30 September, 2010

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Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

Major Rainstorm Taking Shape over Eastern USA
INFUSION OF BAROCLINIC AND TROPICAL ENERGY TO PRODUCE A MAJOR RAINSTORM WHICH MAY PACK HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS ALONG EAST COAST, TROPICAL STORM-FORCE FURTHER INLAND, WIDESPREAD 2-6 INCH RAIN AMOUNTS BUT SOME AREAS MAY SURPASS A FOOT!

SPECIAL COVERAGE

Tropical Rainstorm Nicole Unleashes Disastrous Flooding
AccuWeather

Nicole Will Hit Like a Hurricane
AccuWeather

More Rain, Flooding Coming to I-95 mid-Atlantic
AccuWeather

Travel will be a Nightmare as Nicole Blasts North
AccuWeather

Damaging Wind a Concern with Nicole as Well
AccuWeather

OTHER NEWS TODAY

Another Deadly Mexican Slide Linked to Matthew
AccuWeather News

Nicole Triggers Deadly Flooding in Jamaica
AccuWeather News

Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather

More Thunderstorms to Rattle Los Angeles, San Diego
By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist
Four Month's Worth of Rain in Four Days Soaks Wilmington
By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

Cool Blast This Weekend Across Great Lakes, Northeast
By Bill Deger, Meteorologist

Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan

SCOTLAND ENJOYS MILDEST, SUNNIEST DAY IN A WHILE, BUT IT'S BACK TO THE WET AND WINDY PICTURE TOMORROW

After a downright beautiful day today, the calm between two-weather systems, which in fact both brought a crisp night last night and the formation of thick fog as my temperature here fell away to 43 degrees, today brought perfect sun with some clouds filtering in throughout the PM hours ahead of the next system moving in off the Atlantic. Temperatures got up to 60 today, making this the warmest in many days.

However, the jet is racing over our heads and as I write this as of 1.10am, winds are gradually picking up as the next low appraoches and is set to present us with more heavy, persistent rains. The classic autumn weather map is now in full swing and will bring us both cool days but mild nights as Atlantic air will rule the next several days. These lows are closing the gap between one another, therefore the barrage of the Atlantic looks set to rule the map for a while and we should expect both very wet and very windy conditions through this weekend!
Vagaries of the Weather
India & Sub-Continental Asia Weather
By Rajesh Kapadia

A low pressure, 92A, has formed over the southeast Arabian Sea, and on Wednesday night was at 12.3N and 68.3E, and core pressure at 1006mb.Winds are at 15kts.


Not much to read into as yet.

Most forecasts show 92A deepening to some extent, and IMD estimates it to become well marked. A deep shear tendency should help the low to become well marked, or maybe a depression.

Again, all forecasting models see the system moving west/northwest, away from the indian coast towards south Oman coastline.This is due to the anchored anticyclone north of Gujarat.

JTWC and Hurricane Zone have not put up any note of this system, not till the time of writing this blog...
 
Read this Story and More at Rajesh's "NEW LOOK" Site.. HERE!
 
What's Reaching Today's Blogs?

Torrential Rains East, and Torrid Reigns West
Joe Lundburg, AccuWeather

Seasonal Drought, Heat Ending in Much of Brazil
Jim Andrews, International Expert, AccuWeather

My Preliminary Winter Forecast
Brett Anderson, Canada Expert, AccuWeather

The Extremes of the Day

Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather

High: 108 degrees at Chandler, AZ
Low: 23 degrees at Stanley, ID
Today's Extremes here at my house


High: 60 degrees
Low: 43 degrees


TODAY'S COND
After a crisp night under clear skies and light winds, thick fog form during the later of the overnight hours.. a pocket of calm, between Atlantic lows! It was a beautiful day overall with mildest temps in many days, though skies are clouding over ahead of the next weather maker which should make winds pick up and rains to move in through tonight and into tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.
-Mark

AIR PLANKTON

Last Walk Around Mirror Lake - Boom Bip (Boards of Canada Remix) from FroschYankee on Vimeo.

Drifting on currents of air and gravity above Norway. 

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

SEA HAAR

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

I like fog more and more with every passing year. Comforting, moody, cool, quiet, private.

