Andie

In contrast to the heavy rain and snow in the European Alps. Check this out. Famous Victoria Fall is dry. Flip through the 8 photos at the top of the article. Remarkable. ___________________ https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/stunning-images-show-how-one-severely-dry-season-changed-the-worlds-largest-waterfall/640562?connatix=true Tucked away in south central Africa, and situated across the Zimbabwe and Zambia border, lies one of the world's largest waterfalls, a majestic sight that is an economic driver and prominent source of energy for the two countries. Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, is the most famous spectacle in that region and one of the most famous landmarks on the entire continent of Africa.

After all that rain, the Alps are now seeing record snows. These are late Nov. snowfalls. 295cm of snow on the ground at Rifugio Gastaldi – Balme (2.659m asl), 263cm at Macugnaga Rifugio Zamboni (2.075m), 239cm at Rifugio Vaccarone – Giaglione (2.745) m), 227cm at Lago Agnel – Ceresole Reale (2.304m), 222cm at Lago Dietro La Torre – Usseglio (2.360m) and Bocchetta Delle Pisse – Alagna Valsesia (2.410m), 197cm at Larecchio – Montecrestese (1.860m) and Lemon Pancani – Limone Piemonte (1.875m), 191cm in Formazza (2.453m), 188cm in the Del Chiotas Dam – Entracque (2.020m), 185cmin Malciaussia – Usseglio (1,800m), 172cm at Passo Del Moro – Macugnaga (2.820m), 169cm in Clot Of Soma – Pragelato (2.150m), 166cm in Alpe Veglia – Varzo (1.740m), 164cm in Grange Martina – Giaglione (1.967m), 163cm Pian Giasset – Crissolo (2.150m) and Lago Pilone – Sauze D’oulx (2.280m), 156cm Rifugio Mondovi – Roccaforte Mondovi (1.760m), 152cm at Sommeiller – Bardonecchia (2.981m), 150cm in Pian Delle Baracche – Sampeyre (2.135m), 137cm in Alpe Devero – Baceno (1.634m), 129cm in Camparient – Trivero (1.515m), 124cm in Sestriere (2.020m). Per approfondire http://www.meteoweb.eu/2019/11/meteo-alpi-sommerse-neve-piemonte-sestriere/1350156/#U03AfALMXOVSWFCe.99 Iceagenow.com

Okla/Tx could text this in with one word. Boring. A sad 40% chance of rain with what they are calling a "cold front" on Tuesday. Otherwise, it's a yawner!

Looks like Okwx will get his wish. I'm hoping Texas holds off till after Christmas. But the way things are,looking, we may get snow this winter in North Texas.

I'm not going to hold my breath on any frozen precip for the time around Christmas. Though I wouldn't argue with being snowed in and avoiding relatives this year.

Have to control my laughter at the DFW snow prediction. Save a flake for me boys!

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/possible-interstellar-comet-headed-our-way/ What sets C/2019 Q4 apart from nearly every other comet is the eccentricity of its orbit. Eccentricity measures how much an orbit deviates from a perfect circle, which has an eccentricity of 0. Elliptical orbits, typical of planets, asteroids and comets, have eccentricities between 0 and 1. Parabolas are equal to 1, and an eccentricity greater than 1 indicates a hyperbolic orbit. If this result holds up, astronomers have an unprecedented opportunity to study a potentially interstellar object in great detail over a long span of time. Based on the comet's current magnitude (~18) and distance from the Sun (2.7 a.u.), it appears to be a fairly large object — perhaps 10 km or more across, depending on the reflectivity of its surface. Whether it becomes visible in amateur telescopes is unknown at this point, but it may become bright enough for astrophotographers to capture. We'll have updates as additional observations and photos arrive. For predicted positions and current orbital element, check out the Minor Planet Center's latest circular MPEC 2019-R106. https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K19/K19RA6.html

