Ice Station Housman

On this week's episode we take the listener from the tropics, where Tropical Storm Cindy was, all the way to Alaska and the land of the glaciers. 

 

Show Notes! TROPICAL STORM CINDY

GOES-16 GIF of Cindy, via http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=137516

Cindy: Tropical storm Cindy threatens ‘life-threatening’ floods along northern Gulf Coast before moving inland

Cindy remnants impact mid-atlantic Friday & Saturday

AccuWeather Ready 

ALASKA WEATHER

Alaska Climate Research Center

Chicken, Alaska

Glacier Calving

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC3VTgIPoGU  <— big one
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL3EjH9-WSs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nhtWR8ZcS4

Brian Bettschneider, PhD Climatologist, Alaska Weather, Moose Videos

On this week's episode, we cover babies and how weather affects them along with a plethora of other rat-hole topics and a little followup on recent weather events.

  Show Notes!

Unusually Hot or Cold Weather Could Affect Babies' Weight

What Your Birth Season Could Say About You

Temperature-dependent sex determination

Effects of Extreme Weather on Reproductive Success in a Temperate-Breeding Songbird

Effects of climate on reproduction in cattle.

Today is the least cool day to be born

Review: Sara Watkins, 'Young In All The Wrong Ways'

Capital Weather Gang - Multiple tornadoes hit the D.C. area Thursday. We have video evidence.

This week on the show we discuss proposed budget cuts by the Trump Administration to the weather related government programs.

  Show Notes!

 

Weather Service Employees ‘Shocked’ by Reported Budget Cuts

Quote from above article:

“It’s not a well-thought-through idea, in my opinion,” said Daniel Sobien, president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization. Though he speaks only for the relatively large weather service staff, the cuts discussed in the White House-to-agency “pass-back” documents will affect all of NOAA—“the people who make sure employees get paid, do the hiring and the paperwork, plus the satellite program, which has a direct link to weather forecasting,” he said. NWS is highly dependent on the rest of NOAA, he said.

NOAA overall is reportedly slated for a 17 percent cut, but NWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service would take a hit of just 5 percent. But that is still “hugely devastating,” Sobien said. That’s because the lack of say for managers in reshuffling discretionary spending means that “the only thing they can do is lay people off, so it’s just as bad as a 17 percent cut,” he said.”

 

Trump's Plan to Slash NOAA Budget Puts Lives, Climate Research at Risk, Scientists Say

Quote from above article:

“The National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, which monitors weather and collects climate data, would see the largest budget cut – $513 million, or 22 percent of its funding.

Former NOAA employees say the move would put the American public in danger.

Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator under President Barack Obama, told weather.com the "draconian cuts" to the agency that oversees weather forecasting and funds weather and climate research would "be devastating to the economy, jobs and to the safety and livelihoods of Americans in every state."

Many of the cuts are directly relevant to NOAA’s ability to provide timely and accurate weather forecasts and warnings, now and in the future, Lubchenco said. She called the cuts to the satellite program, NWS and research program particularly worrisome, noting 90 percent of weather forecasting data comes from satellites.”

 

Notes from Katie

NOAA

$990 mil cut from budget

$83 mil for ship to do ocean surveys

$400 mil cut from Polar Follow-On: satellites schedules to launch in 2024/26 for forecasting

$100 mil cut from satellite services which could impact climate data collection

26% cut to recharting the coastlines

From the Washington Post: The programs in the crosshairs include NOAA’s Coastal Zone Management grants and Regional Coastal Resilience grants, which come to $75 million combined, according to the document; its $10 million in Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency grants; the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, an annual investment of about $23 million; and its $73 million Sea Grant program.

Regional Coastal Resilience grants, which deal more specifically with bracing communities for adverse climate and weather events. These programs “build resilience of coastal communities to the negative impacts from extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions,” according to a recent NOAA presentation.

the Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grants, which are more focused on restoring ecosystems so they can adjust to changing conditions in a way that also benefits humans. Wetlands, when healthy, can help keep pace with sea-level rise.