This image, courtesy Wikimedia Commons, is of fog droplets jumping around at just below freezing temperatures.

Here's a high-speed image of the same fog, shot fast enough to slow the "particles" down and stop them in space. Like air champagne.

This beautiful true-color image posted by the Earth Observatory is of sea fog off Scandinavia in March 2003.

This one is too, from a day earlier.

In really cold weather, usually below −35°C/−30 °F, ice fog might form. Sometimes ice fogs triggers light pillars, as seen in this photograph. What looks like a lens flare on the camera is actually a pillar caused by the reflection of sunlight from ice crystals that happen to have nearly horizontal, parallel, flat surfaces. Therefore it really is a lens flare, only the lens is our atmosphere. 

The photograph was shot somewhere in the Arctic, courtesy NOAA.

Some fogs make white rainbows, known as fogbows. Tecnically, a fogbow is just like a rainbow only made of  very small water drops less than 0.05 millimeter in diameter. Sailors call them sea dogs.

The droplets of a fogbow are so small, according to APOD (whence this photograph hails):

"that the quantum mechanical wavelength of light becomes important and smears out colors that would be created by larger rainbow water drops acting like small prisms reflecting sunlight with the best angle to divert sunlight to the observer."

Writing like that is exactly the reason I have a job.

Photo from here.

In Scotland and northern England sea fog is also known as haar or fret. Old Saxon words. 

Most haar condenses around the nuclei of salt particles, which are the by-product of salt spray, which is the by-product of wind and waves.

Photo from here.

In a recent discovery, researchers from Scotland's Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory found that haar also condenses around the iodine particles released by kelp. The kelp emit iodine when stressed by sunlight and evaporation. Thus they help make weather they like better.

Here's the abstract of the paper:

Brown algae of the Laminariales (kelps) are the strongest accumulators of iodine among living organisms. They represent a major pump in the global biogeochemical cycle of iodine and, in particular, the major source of iodocarbons in the coastal atmosphere. Nevertheless, the chemical state and biological significance of accumulated iodine have remained unknown to this date. Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, we show that the accumulated form is iodide, which readily scavenges a variety of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We propose here that its biological role is that of an inorganic antioxidant, the first to be described in a living system. Upon oxidative stress, iodide is effluxed. On the thallus surface and in the apoplast, iodide detoxifies both aqueous oxidants and ozone, the latter resulting in the release of high levels of molecular iodine and the consequent formation of hygroscopic iodine oxides leading to particles, which are precursors to cloud condensation nuclei. In a complementary set of experiments using a heterologous system, iodide was found to effectively scavenge ROS in human blood cells.

Photo from here.

And since sea urchins stress and control kelp (by eating them), and since sea otters control sea urchin populations (by eating them), then urchins and otters are important players in the fogweb too—at least in the Pacific.

Photo from here.

The paper:

• Frithjof C. Küpper, et al. Iodide accumulation provides kelp with an inorganic antioxidant impacting atmospheric chemistry. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.070995910.

29 September, 2010

Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

MAJOR RAIN EVENT FOR THE US EAST COAST LATE THIS WEEK AND INTO THE WEEKEND
8-12 inches of rain possible in many areas from the spine of the Appalachains and western Coastal Plain (west of the major cities) with "potential for locally 15 inches" in exposed upslope Appalachain mountain locations".. That's if the Canadian model is correct!

Damaging Wind a Concern with Nicole as Well
AccuWeather News

Window for Birth of Tropical Storm Nicole Briefly Open
AccuWeather News

More "Troptober" Ahead for Western Caribbean, Florida
AccuWeather

Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather

Widespread East Coast Flood Danger from T.D. 16
AccuWeather

Discovery Remains on Launch Pad Despite Tropical Threat
AccuWeather

Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan

NASTY REST OF THE WEEK FOR SCOTLAND MUCH OF UK

As I drove south along the A90 from Aberdeen today, the rain was pouring and surface water made for dangerous driving conditions. I also noticed fields to the side of the road were saturated... Yes, after the coldest air for September in some, nearly 30 years with a low at Tulloch Bridge of -4.4C or 24 degrees is gone and now the next Atlantic weather make is here and brought the first shield of heavy rain across the country, there is going to be a few batches of very heavy rains over the next 24 yo 48 hours, bringing more flooding chances as well as gusty winds, then once this thing kicks out, how chilly will the air become? Perhaps the next system rolls in right on the heels of this, but if there's a high that's behind this and draws colder air south again from the Arctic, we may find more very cold nights coming up in the next 4-7 days!

