Anyways, this is the other portion of weather journals for the severe weather outbreak that occurred on 04/30/2010 and 05/01/2010, this entry of course, is for the latter of the two dates. I am assuming that you all read my previous weather journal entry, yes? Since that is the case, and I am assuming it is, then I do not need to set-up the scenes leading up to the events of 05/01/2010. I’ve posted photos below! I’m going to post video link(s) later.

Like I do every day, I looked at the convective outlooks that the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and I found that they had issued a high risk for severe weather for the state of Arkansas. This was the second day in a row that the SPC had issued a high risk for severe weather for Arkansas (seen below). At the time that I had checked the convective outlooks, about 10:30 am, there were no watches for the Arkansas area. I decided I would go outside and rollerblade, which I do when I do my running cross-training. As soon as I rolled outside, I felt like I had been swimming! The humidity outside was extreme! I decided to keep my rollerblading short and I returned to my dorm room as soon as possible. Upon my return, I turned on The Weather Channel (TWC) right as Dr. Greg Forbes was giving his TOR:CON Forecast; Arkansas received a 9/10, which was the highest rating that he has ever given since he developed the TOR:CON Forecast! Prior to seeing the TOR:CON Forecast, I knew that today was going to be a busy day in terms of severe weather, but the forecast just reinforced my beliefs.

Convective outlook for 05/01/2010. Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).

Fast-forward to the early afternoon. The SPC issued a Tornado Watch for Arkansas but this was a different watch. It is called a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS). This is not commonly issued by the SPC but in the event that one is issued, you can expect a lot of tornadic activity. By the mid to late afternoon, supercells began to explode across western portions of Arkansas! The atmosphere was perfect for supercell and tornadogenesis! Well, it was in the late afternoon and the early evening when the storms began to strengthen and affect Conway, which is where I was at the time. I was watching the radar and looking out the window, when I noticed that there was a supercell that was headed right for Conway! To make matters worse, (worse for everyone else. I was loving it!) the supercell had a tornado warning on it! As it moved into Faulkner county,  one of my roommates was about to leave to do something with his fraternity, when I stopped him and told him that he should probably take cover. As soon as I mentioned that, the tornado sirens started to sound! I ran downstairs and outside to see what I could see. I do not advise you doing this! It is very dangerous and I do so because I am a trained storm spotter and I relay the information in to the National Weather Service (NWS).

With the first supercell, there was loads of rain that came with the storm and this is where the storm became problematic. There was a reported funnel cloud between Mayflower and Conway and it was headed toward downtown Conway, which was where I was at! I told my friends who were around me to take cover and I texted my other friends the same message. I continued to stay outside, trying to see if I could catch anything on my camera and tell the NWS. (Un)Fortunately, there was no tornado and we were safe.

After the supercell passed, I went to look at the radar and saw that there was another supercell that was headed toward Conway. I estimated that it would be here in roughly 30 to 40 minutes (I was right by the way). My friend Ryan Parker called me and told me that he was going to head over to my dorm before the next storm hit. By the time he had arrived, you could see three different supercells! The first was the one that had already passed over Conway. The second was a beautiful one that looked like it was headed to Conway but wasn’t. The third one was the second storm that hit Conway and I watched it compose itself right before my eyes! As I watched the storm form, I began to see what is called a mesocyclone develop within the storm! As the storm became more organized, I told Ryan as well as some other friends, that the NWS is going to put a warning on this one in the next few minutes. Lo and behold, the tornado sirens started to go off as soon as the NWS issued the warning! I told my friends to go inside because the weather was getting very ominous. They decided to stay because their logic was that they will know it is time for them to take cover whenever I decide to run and take cover. This was not the best logic since it takes a lot of me to run when it comes to the weather. Some people decided to go inside when two cloud to ground lightning strikes struck close to us. As the mesocyclone passed over us, we all watched in awe while standing close to the doors in the event that something were to happen where we needed to go indoors and take cover. Once the mesocyclone passed, Ryan and I went up to one of my friends rooms on the fourth floor and were able to look out the window and watch the mesocyclone go off into the distance. Basically, it was amazing!

