Slow warming through the weekend but mornings will still be chilly. Afternoon highs will warm from the low 60s Thu. to upper 60s Fri. to 70-75 Sat.-Sun. Onshore east to northeast winds will keep beaches cooler each day. Our next chance for some rain will not be until Tue.
"What's Up" for March...
From NASA - click ** here ** for the video: A bright comet graces the sunset sky. Hello and welcome. The first of this year's two potential bright comets is visible this month for those who can see low on the western horizon.
Comet PanSTARRS will be the bright comet visible to those in the mid-northern latitudes. If you are at latitude 40 degrees north, which includes Salt Lake City, Lincoln, Nebraska and New York City, you'll see the comet about 10 degrees above the horizon. If you are observing from farther south, the comet will be a few degrees lower and closer to the horizon.
On March 5 the comet sets only 15 minutes after sunset.
But by the 10th, you'll have a full hour after sunset to spot it.
On March 12 the slender crescent moon will be visible to the right of the comet. Look again
on the 13th, when the moon will be above the comet.
In April and May the comet fades a bit, but it will be visible higher in the sky then. PanSTARRS' total brightness should be about magnitude 3, which is a little different from the magnitude of a magnitude 3 star because the comet's light is spread over a larger area.
Try to use binoculars first, even if you have a telescope, since the comet is so close to the horizon. If you do see the comet, keep looking after it sets and you might see its tail above the horizon. NASA's EPOXI mission captured some images of a different comet, ISON, in late January. This comet may offer spectacular views for viewers on Earth towards the end of the year.
And Rosetta, an international mission with U.S. support and NASA instruments, is on a 10-year mission to catch up with comet 67 P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, or C-G for short. Rosetta will be the first spacecraft to soft-land on a comet and accompany it as it enters the inner solar system.
This month Jupiter is still high in the sky at dusk, and Saturn rises in the late evening.
National Severe Weather Awareness Week is this week - Mar. 3-9. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) thought you might be interested in helping to inform the public about the severe weather hazards in their area and highlighting the need to be both physically as well as financially prepared for severe weather events. Last year alone insured natural catastrophe losses total $58 billion. This makes it important for individuals to ask: Am I financially prepared for what Mother Nature may have in store for 2013?
PCI is a national insurance trade association and we are committed to educating consumers about auto, home and business insurance. This time of year we place emphasis on urging consumers to learn about their coverage so that they are not surprised following a natural catastrophe. As you prepare for your weather reports this week, we encourage you to not only remind individuals to have a disaster plan, but also think about and prepare for the financial impact of weather events.
Here are five quick weather-related facts:
• In 2012, there were more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries.
• In 2012 there were 936 tornadoes reported, with 206 in April alone. Insured losses due to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes cost nearly $15 billion.
• In 2012 the Atlantic hurricane season was once again above average with 19 named storms, ten hurricanes, and one major hurricane. Hurricane Sandy alone may have caused anywhere from $20 billion to $25 billion in insured auto, home and business insurance claims.
• Average annual winter storm losses have almost doubled since the 1980s.
• Insured catastrophe losses in the US during 2012 were the second highest on record.
Key Messages and Actions for Homeowners
To prevent the loss of life and minimize property damage it is vital that residents create a family disaster plan, maintain an emergency supply kit and stay informed about approaching storms.
Now is the time to review your insurance policy with your agent or company and consider the purchase of flood insurance to make sure that you have the right coverage to meet your individual needs.
Conduct a yearly insurance review of your insurance policy limits and talk with your agent or insurer so that you understand what your policy covers.
Resources for You
PCI provides tips and resources about coverage related to severe weather -- click ** here **.
There have been recent articles regarding "federal figures" (whatever that means!) that show carbon dioxide is rising so sharply in the atmosphere that "the prospects of keeping climate change below the 2-degree goal are fading away". Be careful on the carbon dioxide argument because:
* reliable carbon dioxide data only goes back to 1959
* historically the correlation between rising carbon dioxide has generally lagged temp. change - not a perfect match, in other words.
* as I've been adamant about for years....it's global climate change. As is pointed out in the articles, many populous, developing countries -- China in particular -- are burning more fossil fuels than ever.
And going outside my little "weather world"....just a quick comment on the 87-year old woman that died last week at the independent living home where workers refused to give CPR. The media was very quick to jump on this story....sensationalize the 9-1-1 call....& then to come to judgement. I was uncomfortable about the manner in which most t.v. news organizations handled/reported & delivered the story - particularly CNN as they offered their very harsh opinion on just how "terrible" this facility was. First of all....it's not the media's job to give opinion. Facts only please (I realize that's old school). Secondly....after some digging, it turns out all residents (&/or families) at this facility have to sign a form which states there will be no staff that administers CPR. In the end, it was the wishes of the deceased that she wanted to live in a facility with no medical staff or life-prolonging intervention. The family has no plans to sue. Of course, CNN -- & I doubt most other news outlets -- did not follow up on this story after it lost its "luster". To the credit of my own Action News, we did run a short story with this information Tue. evening.
