Crazy Weather

Don M.

Don M.

SF VIP
Location
central Missouri
This has certainly been a year of extremes, so far. We've all probably seen the reports of the miserable conditions the people in Texas and Oklahoma have been going through...and our local weather, right in the middle of the country, has also been very strange. April was cool and dry, and the "April Showers" began here in May. We started the month off about 5 inches below normal precipitation amounts, and have more than made up for the deficit in May...it has rained here probably 4 out of 5 days, all month...enough such that I've just about given up any hope of getting a garden in this year.

Today was supposed to be nice and sunny with rain moving in later tonight....so I got the riding mower out and began to attack the rapidly growing yard. All was going good for 3 or 4 hours, and I had over an acre mowed, and looking good...then, I felt a few sprinkles. I looked up and saw a wall of dark clouds coming over the tree tops, and within a couple of minutes there was a tremendous "Flash/Boom" as a huge bolt of lightning hit in the forest no more than a couple of hundred yards away. Needless to say, I put the mover in high gear and made a beeline for my workshop. I no sooner got there when the floodgates opened wide, and the wind and rain came down with a vengeance. This lasted for about 30 minutes before I could head for the house without getting drenched. I "surfed" the radio stations while waiting in case we had a tornado warning in the area, but we were in the clear...except for almost 1.5 inches of rain in 30-45 minutes.

NOAA says we are headed for a protracted El Nino this year, which will probably affect the entire nation all year. The West Coast is expected to be abnormally warm and dry....just what California really needs...and parts of the East Coast may also experience some extremes. Here, in the middle of the country, they are predicting a rather cool Summer....which will be welcome, if some of this rain holds off until August when we really could use it.

And....There are still people out there who deny that the Climate is undergoing substantial changes...DUH!
 

RadishRose said:
Take care Don, wicked weather for sure your way. So, it's El Nino again, eh? Stay on top of your weather reports and be safe!
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Yup, in this part of the country, the weather can change substantially in just a few hours. I routinely monitor NOAA, AccuWeather, and Weather.com before I plan any activities...and even with all that, Mother Nature still throws a wrench in my outdoor plans. That really close lightning strike today was a strong reminder of just how volatile the weather can be.
 
Falcon said:
Thanks for the update Don.
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California may have some real issues this year. If this drought continues, the fire season may be GoshAwful. But, if the rains Do come, in any quantity, as dry as the ground is, the risk of mudslides will become a real concern. There is a wealth of good information and fairly accurate predictions on the NOAA website...might be a good idea for the California folks to check it out...and be prepared.
 
AZ Jim said:
Doesn't seem good news for us in Arizona.
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Yes, Arizona is another place that is increasingly being impacted by the weather. Of most immediate concern in that area would perhaps be the water levels in Lake Mead....which supplies much of the water and electrical power for large sections of the SW. I saw a report a few weeks ago that said that the runway at Luke AFB has sunk almost a foot since the base was built....it seems that the entire Phoenix area sits on a fairly good sized aquifer, but so much water has been drawn out of it in the past couple of decades, that the entire region is settling a bit. When we were down there visiting last year, one of the local newscasters jokingly said that every drop of water that comes out of the Phoenix kitchen taps has been flushed through 7 other peoples toilets.
 
When becoming a commercial airline pilot, one must study meteorology. Weather is very important in aviation as you may imagine. A lot of planes have been brought down due to severe weather issues and also by pilots who fail to recognize weather problems. Thanks to all of the advanced weather instruments that have been developed in the last 25 or so years, weather bringing planes down is pretty much a thing of the past. I think with the on-board colored radar now in the cockpits, along with Doppler radar; these two items (along with timely warnings from alert ATC's) have had the biggest effect on flying and recognizing bad weather. For a pilot to learn and know what course of action to take to avoid serious situations has become a must for all pilots. Nothing like going through a cloud that is producing internal lightning. It can scare the B-Jesus out of pilots and passengers. (Pilots also pass on information to one another via ATC's making announcements to all aircraft in that area.)

I once flew above a tornado while crossing over Oklahoma into Texas and heading for DFW. What a strange phenomenon to see from above. It's like watching a child's top spin while standing above it. You can see the rotation really well.
 
Don M. said:
California may have some real issues this year. If this drought continues, the fire season may be GoshAwful. But, if the rains Do come, in any quantity, as dry as the ground is, the risk of mudslides will become a real concern. There is a wealth of good information and fairly accurate predictions on the NOAA website...might be a good idea for the California folks to check it out...and be prepared.
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I saw a news clip yesterday that said the flood gates could open this year for CA. No doubt, it could really get messy if this happens.
 
oldman said:
When becoming a commercial airline pilot, one must study meteorology. Weather is very important in aviation as you may imagine. A lot of planes have been brought down due to severe weather issues and also by pilots who fail to recognize weather problems. Thanks to all of the advanced weather instruments that have been developed in the last 25 or so years, weather bringing planes down is pretty much a thing of the past. I think with the on-board colored radar now in the cockpits, along with Doppler radar; these two items (along with timely warnings from alert ATC's) have had the biggest effect on flying and recognizing bad weather. For a pilot to learn and know what course of action to take to avoid serious situations has become a must for all pilots. Nothing like going through a cloud that is producing internal lightning. It can scare the B-Jesus out of pilots and passengers. (Pilots also pass on information to one another via ATC's making announcements to all aircraft in that area.)

I once flew above a tornado while crossing over Oklahoma into Texas and heading for DFW. What a strange phenomenon to see from above. It's like watching a child's top spin while standing above it. You can see the rotation really well.
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I imagine, as a pilot, you have seen all sorts of nasty weather conditions. At least, today, most airliners are equipped such that they can fly around, or above, most of these conditions. I remember flying a few times in the old DC-6 or Constellation airliners, and those things often got caught in some rather hectic situations.
 
Don M. said:
I imagine, as a pilot, you have seen all sorts of nasty weather conditions. At least, today, most airliners are equipped such that they can fly around, or above, most of these conditions. I remember flying a few times in the old DC-6 or Constellation airliners, and those things often got caught in some rather hectic situations.
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I could tell you some very interesting stories re: flying in bad weather, including snow and ice. The image improvements made to radar and the development of Doppler radar has been a game changer. Having color radar on-board has also been a 100% improvement over the old black and white, which really did not tell the whole story a lot of times.
 
oldman said:
I could tell you some very interesting stories re: flying in bad weather, including snow and ice. The image improvements made to radar and the development of Doppler radar has been a game changer. Having color radar on-board has also been a 100% improvement over the old black and white, which really did not tell the whole story a lot of times.
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The improvements in radar have really helped in the forecast and location of bad weather. Even on the Internet, a person can follow a storm coming in, and almost predict within minutes when it will hit. I remember back in the 60's, when I was in Germany, I used to hop a DC-3, to travel between airbases, and those things are kind of like Wright Brothers Bi-planes compared to what we have today.
 
One of the radars in aircraft is located in the nose. There is a panel that can be opened and there you would see a small Doppler-like system.

Radar.jpg
 

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