2I/Borisov is zipping through the solar system at 110,000 miles per hour and should make its closest flyby of the sun on December 7. By mid-2020, the comet will speed past Jupiter, about 500 million miles away, and continue on its path back into interstellar space. https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614588/watch-interstellar-comet-21-borisov-hurtle-through-space-in-this-hubble-time-lapse/ “It’s humbling to realize how small Earth is next to this visitor from another solar system. — P. van Dokkum, Ph.D., Professor of Astronomy, Yale University This visitor came from interstellar space along a hyperbolic trajectory. It is only the second known intruder to zoom through our Solar System (the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua was detected in 2017). As the graphic shows, the comet’s straight path across interstellar space is slightly deflected by the gravitational pull of our Sun. The comet is travelling so fast, at over 155 000 kilometres per hour, it will eventually leave the Solar System. The panel on the right shows the comet’s position relative to Earth when the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed it on 12 October 2019, when it was 420 million kilometres from Earth. https://sci.esa.int/web/hubble/-/orbital-path-of-comet-2i-borisov Hubble Image Yale astronomers in Hawaii at the W. M. Keck Observatory have captured a new image below of 21/Borisov, the second interstellar object and first interstellar comet to enter our solar system. The first interstellar object was Oumuamua, which astronomers at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy spotted in 2017 using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS1) telescope at Haleakala on Maui. There is controversy about what exactly Oumuamua was. Astronomers report that this first interstellar comet formed in a solar system beyond ours and was ejected into interstellar space when there was a near-collision with a planet in its original solar system. The comet is following a hyperbolic path around the Sun, and currently is speeding at an extraordinary speed of 110,000 miles per hour. David Jewitt, Ph.D., at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is leader of the Hubble Space Telescope team who is also observing and photographing the interstellar comet. Prof. Jewitt says, “It’s traveling so fast it almost doesn’t care that the Sun is there.” Earthfiles.com Artist's Comparison of Size with Earth

North Texas is looking at a week of 50's and 60's, dry, breezy, and partly cloudy. Feels like Spring.

Sun blasting into the southern wall of glass on my house. The storm has definitely passed. Two days of fog, mist and thiunderstorms was nice though. It's 69*. So, we're back on our usual warm Thanksgiving Day phase. The next dry week will deliver 50's and 60's. Sunny to partly sunny. Yawn.

Early 60's. I always thought, as usual, marketers were just using a workers day off as an opportunity to make a lot of money. People love the term "sale". But if it's a true bargain and it's something you've been needing or planning it's a good thing. But too many people just go crazy and spend too much. I may buy a pair of jeans today, but, that's it. I'm way too practical for marketers to like me. But saving 60% on something I wear almost everyday, that's a good deal.

Woke to heavy fog today. It's still lingering as skies continue to darken. We could see some heavy showers today as a warm front backs up and a High around 68*. Showers and localized storms will be the call of the day through the evening. Currently 49* Heavy fog

So, no matter what..........Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Enjoy food and family, or snooze, or both. North Texas will be dealing with a rainy holiday. High tomorrow in the 40's. Rain. Wish it would have waited a day, but you snow lovers should be happy.

Thought I'd wrap this up. Late but, better than never. Seems there was a suspect on the land. Someone involved in a criminal activity. Evacuation was a safety call. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/science/astronomy-supernova-betelgeuse.html https://www.npr.org/2018/09/17/648804508/after-mysterious-closure-solar-observatory-in-new-mexico-reopens

Texas and Oklahoma will have a front move in Wednesday. Thursday and Friday will be very very wet. That's creates a travel danger for many including yours truly. I have to drive up to the Red River Thursday and back. I absolutely hate driving in all that rain. It's overcast, but we will see a high of 78 today before the front moves through and mid 50's tomorrow.

Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting to look at solar radiation reaching Earth. Axial tilt and Prescession contribute greatly. Scroll through the pages and (re)familiarize yourself with the work of Milutin Milankovitch. . https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Milankovitch Milankovitch dedicated his career to developing a mathematical theory of climate based on the seasonal and latitudinal variations of solar radiation received by the Earth. Now known as the Milankovitch Theory, it states that as the Earth travels through space around the sun, cyclical variations in three elements of Earth-sun geometry combine to produce variations in the amount of solar energy that reaches Earth: "Variations in the Earth's orbital eccentricity—the shape of the orbit around the sun. Changes in obliquity—changes in the angle that Earth's axis makes with the plane of Earth's orbit. Precession—the change in the direction of the Earth's axis of rotation, i.e., the axis of rotation behaves like the spin axis of a top that is winding down; hence it traces a circle on the celestial sphere over a period of time" "Using these three orbital variations, Milankovitch was able to formulate a comprehensive mathematical model that calculated latitudinal differences in insolation and the corresponding surface temperature for 600,000 years prior to the year 1800. He then attempted to correlate these changes with the growth and retreat of the Ice Ages. To do this, Milankovitch assumed that radiation changes in some latitudes and seasons are more important to ice sheet growth and decay than those in others. Then, at the suggestion of German Climatologist Vladimir Koppen, he chose summer insolation at 65 degrees North as the most important latitude and season to model, reasoning that great ice sheets grew near this latitude and that cooler summers might reduce summer snowmelt, leading to a positive annual snow budget and ice sheet growth." https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Paleoclimatology_Evidence "Evidence supporting Milankovitch’s theory of the precise timing of the ice ages first came from a series of fossil coral reefs that formed on a shallow ocean bench in the South Pacific during warm interglacial periods. As the ice ages came, more and more water froze into polar ice caps and the ocean levels dropped, leaving the reef exposed. When the ice melted, the ocean rose and warmed, and another reef formed. At the same time, the peninsula on which the reefs formed was steadily being pushed up by the motion of the Earth’s shifting tectonic plates. Today, the reefs form a visible series of steps along the shore of Papua New Guinea. The reefs, the age of which was well-defined because of the decaying uranium in the coral, measured out the millennia between ice ages. They also defined the maximum length of each ice age. The intervals fell exactly where Milankovitch said they would."

