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August 2020 Observations and Discussion


Tom

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Yay, storm chances have suddenly popped up into the valley today and tomorrow.  High rez models are showing storms firing up along the Rim and pushing S/SW into the eastern valley where I'm at.  I'd love to see some storms today.

 

 

hrrr_ref_frzn_swus_fh9-18 (1).gif

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No rain fell here yesterday. For the month I have recorded 1.43” of rain fall. We are now at the half way point for August 2020 and here are some stats from around the state of Michigan. At Grand Rapids the mean so far is 71.0 that is good for a departure of -0.7° the highest reading so far has been 89 and the lowest 52. And there had been 1.34” of rain fall. At Muskegon the mean is 71.8 and that is a departure of +1.0 the highest reading there is 91 and the lowest 49. They have recorded 2.01” of rain. At Lansing the mean is 70.4 that is -0.3 the high/low there so far is 90/49 and they have recorded 1.39” of rain. At Detroit the mean is 73.4 and that is a departure of +0.6 the highest reading there so far 90 and the lowest 57. At Flint the mean is 69.2 and that is a departure of -0.5 the high/low there for the month 88/48 and they have reported 1.46” of rain. At Saginaw the mean 71.3 that is a departure of +1.5 the high for the month so far 89 and the low 50. At Alpena the mean there is 68.3 that is a departure of +1.8 the highest reading for the month 91 and the lowest 49. They have had just 0.90” of rain fall. At the Sault the mean of 68.7 is 3.1 above average. They have had 1.66” of rain fall and at Marquette the mean there is 65.2 and that is +0.5 the highest for the month so far is 85 and the lowest was a cool 42.

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Hello from Champaign, IL! Heading out to Tennessee and North Carolina with my girlfriend to visit her sister in Knoxville (who is a meteorologist btw!) and then go see my brother for a couple days. Be home next weekend. Went through Cedar Rapids yesterday. Even though a lot of cleanup has taken place there is still a lot to do. Definitely looked like a hurricane blasted through there!

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Picked up a quick half inch of rain in my backyard in Southwest Omaha, I didn’t expect much of anything tonight so this makes up for getting the shaft on Friday. Plus the clouds that preceded the storms were pretty photogenic, will have to post a picture of them when I get my computer.

 

Areas to our west and south definitely got into the better action again, however I am thankful for what we got today on a 30% chance.

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Tom, are you seeing any dust storms in Arizona? It looks like Phoenix is getting hit with one right now. I guess its still better than a "firenado."

 

Webcams showing the wall of dust approaching downtown PHX:

https://www.phoenix.gov/citycam

I’m in the far northeast valley and it’s clear here, however, I was just near PHX where those web cams are. I saw a bit of dust when I headed east out of the PHX area. This is the first time this season where I saw towering storm clouds that had far reaching anvil cloud tops obscure the hot sun about 2 hours ago. It was a pleasant sight to see.

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As Bryan mentioned, the Monsoon finally made an appearance yesterday into parts of the valley.  Unfortunately, the cells that were heading right for my place literally disintegrated and blew up W/NW of me and hit the NW/W valley instead.  Those were the storms that formed a large wall of dust that blew through the west side of the valley.

 

https://www.12news.com/article/weather/severe-weather-making-its-way-across-arizona/75-8af71aed-4754-4f3e-89ff-4774a75231e6

 

We might get a repeat performance today as storms roll off the mountains and head S/SW into the valley.  Another record breaking day in the forecast as temps peak near 115F today.

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I still do not have power so I can’t upload my video, but saw this video today of the footage here in CR. This gives you a great perspective as it captures the entire thing.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=pBkPichBlt8

OMG, what a perspective...I'm mind blown how wild this derecho was for CR.  This storm system is a learning curve for me as I never knew these systems could last this long.  I always thought they came with very strong winds on the front end.  This derecho delivered waves upon waves of intense wind gusts.  If I remember correctly, the worst of the storm came at the 14:00 min mark!  Unbelievable.  Thanks for sharing.