Also proposed for the chopping block are several research and education initiatives that provide valuable information to help coastal communities plan for the future. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a group of 29 sites throughout the coastal United States — including spots along the East and West coasts, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Hawaii and Alaska — that have been set aside specifically for the study of estuarine systems, or the areas where rivers flow into the sea. The program produces scientific data on these unique ecosystems and provides training and education for local communities and policymakers on protecting and managing them.

Of similar importance is the Sea Grant program, a partnership between NOAA and universities across the nation, which supports coastal research and education. The program relies on on-the-ground agents, who help establish a “real connection” between academics and coastal communities, said Jeff Carney, an architecture professor and director of the Coastal Sustainability Studio at Louisiana State University, which houses the Louisiana Sea Grant program. These programs can be vital sources of information on everything from fisheries management to storm preparation.

EPA

$330 mil cut from Superfund Cleanups. 30% reduction

$129 mil cut from EPA enforcement to catch polluters.  33% reduction

$233 mil cut from EPA research that establishes federal health and safety guidelines 50% reduction

$482 mil cut from EPA assistance grants that go to state and tribal to clean up pesticides and toxic wastes.   40% reduction

$347 mil cut from 50 EPA programs like Energy Star and diesel engine replacement meant to reduce emissions.

From Washington Post:

proposal by the White House would slash the EPA’s budget by 31 percent — nearly one third — from its current level of $8.1 billion to $5.7 billion. It would cut 3,200 positions, or more than 20 percent of the agency’s current workforce of about 15,000.

would discontinue funding for the Clean Power Plan — the signature Obama administration effort to combat climate change by regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. It would sharply reduce money for the Superfund program and cut the budget for the EPA’s prominent Office of Research and Development roughly in half, to $250 million.

It also would eliminate “more than 50 EPA programs.” Among them: the Energy Star program, which aims to improve energy efficiency and save consumers money; infrastructure assistance to Alaska Native villages and the Mexico border; a grant program that helps cities and states combat air pollution; and an office that focuses on environmental justice issues.

Article from Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-budget-cuts-funds-for-epa-by-31-percent/

Some programs at EPA would see increases. The blueprint would shift $4 million above current spending levels to state revolving funds and $20 million to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had said he wanted to protect those funds.

The State Department, which saw perhaps the largest cut behind EPA, is shouldering much of Trump's emphasis on nationalism. The president is fulfilling his promises to depress U.S. activity abroad by eliminating the Global Climate Change Initiative. The budget also zeros out funding for the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds.

The White House would eliminate the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), as well as loan guarantee programs, greenhouse gas reducing technologies and advanced vehicle programs.

The Office of Science would see a $900 million cut and is meant, according to the proposal, to focus on "basic science and energy research and development."

The budget also would include $140 million to restart licensing activities for nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, a thorny issue on Capitol Hill.

 

Chesapeake Bay

$73 mil to $0 Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay Program: Regional partnership that directs and conducts the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. As a partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program brings together members of various state, federal, academic and local watershed organizations to build and adopt policies that support Chesapeake Bay restoration. By combining the resources and unique strengths of each individual organization, the Chesapeake Bay Program is able to follow a unified plan for restoration.

Became part of the EPA in 1983

50+ partnerships involved

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a non-profit organization devoted to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. It was founded in 1967 and has headquarters offices in Annapolis, Maryland.

Budget cut worries:

Most of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s federal money goes to states, local governments and community groups through grants. The foundation focuses on coordinating and monitoring the efforts of the six bay watershed states and the District of Columbia. Besides Virginia, these states include Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

From Capital Gazette (Maryland Newspaper) a closer look at proposed cuts for other federal departments and agencies that collaborate in the bay restoration effort makes clear that the impact on the bay would go well beyond this single onerous and inexplicable decision. As The Capital has noted, the impact will trickle down to bay cleanup efforts at the state and county levels, too.

Great Lakes

$330 mil to $0 GLRI

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched in 2010 to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world — the Great Lakes

The program, primarily administered through the EPA, has traditionally enjoyed strong bipartisan support and has standalone authorization at that funding level through 2021, meaning Congress can restore some or all funding.

