Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Weather Camps!
The Weather Research Center blog is back! Stay tuned for more updates about the WRC and the John C. Freeman Weather Museum!
But first, check out our Weather Camps! These camps are great for kids who want to learn more about all types of weather, especially hurricanes and tornadoes. Go to www.weathercamp.org to download the application or call the WRC and ask to speak to our camp director!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Earth Day 2010
As we have mentioned in numerous twitter and facebook posts, we are in need of a few volunteers on April 22 for our annual Earth Day celebration. We just need about 3 to 5 people. Lots of fun planned for everyone. Plus there will be food!
Every year we try to make it bigger and better, with more activities and exhibitors and so far, this year will not be an exception. We've got loads of activities prepared with both a rain gauge relay and recycle relay planned along with flower seedling planting and numerous others. Lots for the kids in attendance. Who wouldn't want to go home with their own flowers seeds?
While the activities are pretty exciting, you can also come and interact with our exhibitors. As of now, we have The Arboretum, Hogg Middle School, Green Houston, Houston Tomorrow, Houston Landscapes Unlimited, Urban Harvest and the Houston/Galveston national Weather Service coming over. All will have information about their organizations on hand. If you have any questions about them, be sure to come over. We're working on getting someone involved with organic farming also. A lot of people are becoming more and more interested with organic food, so if you know any organic farmers that would like to come over and exhibit, send them over, we'll gladly have them.
That's not all though. The first 100 people in attendance will get a free tree sapling donated by Houston Landscapes Unlimited (http://www.houstonlandscapes.com/). How neat is that!
A quick forecast for you all: The rain will go away, just not today. We've got a weak stationary front located just to the east of us that is producing the clouds and scattered showers. This front is expected to dissipate late tonight, which would normally spell the end of the wet stuff. However, there is a weak short wave moving though northern Mexico that will affect us tomorrow, giving us another shot at a few showers.
After that quick burst, the weather will get better. Clearing and warmer weather can be expected Wednesday and Thursday (Earth Day!!) as a weak high pressure system moves across the Gulf and onshore flow resumes in response to another cold front developing near the Rockies. Sadly, the chances of rain moves back in Friday as the next front moves through the midwest and Texas.
Every year we try to make it bigger and better, with more activities and exhibitors and so far, this year will not be an exception. We've got loads of activities prepared with both a rain gauge relay and recycle relay planned along with flower seedling planting and numerous others. Lots for the kids in attendance. Who wouldn't want to go home with their own flowers seeds?
While the activities are pretty exciting, you can also come and interact with our exhibitors. As of now, we have The Arboretum, Hogg Middle School, Green Houston, Houston Tomorrow, Houston Landscapes Unlimited, Urban Harvest and the Houston/Galveston national Weather Service coming over. All will have information about their organizations on hand. If you have any questions about them, be sure to come over. We're working on getting someone involved with organic farming also. A lot of people are becoming more and more interested with organic food, so if you know any organic farmers that would like to come over and exhibit, send them over, we'll gladly have them.
That's not all though. The first 100 people in attendance will get a free tree sapling donated by Houston Landscapes Unlimited (http://www.houstonlandscapes.com/). How neat is that!
A quick forecast for you all: The rain will go away, just not today. We've got a weak stationary front located just to the east of us that is producing the clouds and scattered showers. This front is expected to dissipate late tonight, which would normally spell the end of the wet stuff. However, there is a weak short wave moving though northern Mexico that will affect us tomorrow, giving us another shot at a few showers.
