Let’s Look At Clouds From Both Sides Now

If it looks like the clouds are boiling, just like a pot of water on the stove, it’s because the dynamics are very similar. Heat is being transferred upward through convection.

NWS EDD

We seldom get the big picture of what’s on the radar by just looking at the sky. Not today. Today is different in SoCal.

The atmosphere is unstable on the the other side of the Santa Ana Mountains, around 30 miles east of me. That’s where the radar (at the top of this entry) shows strong thunderstorms.

What’s striking in the time lapse below are the mid and upper levels of the clouds producing the storms. There are no clouds in the way blocking my view.

If it looks like the clouds are boiling, just like a pot of water on the stove, it’s because the dynamics are very similar. Heat is being transferred upward through convection.

The heavy rain and lightning bolts are out-of-sight behind the mountains. Here, I only see the signs. Everything is moving north and will soon be gone.

Sultry Summer Nights

WunderMap®   Interactive Weather Map and Radar   Weather Underground

You’ve heard of people who can sight read music? I can sight read weather observations.

Currently in New Haven it’s 73&#176 with a dew point of 70&#176. Relative humidity calculates out to 90%. I instinctively understand how that feels.

Bridgeport is 73/70, New London 70/68, Chester, Meriden and Brainard are all 72/70. Sticky.

The map above shows dew point and relative humidity at 11:00 PM EDT. I remember nights like tonight. Like living in a warm wet towel.

It’s not raining everywhere in Connecticut, but again, I remember nights like this. Even where there’s no rain falling it’s moist.

Visibility is down. Not fog as much as clouds and mist.

I liked sultry summer nights. Another thing to miss.

I Sure Talk About The Weather A Lot

I talk about the weather so much because of how shockingly different it is. It’s much better than I hoped for–and I knew the numbers. Granted, this was an exceptional winter.

Most easterners think of a warm climate and think Florida. It has a humidity based economy! The Los Angeles/OC/San Diego corridor is dry. Our dew point hits 60 a few times a year and then briefly.

I posted this on Facebook Thursday afternoon:

On the patio. We went to 101 today, but with 4% humidity. Down to 81, but very comfy w/little breeze and low humidity. A/C now off.

The comments started flooding back. There’d be more, but some people are bothered by all the notifications you get when you comment on my wall. I hate that too&#185.

One Facebook friend said:

Something fun and funny about your casual weather posts.

I talk about the weather so much because of how shockingly different it is. It’s much better than I hoped for–and I knew the numbers. Granted, this was an exceptional winter.

Most easterners think of a warm climate and think Florida. It has a humidity based economy! The Los Angeles/OC/San Diego corridor is dry. Our dew point hits 60 a few times a year and then briefly.

A typical winter has no cold, no snow and little gloom. Nearly all our rain falls in winter. Rainy days in SoCal cause the same tumult as Connecticut snow days.

Low humidity and relentless sunshine are our two most obvious pluses. Top-10 Chamber of Commerce days back in New England are every days here! Sky blue. Birds chirping.

My concept of temperature has to be re-calibrated. 100&#176 feels more like 85&#176.

We moved for the weather (and there’s that little thing of proximity to the child). We got what we wanted and then some.

&#185 – If you comment on my blog you won’t get notifications unless you ask for them.

The Santa Ana’s Have Arrived

Other areas get winds like this, the Chinook east of the Rockies for instance, but SoCal has the largest concentration of affected residents.

The dew point stayed in the teens all day with the relative humidity hovering near 5%. Someone posted a photo on Facebook reminding everyone nosebleed season is here!

socal-temp-contour

Hot day. Hot night. We officially hit 97&#176 at John Wayne. The Santa Ana’s were blowing. They are dry winds–katabatic winds. Katabatic winds warm as they sink from higher elevations.

Other areas get winds like this, the Chinook east of the Rockies for instance, but SoCal has the largest concentration of affected residents.

The dew point stayed in the teens all day with the relative humidity hovering near 5%. Someone posted a photo on Facebook reminding everyone nosebleed season is here!

We didn’t run the a/c. I was very tempted. Maybe tomorrow.

This room, my office, catches afternoon sun. It holds heat longest. The overhead fan is silently spinning. Fans make a big difference, especially here where evaporation needs little prodding.

As moisture on your skin evaporates you feel cooler. In humid climates where evaporation takes place more slowly the same temperature leaves you feeling warmer!

Today’s heat index was actually 5-6&#176 cooler than the air temperature. On the East Coast that’s unheard of.

Santa Ana’s also raise the fire danger.

There are a few more days of this weather coming. Trust me, I’m not complaining.

Is It Ever Not Perfect Out?

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I’m not going to lie. It’s January 14th. It’s sunny. It’s 87&#176!

Are you kidding me? We’ve already blown through the forecast high.

I have one of my office windows open. There’s a cool breeze. No need for a/c.

It doesn’t seem logical. 87&#176 and a cool breeze simultaneously.

This is where the dew point comes in, it’s 4&#176. The relative humidity is 4%. Exceptionally dry.

The dry breeze evaporates moisture on your skin, which cools you and makes this temperature very comfortable.

Yes, this weather is unusual. 81&#176 was today’s record at John Wayne Airport. It’s been smashed.

There are serious implications from our dry weather. Most of California is already water challenged. And, of course, fire danger is high at a time of year fire season should be done.

BuzzFeed’s home page currently has an entry titled: “19 Questions New Yorkers Ask When Visiting Los Angeles” Number 18: Is it ever not perfect out?

So far, no.

Things You Can Learn From Clouds

clouds

I’m going to put on my science teacher hat for a moment. I saw something cool. You might enjoy understanding what’s going on.

An hour ago I propped my tablet against the bathroom window to take a timelapse movie of the clouds&#185. The sky was filled with beautiful puffy cumulus clouds. On a realtime basis they were majestic and seemed to hover in place.

Not so when sped up by a factor of 150 (that’s one shot every five seconds). Now the sky is turbulent. Roiling!

Gil Simmons, who I used to work with at Channel 8, calls these COW clouds. COW for “cold-over-warm.” I’ve also heard the effect called “self defeating sunshine.”

There’s a larger than normal vertical temperature gradient over SoCal today. Earlier this afternoon the temperature dropped almost 10&#176 Fahrenheit between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. That’s the cause for the clouds–the cold-over-warm.

Later tonight you’ll have to climb from 4,500 to 11,000 feet for that same drop.

Since warm air is more buoyant than cold, it rises and condenses forming clouds. This warm air moving toward the cold is called convection. It’s how heat moves when you put a pot of water on the stove.

If you look carefully at the very top of some of the lower clouds in my timelapse you’ll see the convection in action. The clouds grow upward looking very much like the bubbles of water rising in that hot pot of water!

If it looks like the clouds are moving multiple directions at once, you’re right.

There is wind shear overhead. As the clouds gain altitude they move from a southwesterly flow to northwesterly. It was even more pronounced earlier today. That shear adds to the convective cloud buildup. In fact wind shear is a major factor we look at when predicting severe storms.

Too much for one day? I’ll stop now.

The atmosphere is amazing when you watch it up close. There is so much going on and explanations within the laws of physics for all of it.

&#185 – Try as I might I can’t figure out how to keep the Nexus 7 camera from refocusing from time-to-time. That’s why the shot goes out-of-focus a few times.