8/12/2013 Daily Update: Unsettled Tonight into Tuesday, Utor Hits Philippines, 3 M6+ Quakes, M-class Flare

Good afternoon everyone!

After a perfect weekend weather-wise, things are starting to get unsettled as we head into the start of the week.

TODAY: Sunny start to the day then clouds move in along with shower chances in the evening. Humidity will be steadily on the rise throughout the day. Highs in the lower to mid 80s. Light southerly wind.

TONIGHT: Showers with possible thunderstorms late tonight into the morning hours, gradually increasing in coverage heading into the afternoon. More humid. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower to mid 60s. Winds from the S at 5 to 10 mph.

TOMORROW: Showers and storms are likely, a few could be strong to severe. Fairly widespread rain but most of it ends in the evening with a few lingering showers and storms possible heading into tomorrow night. Outdoor plans are not advised during the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid to upper 70s. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.

NATIONAL WEATHER

• Southwest flow from upper level low in Canada sparking scattered thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic
• Thunderstorms in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest, some could turn severe across Northern Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas
• Sea breeze and comfortable weather for the West Coast. Isolated showers/storms in the Pacific Northwest
• Chances of thunderstorms continue in the Southeast along the stalled front and battle zone between moist and cooler air

Keeping a close eye on the tropics. There are indications of a storm developing in the Gulf waters late this week.

WORLD WEATHER

• Typhoon Utor made landfall in the Philippines as a strong Category 4 storm bringing heavy rains, flooding, and landslide threats. At least one death has been blamed on Utor, certainly the number will rise as the country cleans up. China is on alert as Utor is expected to track southwest of Hong Kong as a weakening typhoon. Now at Category 2 with winds at 95 mph.
• Henriette is no more in the Central Pacific.
• Calm weather for Europe except for some isolated storms in northern parts. Seasonable temps for many areas, hotter across Spain.
• A trough is bringing showers and storms to Southern Australia. Warm northwesterlies are bringing a few showers across Southwest Australia. High pressure dominates and keeping most of the continent clear.

EARTHQUAKES

What a way to end the quiet streak! 3 earthquakes greater than or equal to M6 were measured yesterday by the USGS.

M6.0 off the coast of Eastern Indonesia: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000j0vl#summary

M6.0 in the northern coast of New Zealand: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000j0yl#summary

M6.1 off the coast of NW Peru: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000j10u#summary

SPACE WEATHER

Just like the earthquakes, solar activity has begun to pick up. Several C-flares erupted from Sunspot 1817 yesterday and a M1.5-class solar flare this morning that may have hurled a coronal mass ejection at Earth. Sunspots 1817 and 1818 are being monitored for a growing threat of M-class solar flares:

Note: There were no signs of a CME impact yesterday. Either it may have been too weak to register or it missed Earth.

8/11/2013 Daily Update: Sunny Sunday, Super Typhoon Utor, Perseids, CME Impact

Good afternoon everyone!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day that featured abundant sunshine and a refreshing breeze from the NW. Today is going to be similar, ending the weekend in a sunny note

TODAY: Sunny with highs in the mid 70s to low 80s. Generally calm to light winds blowing from the NW turning around to the W in the afternoon.

TONIGHT: Few clouds move in overnight, lows in the low to mid 50s. Light winds expected.

TOMORROW: Partly cloudy with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Humidity is on the rise. There is a slight chance of a shower or storm in the evening hours.

Monitoring an approaching cold front set to arrive Tuesday that will bring chances for storms, potentially strong/severe, and flooding issues again.

NATIONAL WEATHER

• Thunderstorms continue in the Tennessee Valley and Virginia along the stalled front will bring another round of flooding downpours.
• Tropical downpours for the Gulf States and the Southeast tapping into the tropical moisture in the Gulf associated with upper level low.
• Thunderstorms in the Mountain West and Midwest with wider coverage occurring in the afternoon.
• Low pressure off the coast of the Pacific Northwest will bring showers and thunderstorms to the region in the afternoon.

