Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Halloween. Maybe some of you were dancing to Thriller by Michael Jackson, I know I was :-) Though it rained in the Jersey area, I must stay that the night was quite warm for this time of the year. The that rain we got was from a cold front that passed through the region and unfortunately we'll be feeling the effects this week. For Tuesday we can expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 58 as high pressure from the west moves into the region.. Tuesday night will be chilly, as we can expect a low in the mid 30s. For Wednesday we can expect mostly sunny skies and a high of 43. There's a chance of showers throughout the day, for Thursday so you may want to bring your umbrella with you on the way to work or school. The high is expected to be around 49 for Thursday and the low for Thursday night is expected to be 35. Another cold front will come through the region Friday as we can expect a high of 49 with sunny skies. For the weekend the temperature will rebound slightly with high temperatures expected to reach into the mid 50s and mostly sunny sky conditions for both days.
Colder air from Canada, will be coming to our region this week, so you may want to bring a jacket with you if you can. For Monday (Columbus Day), we can expect partly sunny skies and a high in the mid 50s. Winds will be from the north at 5 to 8 mph, and then will shift to the south as a low pressure system from our south. For the evening we can expect a low around 48 and a slight chance of showers after 1 am. Don't forget your umbrellas Tuesday because there is a slight chance of showers before 3 pm. Expect a high of 62 and slightly breezy conditions from the northwest at 8 to 11 mph, with winds increasing to 17 to 20 mph after 3 pm. A cold front will pass through the region Tuesday night, as it will be chilly with a low around 40. A high pressure system will move into the region Wednesday, as we can expect mostly sunny skies and a high near 55. For Thursday we can expect a chance for showers and a high near 50 and for Thursday night we can expect showers and a low near 42 as a low pressure system moves in from the South. For Friday expect a chance for rain and a high near 54. The weekend looks to be pleasant, due to a high pressure system from the northwest, with a high in the mid 50s for Saturday and for Sunday we'll be seeing a slight warm-up with mostly sunny skies and a high near 58.
Hurricane forecast for England, in October? That's right! Tropical Storm Grace just blow right by the United States and ended up near the United Kingdom a few days ago. Unusual, I'd say so! The storm developed off the coast of Azores, in late September as an extra-tropical area of low pressure. By October 4, the storm had formed and at 11:00 AST that day it was named Grace, by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) due to it's relatively deep convection and eye-like feature. Convection continued to persist due to low wind shear, even though the storm was already in waters not normally warm enough for a tropical storm to develop. Due to the intense jet stream, the tropical storm blew on a northeastern track over the Atlantic, rather than the more common southly track over the northwestern Atlantic. The storm intensified slightly as it moved over the waters and then began to decrease as it moved closer to the land surface, the next day. It's max winds where reported to peak at about 70 mph, for about one-minute. On October 6, Tropical Storm Grace dissipated over England, after bringing minor rainfall and high winds to Wales, Ireland and Capel Curig, United Kingdom.
According to the Hurricane Specialist's Unit (2009), "Operationally, Grace was not classified a tropical storm until it reached latitude 41.2°N; this marked the second northernmost formation of a tropical storm in the Atlantic on record, only Tropical Storm Alberto of 1988 had formed farther north." It also "...marked the farthest northeast a tropical cyclone formed in the Atlantic basin, surpassing that ofHurricane Vince in 2005."
Unfortunately these reports were proven to be incorrect after a post-storm analysis by the NHC, finding that "Grace had become a tropical storm 12 hours earlier than initially stated, becoming tropical at latitude 38.3°N." - source here.
Regardless if Tropical Storm Grace, was extra-tropical or just tropical, I'm sure it surprised a lot of weather forecasters!
Track of Hurricane Grace (courtesy of weather underground)
Definition of Extratropical- "
-->Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scalelow pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth (outside the tropics) having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and horizontal gradients in temperature and dew point otherwise known as "baroclinic zones." source
The Atlantic is quiet once more. On September 26, Tropical Depression Eight decided to take a turn towards the cooler waters of the northwestern coast of Africa. There the tropical depression would degenerated back into a tropical wave. There's still a good two more months until the Atlantic season is over, the final date for the season is November 30th. Let's at least see Grace! The Pacific hurricane season, has been very active producing 16 named stores, in which 6 of those named storms became hurricane and 3 of those hurricanes were major (category 3 or higher). Like the Atlantic season hurricane, the last day for the Pacific season in November 30th and currently no storms are active.
Forecast (September 29 to October 4)
Union, NJ
Don't forget your sweaters, tomorrow because Fall is here! The trees are already starting to turn and with the cold front that came through earlier this evening, the temperatures for this week will be slightly cooler. For Tuesday, expect a high of 70 with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of showers after 3 pm. For Tuesday night, expect temperatures around 50 degrees and chance for some sprinkles around 9 pm. On Wednesday, we'll be feeling some milder temperatures with a high around 64. A strong storm system will be slowly drifting Northeast from the great lakes into New England Wednesday night as we can expect a slight chance of showers throughout the day. A weak high pressure system will build in the region by Thursday as we can expect sunny skies, and a high near 63. That high will move offshore by the evening as we can expect partly cloudy skies and lows around 43. For Friday we warm up a little as a warm front approaches from our south. Expect a high around 68 with mostly sunny skies. That warm front will move into the tri-state region by Saturday as we can expect a high near 70 and mostly cloudy skies. Expect a slight chance of showers Saturday night as a cold front, following behind the warm front, moves into the region. Expect a high of 50 for Sunday with a chance of showers throughout the day. Stay safe everyone!!!