The patterns is become more and more active, progressive and the chill is becoming much more pronounced. Tonight, after wind and heavy rains have now moved out, skies have cleared and winds lightened up, we're once again dropping through the 40s! Could we remains clear and calm... if so, do we get back into the 30s? Perhaps!

What's Reaching Today's Blogs?

Torrential Rain to Flood the East
Joe Lundburg, AccuWeather

Excessive Heat Gone But Moist Air May Bring More Surprises
Ken Clark, Western Expert, AccuWeather

The Extremes of the Day

Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather

High: 113 degrees at Death Valley, CA
Low: 23 degrees at Stanley, ID

Today's UK Extremes
Courtesy of the Met Office

High: 65 degrees at Northolt
Low: 40 degrees at Castlederg

Today's Extremes here at my house


High: 56 degrees
Low: 53 degrees


TODAY'S COND
HEAVY HEAVY RAIN AND BLUSTERY WINDS TODAY, REMAINED RELATIVELY MILD, AT NIGHT (STAYING ABOVE 50)

Thanks for reading.
-Mark

28 September, 2010

See our Facebook & Twitter pages here for weather snippets and more, become a fan today!

Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

LATEST ON MEXICO LANDSLIDE
BREAKING NEWS
7 known dead, more than 100 missing in Mexico
LA Times

1,000 people could be trapped in Mexico landslide, governor says
CNN

mark vogan searches for answers to yesterday's historic heat
WHY DID LOS ANGELES GET SO HOT YESTERDAY?

UPDATE: I spoke with the NWS in Oxnard and with the combination of factors coming together of east, northeast flow of air, strong upper-level ridge of high pressure and most likely one of the biggest culprits was the 105 degree high the previous day and very warm night lows, likely set the base for extreme warming once the sun rose over the mountains to the east, the flow of air cranked up out of the northeast, which downsloped, compressed and warmed, bringing "enhancement of heating" within an already hot air mass as well as a flow of offshore winds which drove out to sea the marine layer, allowing a slower than normal push of air onshore along the beaches... These factors likely allowed the magnitude of heating yesterday!

Yes, I understand the Southern California micro-climate, the strong ridge of high pressure that was overhead, even an easterly or northeasterly wind flow that crossed the mountains en-route to LA and the Pacific, but why or why did it go from a 20-year high of 105-degrees to an unbelievable 113-degrees in Downtown LA the following day to set a new all-time record?

I remember well the heat wave of July 2006 which roasted Woodland Hills on the west end of the San Fernando Valley (north of LA) to 119 degrees.. That day saw a high top 101 degrees Downtown. The upper-level pattern appears to be very similar between yesterday and back on that day in July 2006, yet Downtown recorded a high 12 degrees warmer yesterday to back in 2006. As for Woodland Hills, they were 9 degrees cooler yesterday to 2006's historic reading for the county of LA.

Yes, I understand that highly localised winds can bring enhanced heating to specific areas over the southwest of California. There's complex geography in this region and this is a region in which I've followed the weather for several years and understand the climate and georgraphy of this region, however I am scratching my head as to how it got as hot as it did right bang slap in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles. Indeed I do understand how the areas near the beaches got well into the 100s, afterall if Downtown reaches 113, it's only natural to think that the beach communities could top between 104 and 110 given the wind flow.

What I'm struggling to fathom is the fact that there was little in the way of a strong east to northeast flow over the mountains to the east and north of the basin, the actual high itself that was overhead, didn't appear to have heights that were through the roof... The overall setup yesterday supported a "hot day" but it didn't appear to have anything out of the ordinary that suggested this setup is different to other days which brought 100-degree heat across the LA Basin.  