After that quick burst, the weather will get better. Clearing and warmer weather can be expected Wednesday and Thursday (Earth Day!!) as a weak high pressure system moves across the Gulf and onshore flow resumes in response to another cold front developing near the Rockies. Sadly, the chances of rain moves back in Friday as the next front moves through the midwest and Texas.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Changes coming
Changes in the weather for Houston is quickly approaching as high pressure over the eastern US erodes on the western end due to the influence of troughing over the Rockies. This will put us in an area of weaker pressure over through Saturday, meaning we'll have cloudy skies and a chance of rain through the week (chances increasing as the days go on with a max of 40% to 50% by the beginning of the weekend). On the plus side, the constant presence of clouds will act to moderate temps and decrease the flux between the highs and the lows. So, temps topping off in the upper 70's with lows in the upper 50's will be the norm, which is great, because this is where we are normally at, climatalogically speaking.
Still need more photos for our Earth Month Nature Photo Contest. http://www.wxresearch.com/earth/photocontest.html. We'll most likely be extending the contest through the end of April with the contest winner being awarded their prize at the beginning of May. Right now, we need lots more photos. I mean, A LOT more. We've got 4 right now and they all look great. If you read this, take a few extra minutes to send over a nature themed photo. We all have them and, who knows, you may win a great prize!
Tropical season is just around the corner! The next update will deal with that topic. Keep reading, and send over some pics! :)
Still need more photos for our Earth Month Nature Photo Contest. http://www.wxresearch.com/earth/photocontest.html. We'll most likely be extending the contest through the end of April with the contest winner being awarded their prize at the beginning of May. Right now, we need lots more photos. I mean, A LOT more. We've got 4 right now and they all look great. If you read this, take a few extra minutes to send over a nature themed photo. We all have them and, who knows, you may win a great prize!
Tropical season is just around the corner! The next update will deal with that topic. Keep reading, and send over some pics! :)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wx museum update
First: Stay classy AGW (sarcasm).
No one here is a proponent of anthropogenic based climate warming. Co2 levels are just too small to cause such drastic ramifications. One must watch the water vapor levels through. Lots of that and it's a huge greenhouse gas. No one talks about it though. Why?
While the AGW controversy deals a pretty big blow to the human caused global warming, the green message is still valid. We must protect the planet, we must do a better job of preventing damage to the ecosystem, we must recycle, and so on and so on. If anything good came out of this, it's the enhanced awareness of what impact we do have. Keep that end of it up and we could be ok decades down the road.
This is not to say that Global Warming is false. It happens. So does global cooling. Watch for it.
What happened to the hurricanes this year? Why was it so quiet? http://www.claimsmag.com/News/2009/7/Pages/WSI-Predicts-Unusually-Quiet-2009-Hurricane-Season-.aspx. Gives good reasons. Nice late prediction though. If the el nino drags on through next year, we have a pretty good shot at another quiet season.
Nice Houston forecast for the holiday week. Cold front tomorrow (with a good shot at thunderstorms). Afterwards, high pressure pushes in, bringing crisp clear weather through the rest of the week. Make sure to have a coat available when out shopping early Friday.
Weather Museum food drive going well. Need more canned good though. This is going out benefit those who were affected by Hurricane Ike. Remember one can = one free general admission. We've all got those laying around, right? The ones in the back that you forgot about or bought too much of. Clear them out, bring them over and get a free trip through the museum.
That's all for now. Have a great Thanksgiving!
No one here is a proponent of anthropogenic based climate warming. Co2 levels are just too small to cause such drastic ramifications. One must watch the water vapor levels through. Lots of that and it's a huge greenhouse gas. No one talks about it though. Why?
While the AGW controversy deals a pretty big blow to the human caused global warming, the green message is still valid. We must protect the planet, we must do a better job of preventing damage to the ecosystem, we must recycle, and so on and so on. If anything good came out of this, it's the enhanced awareness of what impact we do have. Keep that end of it up and we could be ok decades down the road.
This is not to say that Global Warming is false. It happens. So does global cooling. Watch for it.
What happened to the hurricanes this year? Why was it so quiet? http://www.claimsmag.com/News/2009/7/Pages/WSI-Predicts-Unusually-Quiet-2009-Hurricane-Season-.aspx. Gives good reasons. Nice late prediction though. If the el nino drags on through next year, we have a pretty good shot at another quiet season.
