (April 15, 1912), I thought I’d revisit the overall weather pattern that played a key role in the tragedy. By studying weather maps and written records from that time period, some definitive conclusions can be drawn about the weather during the trip across the Atlantic, and there are also some interesting new theories.
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Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster which occurred on January 28, 1986, when the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. STS-51-L was the 25th American Space Shuttle Program flight since the program began in 1981. It was also the first mission to have a civilian on board, American teacher Christa McAuliffe. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:39 EST (16:39 UTC). According to the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, weather conditions were likely one of the factors that contributed to the incident. Tests conducted during the subsequent investigation showed that O-rings were much less resilient at lower temperatures, but the extreme cold at the Kennedy Space Center was not the only weather factor involved with this tragedy.
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The “Blizzard of 2016” – some preliminary Mid-Atlantic snowfall reports (inches):
1) BWI Airport, MD - 29.2 (RECORD)
2) Philly Airport, PA - 22.4 (4th highest)
3) Dulles Airport, VA - 29.3 (2nd highest)
4) Central Park, NY - 26.8 (2nd highest)
5) Harrisburg, PA - 34.0 (RECORD)
6) Allentown, PA - 31.9 (RECORD)
7) JFK Airport, NY - 30.5 (RECORD)
8) LGA Airport, NY - 27.9 (RECORD)
9) King of Prussia, PA - 26.1
10) Chantilly, VA - 30.0
Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C. has officially come in with a highly suspicious reading of 17.8 inches and it is being investigated as it looks an underestimate compared to surrounding areas. This is not the first measurement problem at DCA. Last year, the temperature sensor at DCA was replaced as it was found to have been reporting erroneously high readings for years. By the way, 17.8 inches would make it the 4th biggest snowstorm ever at DCA.
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Top ten Philly area snowstorms
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Morale was low, hope for winning the war was diminishing, and the cause for independence was fading in December of 1776. The Continental Army led by George Washington was thinning in numbers after many battles lost to the British. December began with lots of rain and muddy travel conditions for the men which did not help with their spirits. After retreating through New Jersey, they set up camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where the army was met with very cold weather that led to plenty of ice on the Delaware River. All in all, things were not looking good for Washington's army.
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