OTHER NEWS TODAY

Image Courtesy of the Daily Express

September snow in Cairngorms could be signal of another bitter winter
Daily Record

Weather stations report big freeze
The Herald

WEATHER: SNOWY NIGHT IS THE COLDEST IN 30 YEARS
The Daily Express

Rain Challenges Records in the East
AccuWeather News
2010 Pakistan Floods: Climate Change or Natural Variability?
ICECAP

Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather

Severe Weather Threat Philadelphia, New York City, Boston Tuesday
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Record Warmth for Interior West
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan

What A Difference a Year Makes
Northeast was "cold last year" with no 90s in July for I-95 except DC, this year, some of these same cities that hit 90 only 10 to 15 times in 2009 have seen nearly 60 such days in 2010

This summer has been nothing short of amazing and it seems as though we've just seen extreme after extreme after extreme in 2010.

Yesterday's 113 degree high in Los Angeles is just the latest extreme but when looking back it's just been a summer of endless wild weather. Remember back to the heat of mid-summer for the Northeast? The 105 in Baltimore, 103 in both Philadelphia and New York, not forgetting the fact that just this week saw remarkable heat in the same spots, bringing a sense of when will summer end this year? Of course DC also saw only the heels of a exceptionally long and hot summer, a high of 99 degrees, the hottest reading so late in the season.

All the tremendous floods that we've seen over the Midwest and Northern Plains which seems like this has become a summer-thing in these parts over the past 2-3 years now as this year has seen Wisconsin (currently) struggle with record floods as well as across Texas, again Texas like the Upper Midwest appears to be enduring a recurring summer pattern which is producing record or near record rains and flooding, remember the 10+ inches that flooded Corpus Christi just 10 or so days ago? 

TREMENDOUS RAINS THIS WEEK, LIKELY TO ERASE THE DRY SOILS OVER THE EAST

Now it's looking like the North Carolina areas which have seen bucket loads of rain and is currently producing flooding, won't be the only areas on the East Coast to see excessive, flooding rains over the rest of this week.... After a extended period of dry weather, stemed from a long, hot and dry summer for most areas east of the Mississippi, a corridor of major rains is is set to lash the east from the spine of the Appalachains to the Atlantic coast, a large area of 4-6 inches of rain is possible and this may be enhanced by tropical development over the Caribbean (presently, now become TD 16) which is expected to ride north up the East Coast over the next 4-7 days. Some interior areas, within the mountains and just east and west may see pockets of 10 to 12 inches of rain...

I knew it was Cold but not the coldest in 30 years!

The cold nights of the past weekend saw lows drop to -1C here at my house but a much more impressive -4.4C or 24 degrees. This was in fact the lowest in 30 years for Scotland and was recorded at Tyndrum, Stirlingshire. The cold came along with about 2 inches of fresh snow which brought the arrival of winter early, bookending our overall dissapointing summer with the unusual cold and snoy period in early May.

A very "blocky" pattern since the end of last year has brought an extreme winter in 09-10, then a dissapointing summer as the trough persisted after high pressure domiated the first half of summer, the question is, will winter 10-11 be as bad as last? The hype to a repeat has begun in the media....

What's Reaching Today's Blogs?

28 Inches of Rain: Mexico Flooding and Landslide
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather
Big Rain: The Sequel
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather

Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather (as of 3pm ET)

High: 108 degrees at San Luis Obispo, CA
Low: 26 degrees at Stanley, ID

Today's Extremes here at my house

High: 57 degrees
Low: 52 degrees

Thanks for reading.
-Mark

27 September, 2010

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Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

NEW: In downtown L.A., coping with the hottest day ever

BREAKING NEWS
An Historic Day for Greater Los Angeles as Downtown tops an unprecidented 113 degrees, West Hollywood 111 degrees and even at Santa Monica, they endure an eye-watering 106 degrees


By Mark Vogan

The shear magnitude of the heat that's blistered the Southland and other areas of SOCAL (especially the coastal communities) today has been nothing short of remarkable and a day in which I never thought I would see these numbers being registered in this part of the world.

Downtown L.A was more like Death Valley, but worse! Why? because it should not get this hot, here and in such an urban environment.. Just think how hot all that asphalt and concrete got to? Think of all those cranky people struggling to walk scalding downtown streets under such a blazing, hot, deadly sunshine, all that blast furnace heat radiating off buildings.


