Yin-Yang Winter
March 29th, 2012 | Bill KirkSnow, ice, bitter cold - These are some of the words that come to mind when we think about winter. However, this past winter was anything but cold and snowy in the Central and Eastern U.S. While many are ready to blame Global Warming for the recent warmth in the States, they forget to account for the other parts of the globe in their accusations. In fact, if we take a look back at this winter we see there was actually plenty of "winter-like" weather across the globe, especially in Asia. Abnormally mild weather (Yang) would not exist if there wasn't a nearly equal cold force (Yin) to balance out the Earth's energy.
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Santa meets USAF Captain Scrooge - uh oh!
December 15th, 2011 | Bill KirkTwas 10 day before Christmas when all through the sky, Not a thing was stirring, not even a fly, When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But Santa’s sleigh and his 8 reindeer, They flew through the sky on wind with grace, But the clear air turbulence, the sleigh’s radar could not trace, THE REST OF THE STORY HERE...
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2011 Global Temperatures are in...WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!
November 8th, 2011 | Bill KirkThought we'd use a little media hysteria with the headline to get your attention, but sleep easy as the 2011 year-to-date global temperature is a not so whopping +0.15°C above average and cooling quickly (October came in at +0.11°C). One day scientists will look back on the bad science, bad data collection, data manipulation to prove a point (aka fraud) and outright corruption around Global Warming research. Rather than try and prove all that right now, I thought we'd just show you how bad our own government is at collecting weather data that we all use for research. The scary thing? The U.S. has the best weather reporting network in the world but as we'll show - we can't accurately measure yesterday's temperature let alone the pulse of the planet.
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Are You Ready For 5,200" of SNOW?
September 22nd, 2011 | Bill KirkDon't panic...that 5,200" is the total amount of snowfall expected across the ENTIRE United States (260 major U.S. markets) this season. The good news? That's actually the least in 5 years...the bad news...we'll still have plenty of cold and snow and ICE to contend with. But now that we got your attention, let's take a look at what we expect this season.
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Cooking the Books - A New FICTIONAL World Atlas?
September 17th, 2011 | Bill KirkA new World Atlas released in the U.K. this week is yet another example of "cooking the books" by so called climate scientists and editors like John Vidal with a clear global warming agenda. In this case, real climate and satellite data was brushed aside for a PhotoShop airbrush to make Greenland (actually snow covered year round) appear a little greener thanks to runaway Climate Change. You would think the Publishers would do a bit more fact checking after the UK Climategate scandal but why let the facts get in the way of selling books. Then again maybe it's a FICTIONAL ATLAS?
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Leaves Better Learn to Fly!
August 23rd, 2011 | Bill KirkThe leaves better get some flight training from Pink Floyd as Major Hurricane Irene is about to blow in! We'll look beyond the impacts of the hurricane season to predict just how vibrant this fall foliage season is likely to be...and of course end with a Floyd classic! ;)
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The Weather & Economy is Going "Back to the Future"
June 3rd, 2011 | Bill KirkGuess when all of this occurred: Record strong tornadoes; extremely snowy Winters across the Northern Hemisphere and U.S.; major flooding in Australia and Southeast Asia; worst drought in 30 years for Northern Europe, the Southwest U.S. and China; lowest global hurricane activity in 30 years; global temperatures near average; hundreds of thousands killed by major Earthquakes; thousands killed by tsunamis in the West Pacific; weakest solar cycle in 50+ years; Pacific Ocean temperatures below average; U.S. unemployment at 9%; soaring energy, food, and commodity inflation; gold prices soared to record levels; extreme gas prices; Middle East unrest; democrats blame republicans, republicans blame democrats...can you guess the year?
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"Is this something we have done?" NO!
May 6th, 2011 | Bill KirkThis kind of reporting in the midst of a natural disaster with hundreds killed by tornadoes is nothing short of really poor journalism that is unfortunately common with today's media when it comes to Climate Chagne basics. “Let’s be candid here,” Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News said. “When you and I go home, you see friends, family, you get e-mail from people you know, people ask the same question, what’s going on here? Is this something we have done? What has happened to the climate, because it seems so much of what we cover is relentless weather-related tragedy?”
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Tornado Video - What NOT To Do!