Nice Houston forecast for the holiday week. Cold front tomorrow (with a good shot at thunderstorms). Afterwards, high pressure pushes in, bringing crisp clear weather through the rest of the week. Make sure to have a coat available when out shopping early Friday.
Weather Museum food drive going well. Need more canned good though. This is going out benefit those who were affected by Hurricane Ike. Remember one can = one free general admission. We've all got those laying around, right? The ones in the back that you forgot about or bought too much of. Clear them out, bring them over and get a free trip through the museum.
That's all for now. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Museum District Day!
Another year, another Museum District Day has come and gone. You would think that with the persistent rain and clouds, there would have been a low turn out. Not so much. After a year hiatus due to Hurricane Ike, the event enjoyed its strongest turnout ever!! Total visitors for the day eclipsed 65,500, besting 2007's numbers by over 3000 people! Outstanding!
Museums with the largest turn out continue to be The Museum of Fine Arts and The Museum of Natural Science with
the Children's Museum right behind them. Numbers for The Weather Museum were right on par with last year, which works our great as we're definitely filled to capacity on numerous occasions. We even heard a few stories on how a visitor's daughter had to be pulled out of the museum because she enjoyed it so much and a few people stayed for hours viewing our exhibits and Ike video. We also had a couple Ike influenced pieces of art generously donated by artists at the Caroline Collective located just down the street from us.
This was my first Museum District Day and I had an absolute blast helping out all the visitors. Here's hoping next year is even bigger and better!!
Onto the tropics...
This time yesterday, there looked like nothing was going on in the Atlantic. This morning is a completely different story. We're watching both the remnant low of hurricane Fred and a broad area of low pressure about 700 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. Thunderstorm activity near that low looked much more impressive a few hours ago, but has since died down somewhat as stronger shear has begun to impact the system. The remnants of Fred have been producing intermittent showers and thunderstorms as it slowly moves west from where it first diminished. Models have started picking up again on this system and could begin to influence weather in the Gulf within the next 5 or so days...if it makes it. Presently, thunderstorm activity remain limited, though a fresh crop of showers have sprung up near the southern end of the circulation. This remains something we should all keep an eye on in the coming days.
As for Houston, who doesn't like this cut off upper level low over northern Louisiana? Since the rain cleared out this past weekend, we've been in a steady west to northwest flow, keeping us a little less humid and a whole lot less hot. I'm sure anyone in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi would say otherwise as rain has been falling in buckets for the past few days in that region.
We'll probably;y have a slight uptick in heat and humidity over the weekend and into early next week as the low moves out and southerly flow return to SE Texas. Buuuuuut, this may not last for long as models have been keying in on a cold front (!!!!) to move through the area Wednesday, with actual north winds behind it.
Thats all I have for today. Hope you all have a good weekend!!
Museums with the largest turn out continue to be The Museum of Fine Arts and The Museum of Natural Science with
the Children's Museum right behind them. Numbers for The Weather Museum were right on par with last year, which works our great as we're definitely filled to capacity on numerous occasions. We even heard a few stories on how a visitor's daughter had to be pulled out of the museum because she enjoyed it so much and a few people stayed for hours viewing our exhibits and Ike video. We also had a couple Ike influenced pieces of art generously donated by artists at the Caroline Collective located just down the street from us.This was my first Museum District Day and I had an absolute blast helping out all the visitors. Here's hoping next year is even bigger and better!!
Onto the tropics...
This time yesterday, there looked like nothing was going on in the Atlantic. This morning is a completely different story. We're watching both the remnant low of hurricane Fred and a broad area of low pressure about 700 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. Thunderstorm activity near that low looked much more impressive a few hours ago, but has since died down somewhat as stronger shear has begun to impact the system. The remnants of Fred have been producing intermittent showers and thunderstorms as it slowly moves west from where it first diminished. Models have started picking up again on this system and could begin to influence weather in the Gulf within the next 5 or so days...if it makes it. Presently, thunderstorm activity remain limited, though a fresh crop of showers have sprung up near the southern end of the circulation. This remains something we should all keep an eye on in the coming days.