For non-heat lovers, who live in such a sun-soaked location such as Southern California, unfortunately the typical cool spots, weren't so cool.. in fact.. Santa Monica recorded a high  today that's the "average in Las Vegas during the heart of summer! Yes, 106 degrees in Santa Monica. In Oxnard, a place I past by back in June 2004 and shivered within a thick marine layer and I was sorry to have been wearing shorts, scorched to 100 this afternoon, but Ken Clark pointed out in a blog post this afternoon that Morro Bay, which typically only sees low 60s, fog and cloud topped 100, then dropped to 62 in only a single hour!.. He also mentions how Mt Wilson, elevated at 5,700ft and overlooking the LA basin warmed to a stunning 97 degrees.


RELATED STORIES

At 113 degrees, downtown L.A. hits all-time record high [Updated]
Los Angeles Times

Extreme Heat Breaks Los Angeles Record
CBS Los Angeles

Los Angeles records hottest temperature ever
USA Today

AN EXCELLENT READ WITH GREAT INFORMATION
Extreme Temperatures Are Just Crazy!!
Ken Clark, Western Expert, AccuWeather

AN EXTRACT FROM KEN CLARK'S POST TODAY

Here are just some of the highlights of Monday:



-Downtown Los Angeles broke their all time record high of 112 set June 26, 1990 with a 113 when the thermometer peaked at 113 at 12:15 pm.


-Long Beach Airport reached 111, tying an all time record high last set October 15, 1961.


(Final official numbers are not in yet)


-LAX hit 103 before the ocean breeze developed.


-San Luis Obispo Airport smoked at 110.


-Santa Monica Airport hit 102. It was 75 on the Pier at the same time.


-Ventura reached at least 99


-NWS office at Oxnard hit 100.


-Mount Wilson at least reached 97, at 5700 feet above sea level.


-Miramar was as high as 109


-Oceanside Airport came in at 102


-San Diego Lindberg Field was 92.

OTHER STORIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Matthew Turns Deadly across Mexico, Central America
AccuWeather News

Haiti storm 'kills five' and wrecks quake refugee camps
BBC Weather

Canadian officials warn repairs may take months
BBC Weather

Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather

Florida May Be in the Heart of Troptober Frenzy
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Flooding, Severe Thunderstorms Target East Coast
By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

A Soggy Last Full Week for Baseball on East Coast
By Gina Cherundolo, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

Watching for Nicole along the US East Coast

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan

Atlantic Weather system removes a taste of Winter for UK
After a stormy 1-2 day period last week which gave way to some very cool days and downright cold nights, the UK's western door has opened up to welcome in a new Atlantic weather system, one which has removed the sunshine and crisp air and has ushered in milder air from the south which will bring rain, some heavy to many areas of the UK throughout this week as wekk as possibly a period of strong winds as a series of fronts move in from the west, this should also push temperatures above 60 degrees or 16C once again in many areas with perhaps 70s for the south after being stubbornly chilly for late September and nights may in fact remain at levels we saw just prior to the arrival of the tremendous rains of last week when lows didn't fall much below 55 degrees or 12 to 13C. In fact as I right this around 1am on Tuesday morning, the temperature remains at 52 degrees outside. What's been interesting. The high today here didn't get above 53, which is the coldest high in a few months as the cool air remained today and with the arrival of heavy clouds, this cool air was trapped, meaning little warming could occur. Tomorrow may see the first 60 in days here and across many areas of Scotland.

Vagaries of the Weather
India & Sub-Continental Asia Weather
By Rajesh Kapadia

Sunday, September 26, 2010

With the anticyclone now well anchored over North-West India, the SWM is widhrawn from the region.



Northwesterly winds towards the north Rajasthan and are also prevailing over most parts of north India. This is indicative of sunny and drier days as moisture is wiped out by the arid northwesterly winds in the region


Vagaries would specify Gujarat (except South Gujarat),Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana,J&K, H.P.and North M.P. as Monsoon free from today, 26th September.