April 19th, 2011 | Bill KirkI'm a loss for words on this one. This guy films a tornado headed right for him and calmly films it from the safety (NOT!) of his parked yellow Ford truck in a wide open parking lot. Better yet, he appears to give a blow-by-blow (pun intended) account of the tornado that nearly kills him while talking with his wife (we guess). Not sure if this guy should get a medal for bravery or have his head examined
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Baseball Season Opens with a SNOWY Curve Ball!
April 1st, 2011 | Bill KirkWe all get excited with the first snowfall of the season but snow in April - enough already! Baseball season opened up early this week to the sounds of "Play Ball" or should that be "Snow Ball"? Temperatures across much of the Great Lakes and Northeast U.S. were the coldest in over 20 years and that's no April fools joke! Normally at the game you hear "beer guy here...get your ice cold beer"...this year he's saying "hot coffee guy here...get your hot coffee."
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Weather & Syrup - Tricky and Sticky
March 25th, 2011 | Bill KirkIt's syrup season in the Northeast U.S. and Canada and we're off to a good start thanks to the weather. So goes the weather so goes the flow of sticky, sappy syrup out of Sugar Maple trees in New England. Vermont is the biggest producer of Maple Syrup in the U.S. and last year's very hot start to Spring across the Northern U.S. cut U.S. production by 19%. We'll look at how weather influences this sweet stuff and why gas prices look so cheap at $4 a gallon.
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You Ate More Radiation Than Tokyo, Japan!
March 18th, 2011 | Bill KirkIf you had a banana for breakfast and maybe plan on a beer, nuts and a steak for dinner tonight you'll be exposed to twice as much radiation as that measured in Tokyo today! Yet thanks to foreign media hysteria we've pretty much scared the Japanese out of Tokyo. We'll explore some Geiger counter readings for everyday items and compare them to Japan levels to help put the media coverage into perspective.
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Japan - a Lesson in Human Nature
March 17th, 2011 | Bill KirkThe devastation in Japan as a result of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami is absolutely heart wrenching and our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Japanese people. The manner in which they are handling this crisis is a model for the world - no looting, no mass hysteria and little media sensationalism. I observed this first-hand living in Iwakuni (south of Hiroshima), Japan many years ago - very much a country where loyalty, honor and respect for others are ingrained into their way of life. Not the case here in the U.S. and other parts of the world where the media LOVES A CRISIS and hysteria, panic, exaggeration - anything goes when it comes to getting our attention.
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18 Uses for Those GINORMOUS Potholes
March 11th, 2011 | Bill KirkIt's that time of year - POTHOLE season has officially arrived! If you've ever hit one of these beasts you know it's no laughing matter as some can certainly be man-eating ginormous monsters. But they're kind of like death and taxes, you can't avoid 'em. Here are 18 creative ways to make use of potholes.
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Blizzard Alley Meet Tornado Alley
March 4th, 2011 | Bill KirkIt's that time of year when cold air meets warm air for big Spring snow storms and the start of the severe thunderstorm/tornado season in the U.S. This coming week we'll get a chance to see both Blizzard Alley active and at the same time Tornado Alley should come to life. Now would be a good time to set up some severe weather alerts in wt360.com!
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Space Shuttle a Wimp in Weather!
February 23rd, 2011 | Bill KirkOn Thursday, 24 February 2011 at 4:50pm EST Discovery space shuttle mission STS-133 will be the last mission for Discovery with only 2 more shuttle launches. The Atlantis mission in June will officially bring t an end 30 years of Space Shuttle missions. While the space shuttle is unmatched in space, traveling at more than 17,500 mph (Mach 23), 9 times faster than a speeding bullet, 26 times the speed of sound, and lift-off thrust exceeding 37 million horsepower, but put it down here on Earth and it's actually a big WIMP when it comes to the weather!
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Food Inflation Hysteria - Relax - Have a BEER :)
February 15th, 2011 | Bill KirkIf you think you're paying a lot more at the grocery store for everyday items these days - you are - and in part we can blame Mother Nature for that but don't even utter the words "It's Global Warming!" As the global economy improves so does the demand for consumable categories like food, beverages, clothes, auto products, health and beauty aids, toys and BEER. But what if the supply goes down with a curve ball from the weather? The weather certainly has in part sent prices higher for coconut oil, cotton products, rubber, wheat, coffee and yikes barley = BEER, say it ain't so!!! You'll spend a little less for hot cocoa, rice and olive oil...but what's that about my BEER???