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I still do not have power so I can’t upload my video, but saw this video today of the footage here in CR. This gives you a great perspective as it captures the entire thing.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=pBkPichBlt8

Wicked winds. Just crazy!

 

- Last time I saw these winds were back in June, 2010 in Great Neck, NY and Sept 16, 2010, in Brooklyn, where trees were all knocked down from a Derecho, but did not last nearly as long as this one did in Iowa.

 

Sept 16th, 2010 Vid: I was there getting ready to hop on the subway W train in Brooklyn

 

https://youtu.be/-qz61oFNVZs

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Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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As the saying goes, “sharing is caring”...Mother Nature is putting on a show and delivering quite the monsoon haboob! I saw a double rainbow (again), a wall of dust that you can taste and smell in the air and quite the lighting as the sun sets and darkness ensues. East side of the valley getting some much welcomed moisture from this severe cell.

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I still do not have power so I can’t upload my video, but saw this video today of the footage here in CR. This gives you a great perspective as it captures the entire thing.

Wow, just insane! I also happened to find this video this evening and planned to share it on here if no one did yet, but see you have already posted:)
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Nws updated Peak wind speeds to 130 mph!! That radio tower was just north of my house.

 

https://www.weather.gov/dvn/summary_081020

Pretty sure the state record non tornadic wind gust is 120mph per a disco I had with the NWS last week at this time. So if the130 is verified it should be a state record but probably will not because it was not "measured". Screenshot_2020-08-18 US National Weather Service Des Moines Iowa - Posts.png

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The two loudest sounds known to man: a gun that goes bang when it is supposed to go click and a gun that goes click when it is supposed to go bang.

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The beat goes on, PHX broke another record high yesterday topping out at 115F and may set another record low high this morning with a current temp of 93F.  It was nice to see and feel the monsoon last evening.  I'm sure when daylight appears there will be a layer of dust on everything outside bc we didn't get the rain to wash it away.  

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Pretty sure the state record non tornadic wind gust is 120mph per a disco I had with the NWS last week at this time. So if the130 is verified it should be a state record but probably will not because it was not "measured". attachicon.gifScreenshot_2020-08-18 US National Weather Service Des Moines Iowa - Posts.png

I usually thought they said that the highest measured unofficial Iowa non tornadic gust was 125 mph at Washington on 6/29/98, but this graphic shows 123 mph. Not much difference really, and it’s unofficial for eastern Iowa.

6-B945-C55-5290-462-F-B4-E6-3-E9579502-A

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Attm, its 71F under mostly sunny skies and very pleasant. Dew is in the 50s. Absolutely gorgeous outside.

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Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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It will certainly be a chilly one tanite as temp drop into the upper 40s and lower 50s under crystal clear skies and calm winds. Do I dare a "Bonfire" going?!

Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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I think you misread or misunderstood what they meant. The title reads ‘bolt FROM the blue’, ie a lightning strike seemingly out of the blue sky overhead except that it was from a nearby t. storm. I’m guessing it was a positive strike out of an anvil which are more dangerous. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
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The think you misread or misunderstood what they meant. The title reads ‘bolt FROM the blue’, ie a lightning strike seemingly out of the blue sky overhead except that it was from a nearby t. storm. I’m guessing it was a positive strike out of an anvil which are more dangerous. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

This is what possibly happened......One of the 2 is a possibility;

 

boltblueaccu.jpg?w=632

 

"This is an example of 'bolt from the blue' coming out the side of a storm cloud OR an "Storm Anvil."

 

Per Accu-weather: from Ferrell

"A storm anvil is an elongated cloud that forms on top of a thunderstorm when rising clouds meet the top of the troposphere -- the part of the atmosphere that contains the weather -- and spread out," Ferrell explained. Ferrell was able to use graphics to recreate the storm anvil associated with this lightning strike, a visual that can be seen in the video at the top of this article.

