Updraft: November 20, 2008 Archive

Dry and cracked lips

Posted at 6:45 AM on November 20, 2008 by Craig Edwards

It's that time of year when temperatures fall into single digits and dew points can dip below zero. Throw in some sunshine and brisk winds and you have some very dry conditions.

Take that air indoors. Heat it up and you have indoor relative humidity that is desert like.

Ideally, you should try to maintain a healthy indoor humidity of about 35 percent when the outside air is greater than 20 degrees. In the depth of bitter cold, well below zero, a humidifier should be used to keep the indoor humidity around 20 percent. Relative humidity gauges are available at local hardware stores.

Information on indoor relative humidity

CE
Naturesmessenger.com

Winter Outlook from NOAA

Posted at 3:56 PM on November 20, 2008 by Craig Edwards

NOAA's Climate Prediction has just released their updated winter outlook for December through February. There is neither a La Nina or El Nino to factor in on this outlook, but the overall trend this decade is for milder winters than the thirty year average.

NOAA Press Release on the Winter Outlook

The odds of a milder than normal winter in the Twin Cities appear to have slipped from an earlier prediction of slightly more than fifty percent to slightly less than forty percent.

Recall that the starting point for CPC forecasters is a 33 percent chance of above, below and normal.

Grahpical image of the winter outlook

Click image to enlarge

CE