Imagine if you woke up one morning and you looked outside the window and instead of it raining or snowing just water droplets and frozen water droplets, it rained orange juice or snowed ice cream. That's the part of the plot behind one of my favorite books that I loved to read as a child, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Now I would always read this book before I went to bed when I was younger and when I heard that Hollywood, would be making this book into a movie, I must say that I was worried at first. As a 22-year-old college senior, I have seen my share of childhood favorites which have been turned into more commercialized Hollywood disasters. I feared that the wonderment and innocence of the text would be glamorized by flashing lights. Oh but I had nothing to fear. This movie sent me on whirlwind of emotions as it was amusing, thoughtful and heartfelt. Though some of the underlining themes may be a little too much for children to understand today, the nature of the film was much like that of the book that I read when I was younger.
Though the storyline is a bit different than that of the book, the characters in either are ones to love. From the grandfather who told the kids a story in the paperback, to the police officer who helped save the town in the movie, the individuals always seemed to remind me of someone I could relate to. The main characters in the movie may inspire the kiddies to become scientists, inventors and even a meteorologist as well That's what the whole story is based on and even more amazing is the concept of foodweather! It's a cute movie and I'm sure the whole family will love it. This weather girl approves!
Gosh it's been over a month since I've posted an entry on here, so long that it is technically Fall . I unexpectedly took a break from posting entries and there's been a lot going on with the weather and the environment. The 2009 Atlantic Hurricane season is still active until November 30 and the actual peak for this season has come and passed. Since I last posted an entry there have been two named storms. Erika and Fred. Erika became a tropical storm on September 1 after forming northeast of the Leeward Islands. The storm gained a greater potential as it moved across the Atlantic, strengthening to 60 mph. The next day however, the storm decreased in intensity and and was downgraded to a tropical depression the following day. Six days later, on September 7, a tropical wave of the coast of Cape Verde, formed what would later become Tropical Storm Fred, by the end of the day. The tropical storm quickly gained strength and became a category 1 hurricane in the early morning of September 8. The storm continued to gain intensity throughout the evening, becoming a category 2 hurricane, six hours after first becoming a category 1 hurricane. Fred made history not once but twice. The first is because of its location. The storm is the strongest storm to ever be recorded, to be captured so far south and east in the Atlantic by satellite imagery. Hurricane Fred is also one of only three hurricanes which were east of 35°W where it gained intensity to a category 3 hurricane. Due to vertical wind shear, the storm weakened to a remnant low on September 12. It remained a remnant low until September 20 (Two days before the first day of Fall) when it dissipated near Bermuda. As a remnant low Fred caused some havoc in the southeast, and produced widespread heavy rainfall. As a result, Fred caused historic flooding in Georgia, with a reported 20 inches falling near Atlanta, Georgia and caused over $250 million dollars in damages.
The Atlantic is currently brewing another storm as well. Tropical Depression Eight formed earlier today from a tropical wave off the coast of Cape Verde. The minimum central pressure is 1008 mb and it is moving northwest at 14 mph, with winds at 35 mph. Below is the five day forecast cone for the storm:
If this storm is named, the next name in on the storm names list is Grace. Now I know it's a far stretch but this years list also provides the name Kate, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get at least five more named storms so I can bug my best friend Kate, by possibly this season's storm with her name :-)
I'm back and I will definitely be posting more entries. Check back and stay safe!
Tropical Storm Ana has dissipated and as well as Tropical Storm Claudette which formed quickly off the shore of Tallahassee, Florida. Claudette was interesting because of quickness in which it formed. The storm was formed on August 16, out of a tropical wave and an upper-level low system. The winds had reached 50 mph by that afternoon and the storm made landfall on Santa Rosa Island, Florida. By August 17, the storm had weaken and dissipated over Georgia, the following day.
Currently Bill is active in the Atlantic Basin. Tropical Storm Bill had been upgraded to Hurricane Bill on August 17 after satellite imagery captured what to be an eye forming and the intensity of the storm increased. Bill intensified into a major hurricane (Category 3) on August and was upgraded to a category 4 hurricane on August 19. Since then the storm has weaken to a Category 2 and the path of the hurricane looks to "hug" the North Eastern Coast and just miss Bermuda. The storm may intensify again once it passes by Bermuda and tracks towards Canada. The storm is moving northwest at 18 mph with winds at 115 mph. Current watches and warnings are for Bermuda. Below is Hurricane Bill's projected path:
***Hurricane Bill passing by the coast will result in an increase in coastal danger. For the New Jersey Coast this weekend (Saturday August 21, 2009 to Sunday August 22, 2009), forecasters are predicting waves to reach close to 8 to 11 ft and rip currents will be stronger. If you are planning to go to the shore this weekend be advised of these dangers and check with your local weather forecaster before you head out into the water. Stay safe!***
We finally have our first tropic storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season, as well as another tropical storm behind it, Bill. Tropical Depression Two degenerated into a system of low pressure, over the Atlantic ocean on August 13. The remnants of this storm regenerated over the central Atlantic earlier today and finally has become the first tropical storm of the season, Ana!
Currently Tropical Storm Ana is 40 mph and is headed west at 17 mph. Below is the projected path of this storm:
A tropical storm watch is in effect for the Netherland Antilles. Check out this public advisory for more information.
Behind Tropical Storm Ana is Tropical Storm Bill has winds at 40 mph and is moving west at 16 mph. The storm formed southwest of the Cape Verde islands earlier today and strengthened to a tropical storm around 5 this evening. Below is the 5-day predication cone for Bill:
For the latest forecast and advisory for Tropical Storm Bill, check out this link.
Both storms are predicted to strengthen within the next 24 hours. Finally Ana has formed in the Atlantic basin and not just Ana, but Bill as well!
