From tornado watch to freezing temps. in the span of about 24 hours. The storm system that brought widespread rainfall of a half inch to an inch with local amounts of 1-2" is quickly moving away with cold air zooming southward on the storm's backside. Temps. tonight will fall into the upper 20s from Blackshear to Waycross & Homerville to Fargo to near Lake City & Ft. White to the low to mid 30s for much of the rest of the area except for upper 30s at the beaches. Metro Jax will range from about 31 on the North & Westside to 33, 34 on the Southside but not as cold along the St. Johns River, the intracoastal & beaches.
No severe weather occurred on the First Coast Tue. with the primary reason being that the warm front didn't move north of about I-4. Severe storms were widespread near & south of the front over Central & Southern Florida. BUT we did get some much needed rainfall:
GAINESVILLE 8.1 SW * : 0.84
GAINESVILLE 3.8 W * : 1.12
MACCLENNY 2.5 S * : 0.47
GREEN COVE SPRINGS 6.2 N * : 1.89
ORANGE PARK 4.8 SSW * : 2.09
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS 6.9 ENE * : 2.12
LAKESIDE 2.9 S * : 1.10
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS 7.6 ENE * : 2.02
ORANGE PARK 4.7 SW * : 2.06
ORANGE PARK 3.0 WNW * : 1.97
MIDDLEBURG 6.5 NNE * : 1.44
ORANGE PARK 0.7 NNE * : 1.70
JACKSONVILLE 6.2 ENE * : 1.07
JACKSONVILLE 5.9 SW * : 1.84
JACKSONVILLE 8.4 SSE * : 1.26
JACKSONVILLE BEACH 3.9 WN* : 1.43
NEPTUNE BEACH 0.5 NNW * : 1.23
JACKSONVILLE 8.1 SSE * : 1.76
JACKSONVILLE BEACH 4.5 W * : 1.39
TRENTON 8.0 ENE * : 0.44
JASPER 5.5 S * : 0.34
BELLEVIEW 6.0 SSE * : 1.36
LADY LAKE 4.8 WNW * : 1.20
BELLEVIEW 4.5 SE * : 1.35
MICANOPY 3.6 SSW * : 1.33
FERNANDINA BEACH 5.4 SW * : 0.80
HILLIARD 5.4 NW * : 1.00
SATSUMA 0.2 WSW * : 0.57
ST. AUGUSTINE SOUTH 2.1 S* : 0.62
LIVE OAK 9.1 NW * : 0.23
Still eyeing the next big storm system that will be affecting the Eastern half of the U.S. this weekend into early next week. Once again there will be a severe storm outbreak over the Southeast & Florida with ice & snow to the north & west of the storm's center which looks to go from the Western Gulf into the Tennessee & Ohio Valley's.
Our space station will again be visible over the First Coast. The first view is a very short time low in the sky Thu. evening but viewing gets much better through the weekend with the best viewing (barring clouds) Sunday. From the National Aeronautics & Space Administration:
LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE
DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR)
ISS Thu Feb 14/07:32 PM < 1 12 11 above N 12 above N
ISS Fri Feb 15/07:51 PM 1 22 11 above NW 22 above NW ISS Sat Feb 16/06:38 PM 4 16 10 above N 10 above E
ISS Sun Feb 17/06:57 PM 5 60 11 above NW 12 above SE
ISS Mon Feb 18/07:20 PM 2 26 26 above SW 11 above S
I received this interesting link from a viewer -- it shows the assembly of the space station piece-by-piece with corresponding dates from the beginning -- check it out.
I received this press release today from NOAA:
NOAA and Shell Oil Company Launch Enhanced Ocean Observations Project in Gulf of Mexico
NOAA and the Shell Oil Company have signed a cooperative agreement to place meteorological and oceanographic observation sensors on seven Shell oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Once installed, the suite of observation equipment will become a vital component of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), providing valuable data for use in hurricane research, forecasting, and coastal resource management.
“IOOS is all about unlocking the secrets of our oceans and coastal waters. Thanks to Shell’s commitment we’ll be able to gather additional data that may help us understand how tropical cyclones develop in the Gulf region, learn more about coastal flooding, harmful algal blooms and the processes behind dead zones, becoming better stewards of our valuable coastal resources,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
Deepwater oil and gas platform operators in the northern Gulf of Mexico are required under federal regulations to collect and transmit current profile observations to NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center. However, this agreement will surpass those requirements and calls for the following enhancements:
* Upgrade all weather stations on four Shell platforms to include direct transmission to NOAA’s geostationary satellites (GOES), and emergency power ensuring an uninterrupted stream of information even if the platform is evacuated.
* Upgrade ocean wave and current instrumentation on Shell’s “Auger” platform to include GOES transmission and emergency power supply in order to supply oceanographic information to NOAA continuously.
* Ocean heat measurements will be collected from the Shell “Brutus” platform to better quantify the role of upper level thermoclines in hurricane intensity.
* Collect and share meteorological information from two new continental shelf locations off Louisiana that are currently not monitored.
* Installation of high frequency radar
transmitters on a Shell platform off the Texas coast. This system will be able to calculate the speed and direction of the surface current – vital information for weather forecasting and dispersion modeling.
"Shell is proud to be part of this collaboration which leverages complementary strengths - NOAA’s scientific expertise with significant Shell offshore experience and infrastructure," said John Hofmeister, president, Shell Oil Company. "The Gulf of Mexico is a critical resource and plays a vital role in delivering a secure energy supply to the U.S.
Shell believes this information will benefit everyone living along the Gulf Coast and its customers across the country. For Shell, this information could help to protect our people and assets."
Installation of the equipment will start in spring 2008 with completion of all projects anticipated in late 2009. Shell Oil will acquire and install the devices while NOAA will provide quality control of the data and make it available in real-time to National Weather Service forecast offices, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center and the public. NOAA will also provide technical expertise in high frequency radar. Data from these projects will also be made available for input to environmental prediction models.
Some of the midwest continues to get punished by a brutal winter which seems to be centered on my home state of Iowa. The state is closing in on the '07-'08
winter cracking the top 10 of the snowiest on record. My dad sent this photo Tue. showing the 12"+ of snow on their patio while they're dreaming of Florida palm trees!
