CoolWx.com to host a World Forecasting Contest
February 13, 2008
CoolWx.com, a site ran by Professor Robert Hart of Florida State University, is set to launch a World Forecast Contest. The announcement was posted on the website recently (or, in between my last visit and now) and links to a placeholder page with a few details. It will be interesting because until now, the site has been purely data without any messages from Dr. Hart or any means of feedback besides an email link. The message announcing the new contest states that participants will be able to forecast temp, precip and wind for a particular city that will change each month. I’ll be sure to post when this contest will start and all the details when I see it. Interesting, nonetheless.
Gaige Hall, looking ENE
February 13, 2008
Gaige Hall, looking ENE
Originally uploaded by jowe
Steamy steps
February 13, 2008
Steamy steps
Originally uploaded by jowe
Ice on car
February 13, 2008
Ice on car, originally uploaded by jowe.
Frozen footsteps
February 13, 2008
Frozen footsteps, originally uploaded by jowe.
The sidewalk right outside my dorm late last night.
What a wintry day!
February 12, 2008
What can I say? I was proven wrong. Not too much, though. We managed to get about an inch of snow today. It started to fall just as I was getting ready in the morning around 9:00 AM. It continued in varying in intensity but eventually the roads started getting slushy and sidewalks got snowy. Around 2-3 PM, the snow stopped and it appeared to be over. I was thinking that MU would be thinking the same thing and then end up being caught off guard when the sleet started to fall later on. Thankfully, this didn’t happen. Snow began to fall again around 4:00 PM, on the verge between snow and sleet for a while. We got another half-inch or so of snow before the precip switched over to a light sleet, which is what is happing right now at 7:00 PM / 0z.
Over the next few hours the sleet and freezing drizzle will likely tapper off before freezing rain falls in the morning, which will soon after change to a plain, cold rain for the rest of the day. No fun, with a high in the upper 30s or so.
I’ll post some pictures later on tonight.
Upcoming Winter Weather Event for Feb 12-13
February 12, 2008
I’m kinda surprised by this upcoming event. I’ve seen it coming and have thought of a freezing rain to plain rain event. However, Millersville’s Campus Weather Service (which I am part of where I help make the Friday Evening forecasts) is calling for a 1-3 inch snow event. That got my attention. And from what I’m seeing, we may have some delays/cancellations tomorrow. I’d love for my evening Calc class to be cancelled, but hey, I’m just being honest here.
Right now, from what I’m seeing, it will surely start as a snow event. How much snow we will get is up for debate. What is going on here is that it will be cold on the surface throughout the day for snow. The problem is aloft. Warm air is supposed to be coming in along with the weak low pressure system. However, the problem is right there: WEAK low pressure. The idea is that the system will be too weak to push the cold air out and we will get more snow than the models are saying. As I see it now, the NAM is going conservative. I trust this model the most right now. Light snow and flurries in the early morning hours and then, as the day begins, sleet to freezing rain throughout the day. How much of it will be freezing before it turns to a plain rain will be the question tomorrow.
I’m going to say up to an inch of snow tomorrow with sleet quickly changing to freezing rain and a plain rain throughout the day. The switchover will likely happen around lunch time. Temps will only be steady or rise for the rest of the day with a “high” low overnight. I hope I’m wrong and we’ll get some good snow and classes will be canceled. I’m thinking it will be more of a nuisance.
Verification and pictures, if I feel necessary, will be posted tomorrow.
Updated: How low will it go?
February 11, 2008
I’m having a little bet with my roommate for the low tonight, just for kicks. Here’s who’s “competing” and what they are betting.
| Matt (my roommate) | 7 |
| Me | 9 |
| CWS | 8 |
| GFS | 13 |
| Eta/NAM | 8 |
| NGM | 15 |
| NWS | 8 |
| NDFD / Wunderground | 5 |
| Accuweather | 9 |
| Weather Channel (online) | 13 |
All forecast lows were retrieved around midnight. I will post results tomorrow for both MU Obs and KLNS.
Updated: Actual low: 8/9 (MU Obs/KLNS) Winners: For MU: Me, AccuWx; For KLNS: CWS, NWS, Eta/NAM.
Vote for me!
February 6, 2008
Click the above button to register and vote for my idea of Textbook Leasing over at ideablob to help me win $10,000 to start my business! Thanks!
Do we really need a two hour delay?
February 1, 2008
Millersville has a two hour delay today… which I don’t think was really needed. I’m about to go out and see. I’ll update this post with info and pictures later on.
Update: Eh… when I went out around 9:00 AM it was raining at a good rate, but most of the ground was fine. In a few parts of the sidewalk there were bits of slush, but the roads on campus looked and felt fine. One interesting thing that my roommate found out- the mud by Lyle Hall had a layer of ice on it that the rain was falling on, so when he walked on it, he was only walking it a little bit of water. Cool stuff. I may post pictures in a bit. This is definitely a heavy rain event, with puddles everywhere… more so than usual!
Update 2: All the slush is gone. Winter Storm warning has expired. Just some rain to look forward to. Rain rates recently slowed down, but we still have a few bursts of heavy rain to go before the storm ends. Rain rates were at 0.15+ inches/hour but now stand at a moderate 0.05 inches/hour. This is my last update for this storm. Thanks for reading! If you’d like to see the meteogram for the past 24 hours at Millersville, just check out with Weather Center page and click the link to MU Obs/webcam.
