Updraft: January 20, 2009 Archive

Water Vapor Imagery

Posted at 7:08 AM on January 20, 2009 by Craig Edwards

It's out there to our west. Note the very distinct boundary of the push of milder and drier air that runs north and south through the Dakotas. We may see highs in the lower 60s in Radpid City. Lower 30s are possible as as the South Dakota/Minnesota Border late this afternoon.

As Paul noted on the previous blog, there is still quite a snow pack, several inches deep, from the eastern Dakotas to west central Minnesota. That snow cover will modify the push of milder air. We remain hopeful of breaking the thawing point in the Twin Cities on Wednesday afternoon for the first time in 2009.

CE
Naturesmessenger.com

Have you hugged your weatherman today?

Posted at 5:00 PM on January 20, 2009 by Paul Huttner (2 Comments)

I admit I'm a total weather geek.

I probably view at least 40 weather related items a day. Some days it may exceed 100. Radars, satellite loops, surface maps, climate data, computer models, forecast discussions and climate change articles are all on the Weather Lab menu.

So the findings of a recent NCAR study didn't surprise me.

How often do you check the forecast?

NCAR in Boulder, Colorado surveyed 1,500 Americans and found the average person checks the forecast at least 3 times per day. That's over 100 times a month, without breaking a sweat.

It turns out that when we're driving in our cars, scanning the paper or checking in on the news we tune to weather instinctively.

It also turns out it saves us money. The value to the average U.S. household from those free weather forecasts is estimated to be $285 per year, or $32 billion for the entire U.S. And that doesn't count all the businesses that use free weather to save big bucks on planning and operations.

So give your favorite weatherman a hug next time you see him. Even if it is10 below.

PH

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