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Frosty meet Sneezy!
February 11th, 2011 | Bill KirkWhile most of us suffered through mountains of the white stuff this Winter, South Texas had a blizzard of a different kind - Mountain Cedar tree pollen. With tree pollen levels the most in over a decade in parts of the Texas hill country it's not surprising that allergy sufferers are already seeking help from itchy/watery eyes and endless sneezing. This early onslaught of pollen is likely to be a common theme for folks in the South this year while we fare a littler better in the North.
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Groundhog Day's 1,000 year tradition started in Europe.
February 2nd, 2011 | Bill KirkWhile many imposter groundhog weather prognosticators have emerged in recent years like Staten Island Chuck, Long Island Malverne Mel, Connecticut Chuckles, Georgia's General Beauregard Lee and Canada's Wiarton Willie, Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Alberta's Balzac Billy...there's only one REAL weather forecasting ground hog and that's Pennsylvania's own Punxsutawney Phil! This morning at 7:25am it's official Spring is on the way! Don't be on it...
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Severe Tropical Cyclone 'Yasi' Heading for Australia!
February 1st, 2011 | Bill KirkThe devastation in Queensland Australia is about to get much worse as Severe Tropical Cyclone 'Yasi' heads for Innisfail and Cairns Australia tomorrow (2 February). Winds, waves and rain are comparable to Hurricane Katrina (2005) with the flooding potential equally devastating.
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Snow + Cold = Low on Blood
February 1st, 2011 | Bill KirkThe American Red Cross reports 10s of thousands of blood donors haven't been able to donate due to the extreme cold and snow across much of the country this Winter. Reports show blood supplies for this time of year are the lowest in 10 years and in this case blaming the weather is certainly a valid reason.
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How Winter forecasts are really made?
January 22nd, 2011 | Bill KirkThere have been 395 record low temperatures tied or broken so far in January across the U.S. with some notable extremes. It's hard to call this "record cold" but +51F (10C) was a new all time January record low in Waimea, Hawaii on January 5th. Even the big city Honolulu, Hawaii broke a record at +56F (13C) but take that down a 100 degrees for the real cold stuff like -51F (-46C) in Central Alaska, -47F (-44C) in Dickinson North Dakota breaking the 117 year record or -46F (-43C) yesterday in International Falls, Minnesota breaking an 82 year old record. So how are Winter forecasts really made? The secret revealed!
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Bad science destroys Queensland. Who's next?
January 18th, 2011 | Bill KirkBy now we've all heard that the flooding in Queensland, Australia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Brazil, etc. etc. is all due to "man-made Global Warming!" Diane Sawyer here in the U.S. said so on national TV this week so it must be true? Her guest was Professor RichardSomerville a "climate scientist" from the University of California – he sounded credible and after all 2010 was the wettest year ever; record heat killed 56 thousand people in Russia; record cold and snow across the Northern Hemisphere for the 4th straight winter; record freezes in Florida - it's all man-made Global Warming a sign of things to come (oops – we should use the new term "Climate Disruption" - Global Warming is so 2009). All of this may indeed be a sign of things to come but nothing to do with "Global Warming" as there isn't any - not on land and definitely not in the Oceans!
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49 of 50 U.S. States (71%) Covered in Snow!
January 12th, 2011 | Bill KirkFor the 2nd year in a row 49 of 50 U.S. states have some snow on the ground! On the 13th of February 2010 all states but Hawaii were covered in snow including Florida with 68.1% of the U.S. covered. This time Florida has escaped the snow but Hawaii, yes Hawaii, has snow on the top of Mauna Kea at 13,796 feet (4,205 meters). A whopping 70.9% of the U.S. is covered in snow - most likely the most since the 1970s and possibly the late 1800s.
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WT360's Weather Super Hero Sighting?
January 7th, 2011 | Bill KirkHello Earthlings, I'm your new WT360 super weather hero to save you from boring weather forecasts and other earthly calamities! My objective is simple to spread awareness about future YEAR-AHEAD weather. My motive is a little bit more complex: to get people to believe that weather matters.