Would expect the widhrawal to cover Utteranchal, west U.P, M.P. and Chattisgarh in the next 2/3 days.

Interior Mah has been receving thundershowers in the last 2 days. Pune and Aurangabad have been big beneficiaries . Today, Sunday, Pune got a decent thunderstorm in the afternoon.Thunder cells rolled over Mumbai on Sunday evening, with just some drizzles in some areas.


The forecasted vortex formation for this weekend is seen with heavy rainfall in South Konkan and Goa.


South Gujarat, Mah. and Karnataka would see some thundershowers in this week.

See Our Partner's Blog In Full HERE!

What's Reaching Today's Blogs?

Los Angeles Hits 113 Degrees!
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather

Extreme Temperatures Are Just Crazy!!
Ken Clark, Western Expert, AccuWeather

The Extremes of the Day
Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather


High: 113 degrees at Los Angeles, CA
Low: 22 degrees at Embarrass, MN

Today's UK Extremes
Courtesy of the Met Office

High: 65 degrees at Herstmonceux
Low: 24 degrees at Kinbrace


Today's Extremes here at my house


High: 53 degrees
Low: 37 degrees

Thanks for reading.
-Mark

26 September, 2010

Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

SEE WEATHER TALK BELOW FOR VIDEO BLOG RECORDED FROM THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS AS WELL AS DISCUSSION ON THE VERY LOW TEMPERATURES RECORDED ACROSS SCOTLAND...

Image Courtesy of the LA Times

BREAKING NEWS STORIES

NEW UPDATE: Whilst Indio, California tops 113 degrees for the nations high, Downtown Los Angeles records a blistering 105-degree high whilst Chatsworth tops 107 and Riverside 110... it's expected to be even hotter Monday!

NEW UPDATE: Scotland's chill continues where cold air aloft is sinking to the ground under clear skies and light winds, allowing most inland places to drop to freezing or slightly lower... The low of 30 degrees here at my home in Lennoxtown is the coldest since that same low was recorded back on May 3rd. The national low was reported at Tyndrum, Strilingshire at a very crisp 24 degrees (-4.4C), Warmer air is in the process of moving in as well as a more unsettled regime the rest of this week.

L.A. fire danger is as extreme as the heat; Sunday, Monday even hotter

LA Times

Mudslides hit Venezuela
BBC Weather

Sudden storm kills six in Haiti
USA Today
Weakening Matthew drenches southern Mexico
USA Today

Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather

Record-Challenging California Heat Continues into Early Next Week
By Brian Edwards, Meteorologist

Drought-Busting Rain Sliding Up the East Coast
By Katie Storbeck, Meteorologist

Midweek Outlook: Wet in the East, Hot in the West
By Brian Edwards, Meteorologist

Weather Talk
By Mark Vogan

My Video-Blog which was recorded just at 6.40am, just north of Dalwhinnie in the Central Highlands. When I recorded this video, the temperature was 26 degrees!

Heading southbound along the A9 just south of Dalwhinnie where Glen Truim meets the north end of Glen Garry, note the frost on the grass on the left side of the road, also the lack of trees and barreness of these hills surrounding which top 3,714 feet (Geal Charn which I believe is the first peak in the picture above on the right), there is also nearby Beinn Udlamain which reaches 3, 317 feet amonst many others. The picture above was taken about 3 to 5 miles north of Drumochter Pass, elevation 1,516 feet above sea level, the A9's highest point and often subject to severe winter weather conditions. 

The chill across Scotland hits new lows... My House registers a winter-like 30 degrees (-1C) whilst I record 25 degrees (-3C) on my travels during the early morning hours!