That was the last tornadic cell that passed over Conway. There was another severe thunderstorm that passed over Conway, which produced pea-sized hail! It only lasted for two minutes but it was awesome! And that was pretty much my weather journal for the 05/01/2010 severe weather event. I have some photos that I took down below! I’m going to post video link(s) later. Enjoy!

This was the first supercell that affected Conway. It was tornadic!

This was the second supercell that affected Conway. It was tornadic as well!

This was the second supercell. It looked like it was headed to Conway but it wasn't. It was still in the process of developing.

This might have been a thunderstorm that was backbuilding but I'm not entirely sure. If so, it really did not amount to much.

This was the start of the mesocyclone formation. If you look closely, you might be able to see the wall cloud down toward the tree tops.

The mesocyclone is becoming more organized!

The mesocyclone continues to become more organized!

The mesocyclone has really organized itself. If there was a wall cloud at this time, it would be located below the tree tops.

This is the base of the supercell.

Now, you will have to pardon my grammar in this post. It is finals week and so I am more or less a bit rushed. But that’s alright, I enjoy talking about the weather! Also, I have pictures that I took at the bottom of the page as well as a link to one of the videos that I shot that night.

Cloud-to-Ground lightning strike at the University of Arkansas. My friend Danielle happened to capture this photo.

Now we can begin.

Like all systems, this one started out in the Western portions of the United States and began to make its way across the country. Now, I check the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Storm Prediction Center (SPC) website every day, many times a day. The SPC issued what is called a convective outlook, which is a categorical as well as probability forecast for convective severe storms in the continental United States for the next eight days (it gets much more specific for the nearest three days). Well, the SPC had issued a slight risk for severe weather for Arkansas on that Friday. I decided I would keep an eye on it and see if something would develop. The next day, I check the convective outlooks again and saw that the SPC had issued a moderate risk for severe weather for that Friday as well as a slight risk for severe weather on that Saturday. At this point I really began to check out the convective outlooks. Obviously, the SPC issues more slight risks rather than moderate risks so naturally this peaked my attention. I continued to monitor the SPC as the day wore on.

By the time Friday arrived, the SPC had continued to issue a moderate risk for severe weather for Friday but they also added Saturday to that moderate risk for severe weather in Arkansas. I turned on The Weather Channel, which is probably one of my favorite channels of all time, and decided to see what Dr. Greg Forbes was saying. Dr. Forbes worked with Dr. Fujita on developing the Fujita Scale, which is used to determine the intensity of a tornado. He also worked on developing the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which is a major improvement of the Fujita Scale. I explain in a later post. Anyways, I need to get back to the story at hand. I was checking out what Dr. Forbes was saying and he gave a TOR:CON prediction of 6/10, or 60%. TOR:CON, or Tornado Condition Index,  “is a prediction, on a scale of zero to ten, of the likelihood of a tornado occurring within 50 miles of a location. It is exclusive to The Weather Channel” (The Weather Channel). Now, these values were relatively high, so I decided that I should definitely keep an eye on the sky and keep everyone informed about the possibility of danger. At about 2:15 pm, I had to run to another building on campus to turn a paper in. As soon as I stepped outside, it felt like I had been swimming! It was extremely humid outside! And worse yet, it was sunny so the air was heated around me. Heat and humidity = not comfortable. As I trudged on, I remembered that the sunlight is only making the potential for severe weather increase. This is because the heat is soaked into the surroundings, such as the ground, and it is radiated back off which allows for more dynamic lifting and the such to occur, increasing the instability, i.e. storms will be more severe. When I check the convective outlooks for again, the SPC had increased the severe threat: now there was a high risk for severe weather today for Arkansas. The moderate risk for severe weather still remained in effect for Saturday. At this point, I really began to check out the radars and I began to see some cells forming as well as a line of storms that marked the start of the front. As the day wore on, the National Weather Service began to issue watches and warnings. Faulkner county, which is where I was, was under a tornado watch. Around 6:00 pm, the National Weather Service began to issue tornado warnings but none of the warnings were for Faulkner. Instead, they were up northwest of me, about a county over. There was a report of a tornado. With me being a super crazy weather geek, I really wanted to go and chase this storm but I decided against it because it was going to be dark soon and it is not wise to do a night chase for obvious reasons. Anyways, I let this one go but I kept an eye on the rest of the system. More tornado warnings were issued, including Pulaski county, which is where I am from. By the way, the university I attend is in Conway. There was a reports of a funnel cloud as well as a tornado that was clipping the southern edge of Little Rock! I decided to text some of my friends who would be in the path of this storm so they would know. The storm passed by Little Rock but another one was on the way. It was actually following the exact same path! So, I did the same thing. Like the previous storm, this one passed. I can’t remember which of the two storms it was, but on one of them, you could see the debris cloud on the radar! Once these two storms passed, the National Weather Service placed Faulkner county under a severe thunderstorm watch! I was really happy but at the same time I was upset because I realized that this was going to be the only action that I personally saw, at least for today (foreshadowing? I think so!). With the severe thunderstorm warning freshly issued by the National Weather Service, I decided to run outside to try to take some pictures and film.

