Suncoast Stormwatch

For those of you who have tried to get onto Suncoast Stormwatch this past week, you'll be glad to know that the site it back up after being up and down (but mostly down) since Saturday.

My hosting provider, Weebly, has been experiencing difficulties caused by a  DDoS attack since Saturday. 

In weather-related news, I was checking temperatures across the area, and those of you living in Hernando County will feel the effects of a cold front moving through the area. You can expect lows in the the 50s through tomorrow night.

Between  the fires in California and the flooding in Georgia this month, we've seen both sides of the spectrum.
 
Locally, in the Tampa Bay Area, tempertures will be in the low to mid 90s, with a slight cool down at the end of the week. Rain chances should leave the area for Monday, return to give a small chance on Tuesday, and then dry out again for the remainder of the week.

Here is a climatology report from NWS Ruskin regarding Autumn temperatures.


Major flooding occured in Georgia this past week.  The torrential rainfall started last Saturday and ended Monday. In Atlanta, you saw 6.46 inches from the 19th to the 21st.
People are calling ths flood event a 100-year storm, which, contrary to widespread belief, is not a storm that happens every 100 years, it just means that there is a 1 in 100 chance that a storm of that magnitude will occur.

Here are accumalated rainfall totals from the event:

Preliminary 3-DAY RAINFALL TOTALS
September 19-21, 2009   

  Atlanta (ATL) 6.46 inches
 Athens (AHN) 6.16 inches
 Columbus (CSG) 1.46 inches
 Macon (MCN) 5.58 inches
 Peachtree City (FFC) 2.78 inches
 Gainesville (GVL) 6.26 inches
West Fulton County (FTY) 8.22 inches
 Chamblee (PDK) 8.96 inches
 Cartersville (VPC) 5.28 inches
Rome (RMG) 4.22 inches


Preliminary 3-DAY RAINFALL TOTALS
from Cooperative Observers
September 19-21, 2009 (through 5:30 pm Monday)    

Dallas 7NE 15.44 inches (through 5:30 pm)
Canton 10.32 inches Mableton 7.96 inches
Carrollton 10.27inches Doraville 10.90 inches
 Alpharetta 4SSW 7.51 inches

Other Notable 24 hour rainfall totals ending Monday morning include:

Douglasville 3.7 S - 11.80 inches
Lilburn 0.8 SSE - 9.60 inches
Douglasville 0.2 N - 8.58 inches
Lawrenceville 3.0 NW - 8.21 inches
Lawrenceville 4.0 NW - 8.18 inches
Douglasville 2.8 NE 8.13 inches

Additional Daily Rainfall totals can be viewed on the Georgia CoCoRAHS page.

More info can be found here


Last week's weather trivia question was: In meteorology, what is CAPE, and would 3000 CAPE be considered high or low?  The answer is below...........


CAPE stands for Convective Available Potential Energy. If you looked at a Skew-T Diagram, a rating of 3000 would be considered high. A really good guide to understanding CAPE can be found here, along with a guide to understanding the rest of the Skew-T parameters

This week's question is: In the National Weather Service, what do the terms MIC, WCM, and SOO stand for?

Heading into the last days of September, it is still in the low to mid 90s here in Florida.

I can't say the same about places like Concord, Hew Hampshire. Although the temperatures there aren't quite my speed, I wouldn't mind a blast of cold air to get rid of the humidity here.

West Coast Floridians can expect small to moderate rain chances each day, with temps, as I said before, in the low to mid 90s.

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The answer to last week's weather trivia question of "When is the climatological peak of hurricane season" is: September 10th.

Below is this week's question:

In meteorology, what is CAPE, and would 3000 be considered high or low?

Sorry about not updating over the weekend, I wasn't near a computer.

Locally, the weather this week will be wet and warm. Temperatures will be in the low 90s. Rain chances will be moderate.

Texas has been inundated with rain. Jarrel, Texas received 14 inches over the weekend.

The answer to last week's weather Trivia Question of "What is a tornado?" is:

A violently rotating column of air, usually pendant to a cumulonimbus, with circulation reaching the ground. It nearly always starts as a funnel cloud and may be accompanied by a loud roaring noise. (Official Definition From NWS)

This Week's Question is: When is the climatological peak of hurricane season?

I know, I don't usually post multiple times in one day, but this is important.

Lows in some parts of Maine will be a couple degrees below freezing tonight, and maybe at other times this week.  There is a Freeze Warning and a Frost Advisory in effect.

This is the forecast for Clayton Lake, Maine through Wednesday:

Tonight

Frost

Lo 31 °F Sunday

Sunny

Hi 66 °F
Sunday
Night

Mostly
Clear

Lo 39 °F
 Labor
Day

Sunny

Hi 74 °F
 Monday
Night

Slight Chc
Showers
Lo 48 °F

Tuesday

Slight Chc
Showers
Hi 74 °F
Tuesday
Night

Clear

Lo 35 °F
Wednesday

Sunny

Hi 72 °F

Wednesday
Night

Mostly
Clear
Lo 35 °F

Rain. That is what residents of San Antonio, Austin, and other parts of Texas will be seeing this week, or to quote a friend in San Antonio:"lovely lovely wonderful rain!".

Well, you'll get your "lovely lovely wonderful rain" through Monday, and then it's back to the sunny, mid to high 90s for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, back in the Sunshine State (or should I say the The Rain-Washed State, compared with The Dry State), we can expect rain chances to hover around 50%.

High temps will be in the low to mid 90s. 

I am now going to post a weather related question each week, which will be answered in the next week's Update. Feel free to comment  on questions or provide an answer, and also let me know if you have an interesting weather trivia question and I might use it.

This Week's Weather Trivia Question:

What is a tornado?

(Answer Will Be Posted In The Next  Weekly Update)