TYNDRUM, STRILINGSHIRE, THE OFFICIAL COLD SPOT IN UK WITH 24 DEGREES (-4.4C)

During the lonely hours of the night whilst driving my truck load of Morrisons goods north to Inverness along the A9 from Bathgate, my truck was reading impressive numbers for September with temperatures as low as -3C or 25 to 27 degrees as I climbed in elevation through Glen Garry, south of Dalwhinnie around 3am, then on my way back south, I saw regular -3s around Dalwhinnie (Glen Truim) as well as down between Killiecrankie and Pitlochry, Perthshire (just south of Glen Garry) where pockets of fog lay in valley bottoms and steam hovered over both Rivers Garry and Tay as well as Loch Fiskally, tucked away in tree lines valleys where cold collects easily. Frost was well formed as well as well as puddles which had frozen up.. It was likely even colder than -3C or 25 degrees in spots under what was a beautiful morning of clear skies, a full moon and little in the way of wind, the perfect setup for maximum radiation cooling and within these sheltered, inland Glens.. temperatures can fall away to substantial levels. I expect somewhere this morning to have fallen all the way into the LOW 20s or the -4 to -6C range as the air mass overhead is very, very cold indeed and thus under clear skies and light winds, not only can heat at the surface and on the ground be released back to space but the cold air, held aloft, can sink down hillsides and into the Glens, allowing some mid-winter like cold to settle.

PERSISTENTLY AT -3C BETWEEN BRUAR AND PITLOCHRY

On my way northbound to Inverness, the thermometer crept to freezing, once north of Perth and where the climb into the central Highlands and Cairngorm National Park begins with the first 0C being registered around the tree-lined Dunkeld-Burnam area, just over 10 miles north of Perth and continued falling the 20 or so miles to Pitlochry and bottomed out around the Pass of Killiecrankie at -3C (around 26 degrees F) at around 3am. On the way back down from Inverness, this same area kept the -3C reading on the dashboard "persistently" for some time, this area which is surrounded by mountains, though less steep than further north through Glen Garry and towards the Pass of Drumnochter... the cold likely collects more efficiently in this area which is high and in a relatively "wide valley" in which less mixing of air can occur when cold air downslopes off the surrounding hills, collecting at the bottom. Too steep a hillside and valley, the more "mixing" of the air and less cold it can become at the valley bottom.

DALWHINNIE, A TRUE NATIONAL ICEBOX

In saying that, north of Drumnochter Pass and within the settlement of Dalwhinnie, this place over 1,1060 feet above sea level and is surrounded by gently slopped north-south hills which allow cold air to drain into Dalwhinnie and collect with m,inimal mixing, therefore allows Dalwhinnie to not only support some of the lowest temperatures of anywhere in the UK but the height and hills surrounding mean, it's also one of the coldest places by day as the cold air creates an inversion in which it can't escape, little sunlight reaches here in winter and thus both factors create the coldest daytime highs and well as night lows.

At my house, I was interested to see an even colder low this morning than yesterday, albeit slight and for a low of 30 degrees here for Sept 26, well that is impressive and nearly 2 months ahead of the first sub-freezing low last year which wasn't until well into November!

WINTER-LIKE CHILL TO LEAVE BY TOMORROW

Despite changes on the way as milder and more unsettled weather will return within the next 24 to 36 hours, tonight remains the same with clear, starry, moonlit skies, light winds and a substantial cooling trend through the south, central belt and north with lows that may rival last nights or even surpass those numbers recorded this morning in some sheltered Highland Glens...

This photo taken just north of Pitagowan and near the Bruar, Blair Atholl turnoff (Perth and Kinross), on the southern end of Glen Garry, near to where the "steaming" River Garry flows under the A9 shows well the clear skies and well formed frost on grassy surfaces (left of the road). This stetch saw a persistent reading of -3C on my truck dashboard at around 7.30 till 8am. In areas where fog had formed and trees where present, there was evidence of hoar frost formation! A thing often not seen until winter, not September!

What's Reaching Today's Blogs?

Devil's Lake Flooding Update
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather

Drought Relief For The Southeast
Frank Strait, AccuWeather

The Extremes of the Day

Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather

High: 113 degrees at Indio, CA
Low: 22 degrees at Bodie State Park, CA

Today's UK Extremes
Courtesy of the Met Office

High: 60 degrees at Hurn (Dorset)
Low: 24 degrees at Tyndrum (Stirlingshire)

Today's Extremes here at my house


High: 55 degrees
Low: 30 degrees (Frost)

Thanks for reading.
-Mark

25 September, 2010

Today's Top Weather Stories
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

A Tale of Two Extremes On Both sides of the Atlantic

Washington DC tops unprecidented 99-degree high, whilst my house here in Scotland dips to a morning low of 31 degrees with frost.