Pause for a second and let me say my Public Safety Announcement for the day: Do not go outside during a severe thunderstorm. You can get hurt easily or even die. Dangerous lighting, large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and flooding are all possible during a severe thunderstorm. Each one of these can seriously hurt or even kill you. I went outside, foolishly I might add, to film for my records, for television stations, and to relay information back to the National Weather Service. I am a trained spotter and so I know what I am doing.Anyways, back to the story.

I went outside and started to film. The lightning was amazing and the thunder was just as impressive. It wasn’t raining hard but I still had my umbrella. The winds were fluctuating but you could still feel them and it was a bit of a nuisance because it was trying to knock my umbrella out of my hands. As I was filming, there was a beautiful cloud-to-ground lightning strike! And it was roughly 500 meters away! Then the thunder boomed across campus! It was another 20 to 30 minutes before I decided to go back inside because the storm had moved on. I could still see the flashes of lightning off in the distance as the storms moved away. For the rest of the night, the weather had calmed down, well, for the most part. There were still a few severe thunderstorms in the state. I went to my friend’s dorm and we watched “Jurassic Park.” I finally got back to my dorm at around 3 am but while I was walking back, I noticed some more lightning off in the distance and I knew that it was going to be an active weekend.

This concludes my weather journal entry for 04/30/2010. It is the first part of two entries about the severe weather outbreak in Arkansas on 04/30/2010 and 05/01/2010

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A6XMeIlo4Q

This was another cloud-to-ground lightning strike at UofA. My friend Danielle took this one.

Lightning flashes through the clouds

Lightning illuminates the sky and it almost looks like it's daytime.

Basically, the set-up is as follows: The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) at the National Weather Center on the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma does what is called a convective outlook. It basically tells the probability of severe weather in given locations. You can get further into the details but I will not do so given that it is almost 2 am! Anyways, the convective outlooks for 04/23/2010 for Arkansas have been set as moderate risk for severe weather. Usually, when it comes to severe weather, the SPC issues slight risks, so this is a big deal to me. We shall see how this goes tomorrow. I will go more into detail about the mechanics of the system after I have had some sleep. It’s been a long day and I have to present something over earthquakes tomorrow. But be prepared for an active day as well as evening tomorrow, or today if you want to get technical here. Good night!

So, I have started a new series of articles called “Josh Bregy’s Cloud of the Month!” I might change is to “Josh Bregy’s Cloud of the Week!” or “Josh Bregy’s Cloud of the Fortnight!” It really just depend on time and things of that nature. But anyways I do believe it’s time to introduce this month’s, or week or fortnight.

And the winner is…

Can I get a drumroll please? My cloud choice is…. CIRRUS CLOUDS!!!!

