Two powerful winter storms are set to collide over the northeastern United States today in what could be a record-breaking weather event. Many locations including Boston and New York City will see blizzard conditions in what some are calling a potentially historic event.
Parts of New England will be measuring snow in feet when this storm is finished and it is possible many locations will see their biggest snows on record. NASA satellites captured an amazing image this morning of the region as the storms begin to arrive – see below.
NASA says, “The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor’easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.”
A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.
Today, February 5th, we celebrate one of our nation’s most important holidays – National Weatherperson’s Day. In what is truly a very revered occasion, we take time out to honor those men and women who bring joy to schoolchildren when they announce a snow day, are the bearers of bad news when severe weather is about to strike and are prognosticators second only to Jimmy the Greek in their ability to read a crystal ball. Read more about this auspicious occasion on Examiner.com.
President Barack Obama will be sworn in for his second term today and while the weather looks to cooperate for the ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, that hasn’t always been the case. Mother Nature has impacted previous Inauguration Days and most famously led to the death of a president. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
Artist's depiction of March 4, 1841 and William Henry Harrison's inauguration. Harrison contracted pneumonia on a wet and cold day would die 30 days later. Learn more at the link. (Library of Congress)
Weather Geek Stuff is a great place to shop for gifts for weather enthusiasts, weather geeks and weather lovers.
Not everyone gets excited about blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes and other types of extreme weather but many folks out there are passionate about Mother Nature. Weather Geek Stuff is an online shop just for those whose hearts race with the thrill of severe weather and they are offering special deals on Black Friday and through the first part of the holiday season.
From now through December 10th Weather Geek Stuff is offering 15% off all orders over $50.00. If you have a weather geek, weather diva or storm chaser on your shopping list – or maybe you just want to get yourself a gift – now is the time to buy. Simply enter the coupon code SHOPUP at checkout to receive your discount.
Weather Geek Stuff is an online store that provides a host of clothing items and novelties just for weather buffs. From the store’s custom ‘Weather Geek’ and ‘Weather Diva’ logoed merchandise to items imprinted with amusing weather warnings signs as well as Skywarn storm spotter logos, there is something there sure to please any weather lover.
Weather Geek Stuff’s merchandise was shown on the Weather Channel as a recommended gift so you know the quality is good. Stu Ostro, Weather Channel’s Senior Director of Weather Communications even sports a ‘Weather Geek’ t-shirt on his Facebook page and Twitter profile.
Kids and dogs aren’t left out of the weather fun either. There is a wide variety of clothing items sized just right for the little ones from babies to bigger kids. Canine companions as well can get shirts and bowls emblazoned with a weather-related logo.
The selection goes far beyond clothing too. Water bottles, clocks, mugs, bags and other novelties are part of the store’s offerings. For the tech types, cases for iPhones and iPads are available. New products this season include flasks, drink mixers, mouse pads, cases for the Samsung Galaxy S3 and much more.
Weather Geek Stuff is owned and operated by the same folks that run ThorntonWeather.com. We provide ThorntonWeather.com as a no-cost service to the community and use the minimal amount of money made from Weather Geek Stuff to support the costs of running this website and the associated equipment. So remember, if you have a weather buff on your shopping list, by buying from Weather Geek Stuff you are supporting ThorntonWeather.com!
Weather – The true determining factor of who will be president?
We oftentimes hear about how weather can affect voter turnout but is there truly a link? If there is, who does it benefit – Republicans or Democrats? Studies seem to indicate that what might be thought of as an urban myth is indeed true.
In 2005, political science researchers Brad Gomez, Thomas Hansford and George Krause completed the first comprehensive study on the correlation between weather and voter turnout. Their paper, “The Republicans Should Pray for Rain: Weather, Turnout, and Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections” confirmed the conventional wisdom that weather does affect voter turnout, bad weather benefits Republicans and most interestingly, two presidential elections in the last 60 years may have had different results had the weather been different.
Looking back at presidential elections from 1948 to 2008, the study takes into account the weather in 3,000 U.S. counties. They in turn looked at key areas of the nation and how weather, good and bad, affected voter turnout. In the end, the study determined that precipitation is the key weather condition to affect voter turnout.
An arguably botched call by replacement referees during Monday night’s football game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks is now being parodied by a Titletown television station. The ‘replacement weather guy’ made an appearance during NBC26’s Tuesday morning news taking a jab at the NFL. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and watch the hilarious video.
A 'replacement weather guy' in Green Bay does a poor job following the Packers' loss at the hands of replacement referees. Click to watch the video. (YouTube / NBC26)
President Barack Obama’s acceptance of his party’s nomination for reelection Thursday has been moved indoors to Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable arena. Democratic National Convention organizers said the threat of severe weather was the reason for the move from the planned outdoor venue. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
July 21, 1969 - Neil Armstrong works on the moon. It is perhaps fitting that this is the only photo of Armstrong on the surface of the moon. The quiet man is one of the United States' greatest explorers and performed his mission for country, not for self.
We returned home from a weekend of camping to the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away and I am surprised by the lack of news coverage of the loss of this great American hero. His name will forever be mentioned in the annals of history along with other great explorers like Columbus, Polo, Lewis & Clark, Cook and Hillary.
On his return from the moon he could have had anything he wanted – politics, fame, riches. Instead he chose to return to his native Ohio and teach aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
Clearly Armstrong was a great man who believed he was serving a greater good, his nation. He did not go to the moon for himself or for fame or glory.
I shed a tear tonight for Neil Armstrong, one of our nation’s greatest quiet heroes.
May he rest in peace and may one day our nation find the will to continue on the path which he and so many of his predecessors put us on.
The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season has been a relatively active one although not particularly notable. NOAA forecasters have updated their outlook for the season though and are cautioning that hurricane activity may soon increase in the basin. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com
Tropical Storm Ernesto is seen lashing the Yucatán Peninsula on August 8, 2012. (NASA)
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