Whilst the East Coast of the USA experiences some unusual late-season heat in which shatters records on the tail end of what has been one of the hottest ever summers on record there and locally "thee hottest" for many areas.. Here in Scotland, on the tail end of what has been overall yet another dissapointing summer, we firstly endure torrents of rain and strong winds a few days ago, only to be given way to a fresh north wind on the backside of that wind and torrential rain bearing weather system which pulls Arctic air down, hangs over our heads and then with clear skies and light winds, allows any surface heat to escape back to space under increasingly longer hours of darkness at night and thus with those ingredients in place, drops us to the coldest levels since early May, which incidentally brought us also a slightly unusual batch of cold weather for the time of year.. Both spring and fall has bookened the typical British summer with colder than normal temperatures and even mountain snow which I saw en-route from Inverness back to Bathgate this morning.

My low at my house dropped off to 31 degrees, cold enough for frost to form and to grab and dust down that heavy coat.. As I drove my truck up through the Cairngorm National Park during the overnight hours on my typical nightshift to and from Inverness, the temperatures were held above that seen down along the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh as winds were brisk and at times rain bearing clouds were overhead and dampening my windscreen with, at times, hefty showers. At times, those rains were coming down over 1,000ft in elevation terrain, north of Aviemore and temperatures were actually cold enough to support snow as it was only 3C or 38F. The lowest levels of the atmosphere must have remained warm enough to rain and not snow but with a air temperature of 36 degrees near Dalwhinnie and a stiff enough wind to blow my truck around a bit, the windchill was likely well into the mid-20s!! That's cold for late Sept for sure...

Impressive were the numbers, particularly so within the Edinburgh to Glasgow urban belt but more so illustrative of just how cold the air pocketed within the trough over was in order to support this type of cold and still only be in Seotember. It's also shown during the daytime hours when the sun is shinning and the temps remain in the low to mid-50s!!!

The heat is certainly impressive over the East with 93 degrees at Atlantic City, NJ and a stunning 99 at Washington DC. Also and just as impressive is the fact that as of 9.30pm last night, Jesse Ferrell wrote on facebook at how State College, PA which is over 1,000ft in elevation remained at a "hot" 80 degrees, yes at 9.30 AT NIGHT and for any time of year and at that location and elevation, that would be impressive, but for late September? That's nearly unheard of for sure...

OTHER IMPRESSIVE HIGHS FROM YESTERDAY ARE:

Salisbury, MD 95 degrees

Norfolk, VA 96 degrees

By Mark Vogan

Heat Sets New Records In Northeast Friday
AccuWeather News

Gulf Coast Tropical Potential Late Next Week
AccuWeather News

Tropical Storm Matthew drenches Honduras
CNN

Today's Weather across America
From AccuWeather

California Heat Wave to Persist into Early Next Week
AccuWeather

Potential For Significant Rain Event in the East Next Week
AccuWeather

What's Reaching Today's Blogs?

2 Extraordinary Weeks In A Row !!!

Paul Douglas Weather Column, WeatherNation
Devil's Lake Flooding Update
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather

Hot Weather Leads to Wet Weather and Hurricanes Next Week
Henry Margusity, AccuWeather

The Extremes of the Day

Today's US Extremes
Courtesy of AccuWeather

High: 112 degrees at Death Valley, CA
Low: 23 degrees at West Yellowstone, MT

Today's UK Extremes
Courtesy of the Met Office

High: 60 degrees at Plymouth (Devon)
Low: 29 degrees at Katesbridge ( Co Down)

Today's Extremes here at my house


High: 54 degrees
Low: 31 degrees


TODAY'S COND
A cold night and start to the day across the country and especially so where skies remained clear and winds light. The heart of the Central Belt region saw the first freezing temperatures since early May and was actually colder than further north were clouds and rain held temperatures to a couple of degrees above freezing, snow was likely falling over the mountains where fresh snow is visible and lying over the Cairngorm peaks both east and west of the A9. After an unseasonably cold start to Sept 25, it remained cool, especially in the shade despite an abundance of sunshine.

Thanks for reading.
-Mark