Our first episode where all three co-hosts are in the same studio for recording! On this week's episode we discuss how the GOES-16 weather satellite is progressing, the recent severe weather outbreak in the mid-west, a check-in on the rainfall and drought in California, the weird winter we've been having, and we cover our main topic of ocean currents and how they affect the weather.

 

Show Notes! GOES-16

• Cool GIF of a radar loop generated from GOES-16

• GOES-R/GOES-16 Website

MID-WEST SEVERE OUTBREAK

• US Tornados: The largest tornado outbreaks of 2017

RAINFALL / DROUGHT CHECK-IN IN CALIFORNIA

• Lake Oroville & the dam/spillway damage/overflow

• US Drought Monitor Website

• The drought in Washington, D.C., is now just as bad as California’s

• Capital Weather Gang: 500 inches and counting: Snow has clobbered California ski resorts this winter

WEIRD WINTER / LACK OF SNOW IN CHICAGO

• For The First Time In 146 Years Chicago Goes Without Snow During January And February

Main Topic: Ocean Current and how they affect the weather

• NOAA Ocean Explorer Website

• Global Ocean Currents Map

• NOAA Ocean Service Facts page

• How Do Ocean Currents Affect Weather?

• National Geographic: Ocean Currents & Climate

• XKCD: Earth Temperature Timeline

• GOES-16 data on Twitter

On this week's episode, Becky, Jimmy, and Joel welcome guest Steve Travis, a meteorologist for Accuweather on the show to talk about the recent storms that have impacted the west coast, and lightened California's drought conditions. Steve also talks about what his typical day is like as a weather forecaster vs. what people perceive he does.

 

 

Show Notes! Topic 1: West Coast Storms rain and snowfall. How have they affected California's Drought?

• Five feet of snow and counting — California fire hose continues through the weekend
• Seven feet of snow in seven days, and the California ski resorts are rejoicing
• The drought is over in Northern California after up to 20 inches of rain and 12 feet of snow
• After 'pretty extraordinary' snowfall, Sierra Nevada braces for another battering from atmospheric river
• An example of how rainfall has impaxted lake levels. A before and after picture of Lake Oroville from January 2016 to January 2017.

Topic 2: Perceptions vs Reality: What does a meteorologist actually do, vs. what do people think they do?

 

This week's outro music was "It Never Rains in Southern California" by Albert Hammond.

 

On this week's show Jimmy, Becky, and Joel take a walk down the memory lane of significant weather events in 2016, of which Snowzilla is the most memorable. It was also a year full of flood events, both tropical and non-tropical in nature. We take a look ahead to 2017 and how La Nina might shape the weather in the coming year. 

 

Show Notes!

Topic: The weather of 2016-year in review + La Nina

• Snowzilla tops list of 2016’s most significant weather events in Washington
• Year of the flood: The nation’s 10 most extreme weather events of 2016
• La Niña
• NOAA La Nina page
• What is La Nina? 
• La Niña Is Here and Expected to Last Through Winter

Our predictions for 2017:

1. Jimmy says its the year of fog
2. Becky is skeptical and wants data

Winter 2016-2017 season snowfall predictions for nearest reporting station: 

• Joel says Dulles 42”
• Jimmy says Dulles 36”
• Becky says Penn State 38”

Princess Leia' Life Day Song from the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Debbie Reynolds sings "Good Mornin'" in Singing In The Rain

On this week's show Jimmy, Becky, and Joel welcome back Katie Wheatley as well as a new guest, Ian Livingston to recap the 2016 Tornado season. We talk about how El Nino affected tornadoes in the US this year, how this year compares to previous years, and what the biggest outbreaks were.  We also have brief follow-up on coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef as well as news that GOES-R is now GOES-16.

 

Show Notes! Follow-up: 

• Life and death after Great Barrier Reef bleaching

• GOES-R is now GOES-16

Topic: The 2016 Tornado Season

• A mere one tornado has struck the U.S. in November as yearly totals near historic lows
• What were the biggest outbreaks of the year? The largest tornado outbreaks of 2016
• Jimmy's creepy supermoon photo.
• Halloween Dad
• Ian Livingston's 2016 Storm Chasing Flickr Album

On this week's show Becky, Jimmy and Joel have Dan DePodwin on to talk about weather satellites and the upcoming launch of the new GOES-R satellite.