Cirrus unicus. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Wow! What a great choice! These clouds are very pretty and can be quite relaxing. Believe me, if I had a nickel for every time I felt relaxed when lying underneath a sky full of cirrus clouds I would be a rich man. Well, maybe not in this economy but that’s an entirely different story. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, cirrus clouds! Some might imagine these clouds as the brushstrokes of a painter while others would think of them as similar to a horse’s tail. Fun fact: Another name for cirrus clouds is “Mare Tails” or “Mare Tail Clouds.” Pretty nifty, right? Well, let’s move on down to the next section in the article.

Dude, you got some cirrus height!

These thin and wispy clouds are a part of a group of high-level clouds. Just as the name implies, the clouds form and are found high in the sky. In order to be a part of this exclusive group, one I like to refer to as classy clouds, the clouds must form above 6,000-7,000m (20,000-23,000ft) in the atmosphere. If you have already read my article over the layers of the atmosphere, then you should know that at an altitude such as this, the temperatures are very cold! If you haven’t read my article over the layers of the atmosphere, then I suggest you do so immediately. Since they do so much for you like protecting you from solar winds and the like, the least you could do is get to know each layer personally. Believe me, each of them are wonderful. Anyways, back to cirrus clouds. So, since they form at really high altitudes you can reason that they are made up of what? If you aren’t sure, then you should continue reading.

Made of what?

Okay, so I didn’t mean to be a meteorological tease but it keeps the ratings high. But the correct answer is ice crystals! I’m glad you all knew that. At the altitudes that cirrus clouds form at, the temperatures are really low which leads the supercooled water to freeze almost every time. That’s pretty cool, wouldn’t you say? Additionally, they can stem from other clouds only if the clouds have gone through glaciation (water droplets turn into ice crystals. It’s like magic, except it’s one of the wonders of weather).

Hooked On Phonics never prepared you for this

So, what do cirrus clouds indicate? Great question! When seen individually, or when very few are in the sky, it just means that it’s a lovely day today. Likewise, when seen in large amounts, or a herd as I like to call it (don’t call them that because people will look at you in a funny way), they can indicate that a storm system is approaching along with cool and fair weather. I know, it’s really counterintuitive to think of fair weather and a storm in the same system but consider it the calm a day or two before the storm. As I write this article, I am able to glance outside of my window and can see that cirrus clouds are littering the sky and have increased as the day moves on, indicating that a system is going to move through.

Types

Like a lot of things in the world, there are different types of cirrus clouds variations which I shall list for you to enjoy.
Cirrus castellanus – Basically, they are a bunch of cirrus cloud lumps that are all connected by a thinner base.
Cirrus duplicatus – These are sheets of cirrus clouds that are distributed over different altitudes and are connected by one or more points. There are some of these outside of my window right now.
Cirrus fibratus – These are you traditional cirrus clouds i.e., mare’s tail. They are longer, fibrous, and curved. There are a few of these outside of my window but they have moved on since they are further ahead of the system.
Cirrus floccus – These are curved and rather fibrous but they are also rounded on the top. To me, they look similar to a fan (the hand-powered kind). There are quite a lot of cirrus floccus outside of my window as well.
Cirrus intortus – These are clouds in which the filaments are tangled in one another or have odd curves. I can’t really see much of the cirrus intortus clouds outside of my window.
Cirrus     kelvin-helmholtz – These cirrus clouds are amazing! And very rare. They have a spiral and lie horizontally. These clouds are indicators that there is severe turbulence in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, do not last very long and as you can guess, there are none outside of my window.
Cirrus radiatus – These are long horizontal bands of cirrus clouds that cover a large area. Some of the ones that I have seen look similar to the rows of a plowed field. There are a few outside of my window.

Conclusion and Music Recommendation

Well, I hope you enjoyed Cirrus clouds. I know I did. I did not list all types of cirrus clouds but instead I listed the main ones as well as the really odd clouds. And while I wrote this article, I was listening to Badi Assad. I would highly recommend this artist, especially if you like Latin music or like music that you can just relax to. The song that really got me started on this article was “Escadão.” You should check it out. Thanks for reading and remember, keep an eye on the sky!  

Picture!!!!!

I would love to add more but this is the only photo I could find on Wikiemedia Commons (it’s free and doesn’t violate any copyright laws) and the photo is small enough too. Do an image search for the different types.