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Bye...Bye...Blackbird :(
January 4th, 2011 | Bill KirkSo what killed 5,000 red-winged black birds in Beebe Arkansas New Year's Eve? The testing is underway but the conspiracy theories suggest they all hit a UFO and plunged to their deaths (least likely), weather blogs say it was severe thunderstorms - lightning, hail and strong up drafts and others say it was fireworks. We'll examine the facts that we know so far and look at other things that have fallen from the heavens over the years...
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Storm Chasing an Earth Sized Thunderstorm?
December 30th, 2010 | Bill KirkA typical thunderstorm here on Earth might span a couple miles and reach 50,000 feet tall. But, imagine a thunderstorm the size of planet Earth with 1,100 mph winds and lightning bolts a 1,000 times stronger. Fortunately,this "Dragon Storm" is on Saturn and has reemerged with a vengeance in recent days. If you want to chase this mega storm all you need is a small telescope and clear skies.
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New York Times Down -65% Snow Up +17%
December 28th, 2010 | Bill KirkThis post is for our friends in New Jersey and New York digging out of nearly 30" (76 cm) of snow today and the rest of us across the Northern Hemisphere suffering through the 4th straight record snowy Winter - most in 32 years. This will warm your hearts and everything else that's still frozen from digging out all day: New York Times "Bundle Up (all the snow) It's Global Warming"! I almost barfed up a lung, other not so vital organs and maybe a Christmas cookie when I read this story today. Do the powers that be at the NYT really think we're this ignorant? Take solace friends in these facts: Northern Hemisphere snow cover up +17% since 1980 and Northern Hemisphere snow cover is the most in 32 years; New York Times circulation down -22% and only 11% of readers actually care about the Times "views and opinions" section where this story can be found. Looks like investors don't put much stock in what the paper says either as NYT's stock price is down -65% since 2006 - the year the Pacific Ocean started it's 30-year cold phase which correlates nicely with all this snow!
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A poetic holiday weather forecast
December 21st, 2010 | Rich WoolleyTwas the days before Christmas, when all through the land All the people were shopping, to find that right brand. The shelves at the store were piled high with care, In hopes that more shoppers soon would be there...>
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Witches thought to be meteorologists? UH OH!
December 20th, 2010 | Bill KirkThis doesn't happen very often - a lunar eclipse on the first day of Winter. According to the US Naval Observatory it's only happened once in the past 2,000 years on 21 December 1638 and won't happen again until 21 December 2094. The rare lunar event is not the only unusual happening in space as the Sun is up to some very unusual antics as well that will have an impact on planet Earth's weather for decades to come. If you don't like the cold, you won't like the answer!
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390ppm = "Global Climate Terror" Really?
December 15th, 2010 | Bill KirkMother Nature wins again as the UN Climate Conference in Cancun, Mexico suffers through another inconvenient embarrassment - coldest conditions in over a 100 years for the 29 Nov - 10 Dec, 2010 COP16 Conference! In fact, the all time coldest December day ever occurred at 50F (10C). It didn't help that Europe was suffering through one of the coldest/snowiest outbreaks in decades for the 4th straight year with the U.S. not far behind in the Deep Freeze. These inconveniently timed natural reminders are affectionately being called the "Gore Effect"...every time he speaks or the UN huddles up there tends to be some sort of record blizzard or record freeze dominating the headlines. This might explain why the next conference went as far South as they could - Durban South Africa! Here's some "Global Climate Terror" fodder to warm you up...
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wt360 Prediction - Global Cooling for 15 Years!
December 6th, 2010 | Bill KirkThe media and Cancun revelers at the Climate Summit would love to see the headline, "2010 the Warmest Ever", but it's not going to happen! While a moderately strong El Nino (warm sub-tropical Pacific Ocean) early in the year did send global temperatures up to +0.97C above average, they've since plummeted some 0.55C (1F) as the Pacific cooled rapidly and now enters a moderately strong La Nina phase (cold sub-tropical Pacific Ocean). But, there is a much bigger and broader global weather pattern at play here and something worth reading up on - Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) cycle. So goes PDO so goes the world climate! We'll explain here so you can dazzle your friends and colleagues at the next holiday party as we know all casual conversations start with "how about this weather"!
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Google Trends, Weather Trends and Stephen Colbert?