A bolt from the blue can also be "a cloud-to-ground strike which comes out of the side of the thunderstorm cloud," according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory. In this case, it's not possible to tell whether the bolt came from the storm anvil or out of the side of the thunderstorm cloud, Ferrell said.  Both can be very dangerous!

 

Finally, I don't think I misread or misunderstood what they meant. I know exactly what the title reads! No correction needed there.

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Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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I suppose you’re tired of watching derecho videos, but there’s nothing much else to talk about around here. The rest of August is looking mostly dry here attm, and already very dry!

 

A drought mixed in with a nearly once in a lifetime storm for parts of Iowa, plus COVID-19. I have much to be thankful for though!

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This is what possibly happened......One of the 2 is a possibility;

 

boltblueaccu.jpg?w=632

 

"This is an example of 'bolt from the blue' coming out the side of a storm cloud OR an "Storm Anvil."

 

Per Accu-weather: from Ferrell

"A storm anvil is an elongated cloud that forms on top of a thunderstorm when rising clouds meet the top of the troposphere -- the part of the atmosphere that contains the weather -- and spread out," Ferrell explained. Ferrell was able to use graphics to recreate the storm anvil associated with this lightning strike, a visual that can be seen in the video at the top of this article.

A bolt from the blue can also be "a cloud-to-ground strike which comes out of the side of the thunderstorm cloud," according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory. In this case, it's not possible to tell whether the bolt came from the storm anvil or out of the side of the thunderstorm cloud, Ferrell said.  Both can be very dangerous!

 

Finally, I don't think I misread or misunderstood what they meant. I know exactly what the title reads! No correction needed there.

Ok, all is good. I was just going by how your headline read, but maybe you copied it. No harm meant.
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Sparky-

 

I forgot to ask you if your garden survived the Derecho, or better yet, if you were affected and if so, how badly. I know CR, iowa was hit the hardest, or just a tad north from there.

Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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Attm, temp is at 72F and a dew of 52F. Cannot get any better than this for this time of the year.

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Snowfall for Winter 2023 -24 for Metro Detroit Area 

Oct 2023: 0.2" AN

Nov 2023: 2.2" AN

Dec 2023: 0.5" BN Insane!

Jan 2024: 17.0" AN

Feb 2024: 1.9"  BN

Mar 2024: 4.9" BN

April 2024:

Season So Far: 26.7"

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We did it AGAIN yesterday and set another record high of 115F at PHX!  Golly, the forecast was for temps to peak around 111F but nope, it shot up higher.  We continue to build on record setting 115F+ days and 110F+ days for the summer.  The extended forecast calls for more extreme heat to build back next week also.  This is nuts.  A short, but nice reprieve from the heat is coming this Fri-Sun as temps dip into the low 100's....LOL...what a COOL down, ay???

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In general, it's been a rather cool August with occasional bursts of heat here and there for the majority of our Sub.

 

MonthTDeptUS.png

 

 

 

As we close out the month, however, it appears likely that a pretty good signal for a robust burst of Heat is on the horizon for many of you.  What has been a HOT Summer, it is a "fitting" way to end met Summer with a Heat wave.  Now, does this continue into Sept or is nature going to flip the script???

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In general, it's been a rather cool August with occasional bursts of heat here and there for the majority of our Sub.

 

MonthTDeptUS.png

 

 

 

As we close out the month, however, it appears likely that a pretty good signal for a robust burst of Heat is on the horizon for many of you.  What has been a HOT Summer, it is a "fitting" way to end met Summer with a Heat wave.  Now, does this continue into Sept or is nature going to flip the script???

I'm ready for nice fall temps and college football...oh wait. 

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I'm ready for nice fall temps and college football...oh wait.

I’m with ya, I’m living and experiencing history out here during this Heat wave and lookin forward to coming back home in Sept when much cooler air should prevail.

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