Cirrus castellanus. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Ok, so I was going to write an article over cloud formation and dynamics but Grey pointed out the Black Saturday brushfires in Australia and I figured that it was an interesting topic to write about and you will see why in this post. I will get back to my normal posts after I write this. Also, I will be posting articles that will go more in depth over some of the environmental/meteorological/climatological/etc topics that are embedded within, so wait for those posts if you want a detailed and simple (I know, it’s a paradox) explanation.

The Black Saturday brushfires of Australia was a devastating event that started on February 7th, 2009 and lasted until March 14th, 2009. Brushfires in Victoria, Australia are not uncommon, in fact there have been many brushfires ‘outbreaks’ in Victoria but non as devastating as this one. Victoria has the perfect climate for the dangerous brushfires

It is believed that the fires were started from different sources but mainly lighting and arson. Because of the climate of Victoria and the weather patterns, both prior and during the event, were the main cause for the outbreak. That year there was an extensive period where the rainfall amounts were dangerously below average. This was the long term cause for the brushfires. With respect to short term causes, the days leading up to the event as well as the days that followed displayed unusual and special meteorological conditions: high temperature, low humidity, and strong winds made for a deadly combination that fueled the fires.

In addition to the meteorological factors, there were numerous other factors, such as vegetation. Of course the vegetation factor can be linked to issues concerning the weather. As a result of little rainfall, the vegetation dried up and thus was able to serve as firewood.

During the actual event, the winds were one of the greatest problems to people. A method that is commonly used when fighting wildfires is back-burning. This is where you burn the vegetation that is in the path of the fire in order to contain it and prevent it from spreading onward. But the winds prevented this from being an effective method to end the destruction because it would change the path of the fire. In addition to changing the path, the winds would carry embers to other areas. Obviously this can cause more brushfires to occur and increase the destruction and the power of the system.

Now, one might ask the question of whether this is a result of global climate change or not. Some sources say that a link can be made while others argue against that claim. There is much more that needs to be uncovered within this event as well as global climate change. But it is known that water problems was a major cause for the drought in Australia and things are forecasted to become worse. With the water problems and drought-like conditions increasing in severity the brushfires in Australia will only become worse.

There is so much left to understand about this tragic event. Hopefully, as we discover more about the fires we will be able to prevent such horrors as this from happening. As for now, do your best to prevent wildfires from starting. It is really quite sad when nature is destroyed by such a preventable occurrence, and even sadder when communities, families, and lives are torn apart and burned by it.

Summer Solstice Sunrise over Stonehenge

Ok, this post is about our atmosphere, which is key in our survival.

What is Earth’s atmosphere made up of? If you said oxygen then you are partially correct. Our atmosphere is a complex system that is composed of many different gases, not just oxygen. In all reality, oxygen only makes up roughly 20% of our atmosphere. Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, making up roughly 79%. Other gases include: Argon (.93%), Carbon dioxide (.038%), Neon (.0018%), Helium (.00052%), Methane (.00017%), Krypton (.00011%), Hydrogen (.000055%), Nitrous oxide (.000030%), and so on and so forth.(If you want to know more about the gases from the perspective of chemistry then ask Mitchell Peters. If you want to know more about the gases from an atmospheric point of view, then read on for a general explanation of them. Depending on what you want, I might write something on atmospheric chemistry later on.)The interactions between these different gases help sustain life on our lovely planet. Aside from enabling you and I to exist, the interaction of these gases allows the atmosphere to absorb most of the ultraviolet solar radiation rays to the point that exposure to them is not lethal (by this I mean a short exposure, not long periods of time.  By exposing yourself to the UV rays, especially without skin protection, you can harm your body and increase your risk for skin cancer). The atmosphere also helps to regulate the temperature of the Earth, which makes it so we do not burst into flames during the summer from the sun or freeze instantly during the winter from the lack of sun. It also regulates the weather and different climates of the world.

So, how is the atmosphere structured?

The atmosphere is composed of four main layers with three boundaries that separate the different layers. The four layers are called the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and the thermosphere. The boundaries that separate the layers are called the tropopause, stratopause, and the mesopause.

