2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook
April 23rd, 2012 | Bill KirkThe 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season looks to be less active this year as anomalously cold waters off the coast of Africa will likely migrate westward and subdue storm activity during the season. Also, there are indications that an El Nino might develop, if this occurs, vertical wind shear will increase and limit tropical activity.
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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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Warm Winter = Early Bloom for D.C.'s Famous Cherry Blossoms
March 2nd, 2012 | Bill KirkOne of the most popular Spring-time celebrations is the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. where hundreds of thousands of visitors converge on the Tidal Basin to take in the magnificent sights of the blossoming trees. This year will mark 100 years since the planting of the first of the 3,020 trees presented to the United States as a gift of friendship from Japan on March 27th, 1912. But some officials are worried that the mild weather so far this year will cause the trees to bloom sooner, leaving little if any blossoms for the latter half of the festival which runs from March 20th to April 27th. This certainly won’t be the first or last time that the blossoms peak so early; let’s take a look back on previous years and how the weather played a role in this popular Spring-time event.
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Memorable Presidents' Day Weekend Snowstorms
February 16th, 2012 | Bill KirkTired of a warm winter? This weekend brings the most promising chance of a snowstorm along the East Coast since the Halloween 2011 storm. Looking back on previous Presidents' Day weekend storms, we find that they can be quite impressive this time of year. Will this weekend's storm live up to past storms' ferocity?
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Really Honey...The Weather Made Me Buy It!
August 4th, 2011 | Bill KirkFor almost 10 years now we've been working with some of America's most successful and admired companies in retail, seasonal category manufacturers, agriculture and Wall Street to help them better plan their businesses around NEXT YEAR'S weather forecast. But in reality it's all about all of us who buy these products and believe it or not, the weather plays a big role in what we buy and when we buy it. After reading this blog I'll give both spouses an excuse to say, "Really Honey, the weather made me buy all that beer," or, "It's so hot out Honey, the weather made me buy all those strappy sandals"! :)
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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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Ready to outsmart every Meteorologist? 360 Alerts are here!
February 6th, 2011 | Bill KirkFebruary 5th is designated Weather Person's Day commemorating the birth of John Jeffries in 1744. Jeffries, one of America's first weather observers, began taking daily weather observations in Boston, Massachusetts U.S.A. in 1774 at the age of 30 and took the first weather balloon observation in 1784. This is a day to recognize the men and women who collectively provide the world with weather, water and climate forecasts and warning services. Now that we got that mumbo jumbo out of the way - here's how WT360's new e-mail ALERTS can make you smarter and better prepared than every weather person/meteorologist on the planet!
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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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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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For the Sake of Young Scientists
October 7th, 2010 | Bill KirkOk I’m still mad about the 1010 video from my earlier post. I am somewhat consoled by the tens of thousands of people who have expressed their outrage with 1010 about the video. What bothers me the most is that I know kids can be encouraged to get involved in a better way. Instead of scaring them with trumped scenarios based on bogus facts and incomplete research, why not encourage them by showing them that there are lots of smart people working on solutions. Who knows what young mind will be ignited and will become the scientist who finds the answer?
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2010 Raise a Glass for Northeast Wines
October 4th, 2010 | Bill KirkKnow the world's weather and know what wine to buy now and later. It should come as no surprise that weather and wine go hand in hand. Typically a hot year with some rain (not too much, not too little) will yield an excellent year for grapes with a higher sugar content, and as such, better wines are produced. For example, 2003 in Rhone, Southern France was one of the hottest on record and yields were excellent with award winning wine from the region. While it was great to be a grape in France that year, the excessive heat took lives of nearly 15,000 people. This national tragedy marks 2003 as the death year in France.
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Never say Never...
September 28th, 2010 | Bill KirkWith the launch of weathertrends360.com we'll soon be adding long-range weather forecasting to this list of things that would never happen but ultimately did! In 2008 on national TV an academic meteorology professor said that "every now and then a blind squirrel finds a nut"when asked by ABC 20/20 Sam Champion whether long range forecasting was even possible. Feel the sarcasm? Obviously the professor was a skeptic but the irony is he actually teaches a course on long range weather forecasting! The rest of the story behind the inspiration of weathertrends360...
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Welcome to the WT360 Blog
September 20th, 2010 | Bill KirkImagine saying to someone that, "you no longer have to leave the weather to chance...there is a place where you can discover your ideal future weather for any day, everywhere in the world 360 days ahead!" While that seems like an impossible statement, it's true...welcome to weathertrends360, bringing the world free, year ahead weather forecasts.
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