WORLD WEATHER

• Super Typhoon Utor in the Western Pacific has reached Category 4 status (winds at 150 mph with gusts up to 185 mph) and will make landfall as a strong/major typhoon in the Philippines by Monday morning. I hope locals are prepping and ready for tremendous winds and flooding that is about to occur.
• Henriette is now a Tropical Depression and struggling along in the Central Pacific. She's near the end of her life.
• Cooler air arrives in Europe putting a halt to the heat and relatively dry conditions except for convergence storms in Northeast Europe.
• Few showers in Southern Australia along a front. Sunny across the interior and east.

EARTHQUAKES

No earthquakes at or above M6 yesterday or so far today. In fact, no earthquakes GREATER than M5.0 since Thursday morning. Very quiet. This makes it 16 days in a row without a earthquake greater or equal to M6.

SPACE WEATHER

• Tonight is going to be a decent night for viewing the Perseid meteor shower which is at its peak. They will appear in the northeast sky. It is best to view them away from outdoor lights in a dark place.
• Waiting for a CME that is expected to hit Earth's magnetic field today. Auroras are possible near the poles.
• A large coronal hole is emerging over the sun's NE limb. Increased solar wind by the second half of the week.

8/10/2013 Daily Update: Yesterday's Flooding Gone, Beautiful Weekend, CME Impacts Today/Tomorrow

Good morning everyone!

This is the first of many daily updates to come.

Heavy rain from yesterday prompted the NWS to issue Flash Flood Warnings for most of the region. More than 3" of rain fell causing street flooding to occur in the lower Pioneer Valley. Here's the map of rainfall totals from yesterday:

The good news is the cold front has finally cleared making for a gorgeous weekend for outdoor plans.

TODAY: Mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s. A bit breezy with gusts from the NW over 20 mph.

TONIGHT: Clear with lows in the lower to mid 50s. NW winds diminishing and calming after midnight.

TOMORROW: Sunny with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Winds will be out of the W 5-10 mph.

NATIONAL WEATHER

Thunderstorms in the South and Southeast
Thunderstorms across the Mountain West and the upper Midwest
Thunderstorms in the Pacific Northwest

WORLD WEATHER

Tropical Storm Henriette in the Central Pacific is weakening and heading south of Hawaii.

Typhoon Utor in the Western Pacific is on path to make landfall in the Philippines as a strong/major typhoon after the weekend.

Thunderstorms in Central Europe, hot across southern parts

High pressure and mostly dry weather remains firm in Australia. Showers in Tasmania and Western Australia

EARTHQUAKES

No earthquakes at or above M6 yesterday or so far today. This makes it 15 days in a row without a earthquake greater or equal to M6.

SPACE WEATHER

One or two CMEs are expected to hit Earth's magnetic field today or tomorrow. Auroras are possible near the poles.
A large coronal hole is emerging over the sun's NE limb.

Big Plans Ahead!

Hi all,

In my quest to revive the blog again, I am changing things up and adding many new features. Starting tomorrow, I will be posting daily updates that will include the following:

• Today's local forecast for Western Massachusetts, tonight's and tomorrow's
• A look at weather around the nation today
• A look at weather around the world today
• A list of earthquakes M6 or above from yesterday up to today
• What's going on in space weather

In addition to these daily updates, expect posts on the weather here locally when bad weather is in the offing and significant weather developments around the world, earthquakes, and space weather as deemed necessary. Also, I plan on doing the following:

• A weather and climate summary each month for Western MA
• Live "tweet blog" during significant snowstorms, severe weather outbreaks, tropical cyclones, etc. impacting the region
• Frequently updated snowfall totals in Southern New England starting October (can't wait!)
• My own hurricane outlook for next season (maybe?)
• Expanding the climate data page
• Top weather events and recap of the year
• And other miscellaneous goodies... ;)

There's a lot I want to do to make my blog accessible and useful for my diligent followers. I hope I can make it happen through your support. Overall, I want this site to be the best it can be and a one-stop source for weather news and beyond. I am looking forward to the challenge. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!