Heavy rain & storms rolled across much of the area Tue. with more on the way Wed. Unless we can manage some decent heating, the main threat appears to be heavy rain & flooding through Thu. Storms will repeatedly move across the same area with rainfall rates of 1"+/hr. By Thu. night & Fri., northeast surface winds will finally push showers & storms to the south & west of the First Coast. The photo below is from Trevor Long in Brunswick where several hail storms rolled through late Tue. afternoon.
The once-in-a-lifetime transit of Venus between earth & the sun was shrouded in clouds for much of the First Coast. But check out the photo below from Mandarin viewer Mike Rosset -- outstanding! The 2nd photo is a zoomed-in view sent by Phillip Little -- again beautiful!
As part of an ongoing joint project between UAHuntsville, NOAA and NASA, John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Dr. Roy Spencer, an ESSC principal scientist, use data gathered by advanced microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost all regions of the Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas where reliable climate data are not otherwise available.
The satellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude of about eight kilometers above sea level. Once the monthly temperature data is collected and processed, it is placed in a "public" computer file for immediate access by atmospheric scientists in the U.S. and abroad.
May temperatures (preliminary)
Global composite temp.: +0.29 C (about 0.52 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for May.
Northern Hemisphere: +0.44 C (about 0.79 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for May.
Southern Hemisphere: +0.14 C (about 0.25 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for May.
Tropics: +0.03 C (about 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for May.
April temperatures (revised):
Global Composite: +0.30 C above 30-year average
Northern Hemisphere: +0.41 C below 30-year average
Southern Hemisphere: +0.19 C below 30-year average
Tropics: -0.12 C below 30-year average
(All temperature anomalies are based on a 30-year average (1981-2010) for the month reported.)
Notes on data released June 4, 2012:
Compared to global seasonal norms, May 2012 was the fourth warmest in the 34-year satellite record, according to Dr. John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. It was the third warmest May in the Northern Hemisphere, and tied as the warmest May over NH land masses, with an average temperature that was 0.68 C (about 1.22 degrees F) warmer than normal for the month. It was 0.95 C (about 1.71 degrees F) warmer than normal over the contiguous 48 states, which made it the fourth warmest May there since 1979.
Compared to seasonal norms, the “warmest” place on Earth in May was along the eastern coast of Russian near the Sea of Okhotsk. Temperatures there averaged as much as 4.29 C (about 7.72 degrees F) warmer than seasonal norms. The coolest spot was in the Gulf of Alaska west of Juneau, where temperatures for the month averaged 2.38 C (about 4.28 degrees F) cooler than May norms.
Not much time left - deadline is Wed., June 6th so act now(!).....To celebrate the 40th year of Landsat satellite images from space, NASA and the USGS are asking the public to submit ideas about the "land changes" they (the public) would like to see. Contest winners will be announced live on NASA Television at a Landsat 40th anniversary press briefing in Washington on Monday, July 23.
Who: USA public welcomed to send in suggestion, and NASA/USGS will find the appropriate Landsat images.
What: local land changes of interest (forests, fields, rivers, farmland, urban growth, snow cover, etc.)
When: submit by June 6th
Where: any where USA, or beyond
Why: just for fun, interesting images
How: see simple instructions below
How to Enter:
All you have to do to enter the NASA-USGS "My American Landscape" contest is send an e-mail containing your answers to the questions below to HQ-LandsatContest@mail.nasa.gov. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, June 6.
What are the types of landscape changes that interest you in your part of your state? Select one or more from the list below:
-- Farms and fields
-- Forests
-- Cities and suburbs
-- Lakes, rivers, and coasts
-- Natural disasters
-- Wildlife habitat
-- Describe in at least 100 words the local changes you are interested in where you live and what you hope to learn about them from a Landsat "space chronicle."
-- Your name
-- The county and state where you live
-- Your e-mail address
Contest winners will be announced live on NASA Television at a Landsat 40th anniversary press briefing in Washington on Monday, July 23.
I'll be out of the office Wed. but back Thu.-Fri.