As for Houston, who doesn't like this cut off upper level low over northern Louisiana? Since the rain cleared out this past weekend, we've been in a steady west to northwest flow, keeping us a little less humid and a whole lot less hot. I'm sure anyone in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi would say otherwise as rain has been falling in buckets for the past few days in that region.
We'll probably;y have a slight uptick in heat and humidity over the weekend and into early next week as the low moves out and southerly flow return to SE Texas. Buuuuuut, this may not last for long as models have been keying in on a cold front (!!!!) to move through the area Wednesday, with actual north winds behind it.
Thats all I have for today. Hope you all have a good weekend!!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tropical Storm Fred/MDD/Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Depression 7 rapidly strengthened into Fred late last night and conditions remain favorable over the next 36 hours for it to become only our second hurricane of the year. After wards, though, it's not looking to good for our little system. A upper level trough (now north of Fred) will start to bring some strong shear to the storm. This, combined with a northerly track that puts it in some much cooler waters, will begin to weaken Fred, bringing back to Tropical Storm status by Friday. For the most part, models keep the system on a north to northwest track over the next few days, but by the end of the week, high pressure could develop north of the storm and either halt movement or dramatically slow it down, while steering it on a more west to northwest track. At this time, Fred is of no threat to Houston or the Gulf.
We've also got another watch area over on the east coast, near the outer banks. It's basically just a weak area of low pressure that continues to produce a good deal of wind and rain. Still, it's something to keep an eye on, though not much development is expected, if any, as that shear remains just a bit too strong for any real organization.
What about the Gulf? All we've had so far is Claudette and unless you lived east of New Orleans, you didn't get a drop of rain from it. Models have been pretty shaky of late, but a few are hinting at the development of an area of low pressure in the western Gulf, anywhere from coastal Louisiana to southern Texas. Could we get another short lived storm in the Gulf? Will the low even form? Are we even going to get any substantial rainfall? We could go either way on all of those. In any case, it'll be a good idea to watch the area.
Museum District Day 2009 is fast approaching (Saturday!!) and we are in need of some volunteers. We can easily expect about 2000 people to move through the museum (ours alone) and we just don't have the staff to watch everyone. We're fortunate enough to have a few extras coming, but we need more, probably about 5 to 10 more people. If you've got nothing to do Saturday, come on down to the weather museum and help us out. Food and drinks will be available. Contact Benjamin Maloney at 713-529-3076 or wrc@wxresearch.org for more info. Hope to see you here!
We've also got another watch area over on the east coast, near the outer banks. It's basically just a weak area of low pressure that continues to produce a good deal of wind and rain. Still, it's something to keep an eye on, though not much development is expected, if any, as that shear remains just a bit too strong for any real organization.
What about the Gulf? All we've had so far is Claudette and unless you lived east of New Orleans, you didn't get a drop of rain from it. Models have been pretty shaky of late, but a few are hinting at the development of an area of low pressure in the western Gulf, anywhere from coastal Louisiana to southern Texas. Could we get another short lived storm in the Gulf? Will the low even form? Are we even going to get any substantial rainfall? We could go either way on all of those. In any case, it'll be a good idea to watch the area.
Museum District Day 2009 is fast approaching (Saturday!!) and we are in need of some volunteers. We can easily expect about 2000 people to move through the museum (ours alone) and we just don't have the staff to watch everyone. We're fortunate enough to have a few extras coming, but we need more, probably about 5 to 10 more people. If you've got nothing to do Saturday, come on down to the weather museum and help us out. Food and drinks will be available. Contact Benjamin Maloney at 713-529-3076 or wrc@wxresearch.org for more info. Hope to see you here!
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