Troposphere:

The troposphere is the bottom layer of the atmosphere that begins at ground level and extends to roughly 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 kilometers) in the air. Its height is lowest at the poles and highest at the equator.The troposphere is where all of our weather takes place: clouds, storms, winds, etc. It is very rare for clouds to penetrate the troposphere and mix in with the stratosphere but this can occur with particularly violent storms where the top of the cloud or system is strong enough to develop a cap and punch through the layer. But a majority of the time the atmosphere is stable enough where this does not occur. As you go further into the troposphere both pressure and temperature will drop. I am more focused on the temperature fluctuations and not so much on the pressure but just so you know, the pressure at the top of the troposphere is 1/10 of the pressure at ground level. Now, obviously temperatures at ground level will vary with your location and elevation but as you go higher up into the troposphere, there is a roughly 4 degrees Fahrenheit drop in temperature for every 1000 feet (7 degrees Celsius per kilometer). Depending on your location, the top of the troposphere can drop to temperatures ranging from roughly -49 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 degrees Celsius) at the poles where the troposphere is thinner, to roughly -105 degrees Fahrenheit (-75 degrees Celsius) at the equator. Additionally, the troposphere can divided into six zonal flow regions that are called cells and are the cause for atmospheric circulation which create the prevailing winds. Basically, here is what you should know about the atmosphere: it extends from the ground to roughly 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 kilometers), as you go higher in the troposphere the temperature decreases, and this is where all weather phenomena occurs.

Tropopause:

This is the boundary that separates that troposphere and the stratosphere. Basically,  at this point the temperature stops dropping. The temperatures here are still very low and reach -70 degrees Fahrenheit (-58 degrees Celsius).

Stratosphere:

This is the layer that is above the troposphere. It extends roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) above the surface of the Earth. Unlike the troposphere, the temperature actually increases with height, with the the maximum temperature reaching roughly 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). This is because there are many interactions between many atmospheric chemicals and the stratospheric ozone absorbs much of the ultraviolet radiation. Additionally, the oxygen content is lower in this layer than in the troposphere. Another interesting thing about the stratosphere is that a secondary circulation is generated that is crucial in the movement of such things as ozone and water vapor. This circulation is called quasi-Biennial Oscillation and is located above tropical regions. Gravitation waves that are generated by convection in the troposphere help to create and move the QBO.

Stratopause:

This is a boundary that separates the stratosphere from the mesosphere. In this boundary, the temperatures still increase, much like the stratosphere.

Mesosphere:

This layer is what follows the stratosphere and reaches a height of 50 miles (80 kilometers). Temperature decreases as the you go higher in the mesosphere and can drop as low as -99 to -130 degrees Fahrenheit (-73 to -90 degrees Celsius) depending on your location and the season. The mesosphere helps to prevent a very large majority of the meteors that hurtle towards us from actually hitting us. So many meteors are burned up in this layer because they collide with the billions of chemical particles that causes enough heat to burn up the meteors, among other things that are trapped by Earth’s gravitational field. Fun fact: Noctilucent clouds occur in the mesosphere. Not much is known about these clouds except that it is primarily composed of water particles and is thought to be associated with climate change. They are very difficult to see; they are best seen when illuminated by the sun from below the horizon.

Mesopause:

This is yet another boundary in the atmosphere. It separates the mesosphere from the thermosphere. At this point, the temperature stops decreasing.

Thermosphere:

This layer reaches a height of roughly 120 miles (190 kilometers) above the Earth. Temperatures increase as altitude increases in the thermosphere. Actually, the temperatures can reach roughly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,480 degrees Celsius). This is because there is such a high amount of solar radiation present and so little oxygen in this layer. This radiation electrically charges particles which allows many radio waves to be bounced off and can be received elsewhere.

Exosphere:

This is the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere. This layer can extend to 600 miles (960 kilometers) above the Earth. Temperatures are still very hot in this layer but they are still lower than those in the thermosphere. Because there is a large lack of gravity, many gaseous particles are able to escape into space. Also, satellites orbit here.