Extended list of flooding in Euope this year. http://floodlist.com/europe Pretty significant. One has to ask if this is partly due to population growth and construction with more hard surfaces built and less land to absorb moisture, or is it weather changing? Some might ask is it climate? I'll leave that to weather/climate people. Is it simply a pattern? But this has been a bumper year for floods in Europe and Russia. Browse a few pages. 2019 has been quite a year.

Snow in the Italian Alps isn't news, but snow to this degree and flooding in the lower areas is news. Anyone that has ever flown overt he Italian/French Alps has surely been impressed by them. To hear Mets express concern about avalanches and flooding so early is worthy of note. https://www.severe-weather.eu/mcd/extreme-rainfall-flooding-western-alps-mk/ The overall pattern across Europe reveals a very large upper trough / low with a broad surface low moving from the Bay of Biscay into France and the western Mediterranean, while a strong upper-level ridge persists across eastern Europe and western Russia. A powerful jet stream rounds the base of the trough, resulting in large scale ascent towards the western Alps with strong low-level moisture and warm airmass advection towards the SE France and NW Italy.

Feel better soon, winters on your doorstep!

If we want late Fall and Winter, looks like we'll have to travel north.

Looks like Okwx and I will be able to phone ours in once a month. Talk about dull. I was hoping for some rain at least.

https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1921/ In January 2019, an extremely bright and long gamma-ray burst (GRB) was detected by a suite of telescopes, including NASA’s Swift and Fermi telescopes, as well as by the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes. Known as GRB 190114C, some of the light detected from the object had the highest energy ever observed: 1Tera electron volt (TeV) — about one trillion times as much energy per photon as visible light. Scientists have been trying to observe such very high energy emission from GRB’s for a long time, so this detection is considered a milestone in high-energy astrophysics. “Scientists have been trying to observe very-high-energy emission from gamma-ray bursts for a long time,” explained lead author Antonio de Ugarte Postigo of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain. “This new observation is a vital step forward in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts, their immediate surroundings, and just how matter behaves when it is moving at 99.999% of the speed of light.”

The danger is not over yet. It continues to snow in the south of Austria. and new storms threaten. After days of heavy snowfall and storms, the situation in East Tyrol seemed to calm down. Gradually, one street after another is opened again. In addition, kindergartens and schools are largely reopened, the country said on Tuesday. Also the avalanche danger went from level 4, big danger, to level 3, considerable danger, back. 20 pioneers are to clear the roads with heavy equipment. Now comes again rain & snow. The situation remains tense because of soggy soils. Military clears up Around 100 soldiers help the population in Bad Hofgastein, in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in Bruck an der Glocknerstraße and in Thumersbach. Wonder from Bad Gastein: Two women saved A huge mudslide pushed two houses into each other and buried two women below. Carinthians carried away in the garden of Mure – dead The 79-year-old may have just been in the garden and looked with concern on the slope, as this began to slip. ‘People are standing in front of nothing’ Muds and floods in many parts of Austria – the situation remains tense. In addition, in Salzburg, Carinthia and Styria many roads are still not passable due to floods. https://www.wetter.at/wetter/wetterradar

I'm sure that's all Panhandle and maybe into Lubbock, Wichita Falls.Takes a hard push and deep moist cold to give DFW 3-5" of snow. Please, no ice, k? We usually don't see it till after Jan. 1st anyway. Check your tires and emergency road supplies folks. It's gonna be an interesting winter.

49*. Rain today. Low of 36*. I love Fall!