Show Notes! Topic: Weather Satellites and GOES-R

• Wikipedia: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)
• Wikipedia: GOES-R
• NASA's GOES-R Website
• GOES-R Spacecraft Overview
• Lockheed Martin's GOES-R Datasheet (PDF)
• Photos: Atlas 5 rocket assembled for crucial GOES-R satellite launch
• Rocket Launch: United Launch Alliance Atlas V GOES-R

This week's outro music is the song Satellite, by Dave Matthews Band.

On this week's show, our intrepid trio discuss the recent Hurricane Matthew. We review how the storm was forecasted, the impact it made on Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas, and the United States. 

Show Notes! Topic: The aftermath of Hurricane Matthew

Gifs we mentioned in the show:

Forecast Track

Radar Loop

Popular Science: Hurricane Matthew Was Deceptively Powerful

Impact on Haiti:

• Before and After Satellite Images Show Haiti's Catastrophic Damage From Hurricane Matthew
• Haiti Before and After Hurricane Matthew in Satellite Images 

Impact on the United States:

• Horrific rains and ocean surge: Hurricane Matthew by the numbers
• How Hurricane Matthew created such a devastating deluge in the Carolinas
• Florida Was Spared the Wrath of Hurricane Matthew's Worst Winds By Just Miles
• ‘Extremely dangerous’ flooding to grip N.C. for days, governor warns
• Matthew, Atlantic’s Deadliest Hurricane in 11 Years, Heads for Georgia, S. Carolina

Impact on Nova Scotia, Canada:

• Storm blows the lights out in parts of Atlantic Canada

 

This week's outro music is "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan WHO JUST WON THE 2016 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE! Congrats Bob. We know you love our show.

On this episode, we begin a deep-dive on some of the most devastating hurricanes (officially-named storms only) of the last century. From Camille in '69 to Sandy in '12 (that's a weird way to write that), we look at the impacts these storms had on human life, our economy, governance, emergency response, and the culture. This one's less goofy than other one's we've done, but there's some damn-fine analysis and Wikipedia reading going on. Also, Becky explains why these storms behaved the way they did, and since she knows what she's talking about, you'll probably learn a lot!

SHOW NOTES! Small topics, News, & Follow-up:

Astrological vs Meteorological Seasons

• Joel thinks Astrological seasons are stupid and we should all just agree to follow Meteorological seasons.
• Jimmy thinks Joel is anti-galaxy. 

Heavy Rain Event in D.C. Region Wednesday - Friday

• DC Metro area, and parts of the east coast are in a rain deficit over the last couple of months.
• This event has the potential to make up a lot of that rain shortfall
• Potential flooding if the event verifies on the larger side of what the models are estimating

Tropical Storm Matthew

• The track of the storm has a lot of potential for strengthening.
• Should continue west until this weekend and then make a turn to the north.
• Question is: Will it turn sooner, and hit Haiti, or will it turn later, miss Jamaica and hit Cuba (and then Florida later on)

Main Topic: Most “Impactful” Hurricanes in modern history

Hurricane Camille

• Track of Camille

Hurricane Hugo

• Track of Hugo

Hurricane Raymond

Hurricane Hazel

Hurricane Andrew

• Track of Andrew

Hurricane Isabel

• Track of Isabel
• The inlet at Cape Hatteras that Isabel cut across the island

Hurricane Ivan 

• Track of Ivan

Hurricane Katrina

• Radiolab - “Playing God”
• Track of Katrina
• Photo from a NOAA WP-3D Hurricane Hunter aircraft from inside Katrina’s eye

Hurricane Rita

• Track of Rita
• Photo of Holly Beach

Hurricane Wilma

• Track of Wilma
• Records Wilma set
• Wilma went from being a Tropical Storm to a Category 5 Hurricane in 16 hours

Hurricane Sandy

• Track of Sandy
• The Bounty, which sank off Cape Hatteras

“The Semi-Hospitable Beach House and You” by Jimmy Marks

Closing music: "Hurricane" from the musical Hamilton