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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Weather forecasters have been waiting for this for a long, long time. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) Series is the nation’s next generation of geostationary weather satellites. There are four satellites in the series (GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U) with six primary instruments on each that will help to improve weather forecasting around the world by providing advanced imaging with faster coverage and increased spatial resolution, real-time mapping of lightning activity, and improved monitoring of solar activity. NASA is aiming to launch the $1.2 billion GOES-R satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday, November 19th at 5:42PM EST via an Atlas V rocket. The original launch date was set for November 4th, but delays occurred due to the threat in Florida by Hurricane Matthew.
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The World Series begins tonight in Cleveland, Ohio and the Indians and Cubs will be playing Game 1 under chilly conditions, but not nearly as cold as it has been in the past. Temperatures during tonight’s game are likely to drop from the middle 40’s into the lower 40’s, but winds should be relatively light – generally under 10 mph – meaning wind chills should not be a major factor. Game 2 on Wednesday night should be played under slightly milder conditions, but also with an increase in the threat for some shower activity. The World Series shifts to Chicago, Illinois on Friday night where temperatures are likely to be in the 50's for Game 3 - the first World Series game there since 1945.
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On September 21, 1938, one of the most destructive and powerful hurricanes in recorded history struck Long Island and Southern New England. It was the first major hurricane to strike New England since the year 1869. The storm developed near the Cape Verde Islands on September 9, tracking across the Atlantic and up the Eastern Seaboard. The storm hit Long Island and Southern Connecticut on September 21, moving at a forward speed of 47 mph! Tomorrow marks the 78th anniversary of storm known as "The Great New England Hurricane of 1938" as well as "The Long Island Express" and the "Yankee Clipper". With no warning, the powerful category 3 hurricane (previously a category 5) slammed into Long Island and southern New England causing approximately 682 deaths and massive devastation to coastal cities and became the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century. Little media attention was given to the powerful hurricane while it was out at sea as Europe was on the brink of war and the overriding story of the time. There was no advanced meteorological technology such as radar or satellite imagery to warn of the storm’s approach.
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At the end of the 19th century, America was beaming with confidence and feeling bigger and stronger than ever before. The city of Galveston, Texas was booming with a population of 37,000 residents on the east end of Galveston Island which runs about thirty miles in length and anywhere from one and a half to three miles in width. Its position on the harbor of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of trade and the biggest city in Texas in the year 1900. A quarter of a century earlier, a nearby town was destroyed by a powerful hurricane and this object lesson was heeded by many Galveston residents and talks of a seawall to protect the city were quite prevalent. However, no seawall was built and sand dunes along the shore were actually cut down to fill low areas in the city, removing what little barrier there was to the Gulf of Mexico. This proved to be a fatal mistake for the city of Galveston in what nobody could foresee happening to this magical place that seemed destined to become the New York of the Gulf of Mexico.
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August 25, 1939 was the official release date of "The Wizard of Oz" which was the first movie to depict an authentic looking tornado using improbable “1930’s style” special effects. Through the decades, this all-time classic has inspired movie-goers and “weather weenies” alike with the scene of a twister lifting Dorothy’s home into the sky over rural Kansas farm land.
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It was shortly after noon on August 24th in the year 79 A.D. and Mount Vesuvius sent a tall cloud of steam and ash high up into the atmosphere. The ancient Roman town of Pompeii near modern day Naples was soon covered in complete darkness and the thickness of the falling debris increased by about 6 to 8 inches per hour. The rocks which comprised the debris were up to 3 inches in diameter and fell with a speed of up to 100 miles/hour. This first phase of the eruption led to casualties primarily caused by roof collapses. After 12 hours of continuous explosive activity, the second phase of the eruption began and it was characterized by substantial flow of lava down the sloping Mount Vesuvius and this caused additional deaths and destruction. In fact, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius spewed 1.5 million tons of lava per second into Pompeii and surrounding towns. In a short period of time, two thousand people were killed, the small towns of Herculaneum, Oplonti and Stabiae were destroyed, and Pompeii was changed forever.
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It may take awhile, but NOAA’s main global computer forecast model – the Global Forecast System (GFS) – is going to get a major upgrade. The GFS model has often scored below other worldwide forecast models - such as the European - in terms of accuracy skill scores. As a result, NOAA is undergoing significant steps to build towards the best global forecast model and one such step – the selection of a new dynamic core which is the engine of a numerical weather prediction model – was unveiled in recent days and it is expected to be implemented in about three years or so.
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The forecast for the high temperature in Death Valley, California for the next couple of days is a rather pedestrian 108 degrees or so. One hundred and three years ago – on July 10th, 1913 - the weather observer at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley recorded a high temperature of 134 degrees. This is the highest air temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth, but it didn’t get that distinction until just recently. The Greenland Ranch weather station was located across the street from what is known today as the Furnace Creek Ranch and it is about 180 feet below sea level.
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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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