Good grief, its already 88 F at 5 AM here in Catalina! With a whole stretch of 100 F plus days ahead, maybe it would be good if we looked at some ice and thought about it. Below are some ice crystals, as photographed by Magono and Lee (1966), a publication that is thought of… Continue reading Thinking about ice on a HOT day
Author: Art Rangno
Retiree from a group specializing in airborne measurements of clouds and aerosols at the University of Washington (Cloud and Aerosol Research Group). The projects in which I participated were in many countries; from the Arctic to Brazil, from the Marshall Islands to South Africa.
The “greening” of Arizona
In the numerical weather models, that is. IPS Meteorstar, regurgitating the National Center for Environmental Prediction’s (what happened to simple titles like, “The Weather Bureau”?) model output from last night has come up with MORE GREEN in that run over prior runs in the State of Arizona. This, over the next two weeks! Caveat: Might… Continue reading The “greening” of Arizona
Attention: We interrupt this drought with some (forecasted) summer rain
The numerical leprechauns that spread green (our ancient weather map code for areas of rain) have put a coupla green pixels in the State of Arizona! The first green pixel from last night’s run appears on Monday evening, June 27th in extreme SE AZ. Its not much, see first map below, probably only enough… Continue reading Attention: We interrupt this drought with some (forecasted) summer rain
Dust in the wind; model rain on the distant horizon
“All it was was dust in the wind” , recalling that tuneful song about large aerosol particles by the rock group, Kansas. Note: Their first album was incredible! (This lead in, in case you thought that yesterday evening’s haze was smoke from our awful fires.) Here’s the change from two evenings ago to last… Continue reading Dust in the wind; model rain on the distant horizon
First hot air Cumulus over the Cat Mountains, Friday, June 17th
Small now, but what portent for the summer weeks ahead when it’s big brothers will show up over the Catalina Mountains; a real milestone, so pretty. This photo was yesterday, at 2:45 PM, when it was 101 F! Cloud name: Cumulus humilis or Cumulus fractus. Later, smoky Altocumulus filled in before and at sunset as… Continue reading First hot air Cumulus over the Cat Mountains, Friday, June 17th
Calming Cirrus
Feeling better now after some calming Cirrus uncinus and spissatus moved in yesterday. Wasn’t sure we could have clouds anymore here above Catalina, AZ. Really, there’s nothing like some uncinus and spissatus to make you feel better after you get worked up over some global cooling stuff you thought was wrong. And that nice sunset… Continue reading Calming Cirrus
The Myth: Climate scientists were not on the global cooling bandwagon in the 1970s
Advisory: heavy reading ahead…have to fill time during current cloud drought In an article published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) in 2008, it was asserted that there was no “concensus” on global cooling in the 1970s. Why address this now? I was busy before now…. Overall response to this BAMS assertion:… Continue reading The Myth: Climate scientists were not on the global cooling bandwagon in the 1970s
Climate change: What they were saying, 1968
While waiting amid the smoky skies for some clouds… In 1968, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) published a Monograph, Volume 8, No. 30, to be exact. Monographs are special collections of papers on a particular subject representing experts in the field and their purpose is to bring the scientific community up to date on… Continue reading Climate change: What they were saying, 1968
Cirrus show
Just a couple of photos of yesterday morning’s glorious display of Cirrus (OK, “uncinus”) clouds, those high, icy white ones that were so fantastic enhanncing the desert and Catalina mountain background, taken from on top of a horse. As you know by now, those Cirrus clouds are composed of tiny ice crystals, but, as tiny… Continue reading Cirrus show
Altostratus: before and after (being underlit)
In the first shot here, you’re getting pretty excited. There are holes in the mostly icy Altostratus translucidus deck, your camera is charged up for plenty of shots, because with the holes, and, with the satellite imagery indicating a western edge of these clouds over central AZ, you realize this whole scene below will… Continue reading Altostratus: before and after (being underlit)