December 1st, 2010 | Bill KirkSo what does Google Trends, Weather Trends, the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Cancun, Santa Claus, Al Gore, Winter Weather Forecasts, Black Friday, Carbon Trading, Global Warming, President Obama and Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert all have in common? Not much! :) At least according to Google Trends. Read on for what's hot and what's not.
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Harry Potter & Black Friday Weather - Magical
November 15th, 2010 | Bill KirkQUESTION: So what does opening night of Harry Potter and Black Friday have in common? ANSWER: Millions of Americans will be standing in long lines in the wee hours of the morning - whether it is Friday's (19 Nov) midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 or a week later standing in more long lines for those Black Friday sales (26 Nov). Both days will be mainly dry across the U.S. but one dramatically colder than the other...either way you might need Harry's spell "Expelliarmus"? Or maybe "Incendio"?
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Time to Talk Turkey & Travel
November 11th, 2010 | Bill KirkChristmas is just 44 days away! YIKES! So even though we just took down the Halloween decorations, it's time to start thinking about the Thanksgiving turkey and all the gifts we’ll need to buy. As usual, retailers are way ahead of us with holiday displays up back in October. When it comes to the holiday shopping season, one of the most critical factors for gifts flying off retail shelves or flying on-time to Grandma’s house is the WEATHER. Will there be early snow that prevents us from getting to the stores or will it wait to arrive the day that we’re flying? That is the million dollar question of the moment for everyone who partakes in the traditional holiday activities of shopping and visiting friends and family and for everybody else who hopes to avoid the hoopla by hopping on a plane to find a secluded beach.
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Election Day Weather - NO EXCUSES!
November 1st, 2010 | Bill KirkNo matter which side of the political fence you're on for this year's Midterm U.S. elections (2 November 2010), I'm sure we all agree that November 3rd can't come soon enough! WE THE PEOPLE will end the mud-slinging, name calling, backstabbing and 24-7 blow-by-blow analysis when we cast our votes tomorrow. Even Mother Nature can't wait for it to all be over as she's ordered up nearly perfect weather for most of the country. In this blog we'll examine the weather, unemployment and other myths about which party benefits under certain weather conditions.
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What to Wear During a Chinook
October 29th, 2010 | Bill KirkThe media made a big deal on this week's big storm in the Northern Plains of the U.S. and whether or not a low pressure record was set in Big Fork, Minnesota. While this storm was intense and brought snow to the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains, dozens of tornadoes and strong winds to the Central U.S. the media bark was bigger than the bite! This storm pails in comparison to some of the record setters.
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Hurricane, Cyclone, Typhoon - What's in a Name?
October 18th, 2010 | Bill KirkSuper Typhoon Megi is roaring across the Northern Philippines Luzon province today with 112 mph winds (180 km/hr) and upwards of 10-20" (250mm-500mm) of rain creating widespread flooding, power outages and destruction of crops. Next for the weaker Typhoon Megi appears to be Taiwan late in the week with more heavy rainfall. So why is this storm called a Typhoon and what's the difference from a Hurricane? We'll get a little technical here to address this topic.
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"Free at Last" - A Beautiful Day!
October 13th, 2010 | Bill Kirk"FREE AT LAST!" 33 Chilean copper-gold miners had no idea they would experience a life changing event on a cold August 5th Winter day. But on this day they are one-by-one experienceing a glorious Spring day and reunited with their loved ones with the entire world watching!
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Science Seeks Answers Not PR
October 7th, 2010 | Bill KirkLet me start by saying that this post contains content that is very graphic and disturbing. (Rating: No Children Under 17). I apologize for passing on the brutal images that have been created by others, but this is a subject that absolutely enrages me as a professional scientist and human being. Science is about advancing what we know, researching, and always looking out into the future. It is not about scaring people into submission; most importantly scientific findings should never be used to attack our children’s sense of safety.
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Woolly Worm Weather Folklore - Fact or Fiction?
September 18th, 2010 | Bill KirkI just saw my first "woolly worm" of the season (also known as the woolly bear for our friends to the North) here in Eastern Pennsylvania (USA) and it was all brown! Folklore suggest this will bring a mild Winter. Legend has it that the a reddish brown color on the fuzzy creature means mild Winter periods while the black areas suggest severe Winter weather. Fact or Fiction?
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