The Space Program

I have always been an admirer of and been rather fascinated by the space program. I have always been glued to watching shuttle launches and landings. I went to space camp as a kid, and I just find the whole thing very interesting. I was a child when the Challenger disaster occurred, and it hit me very hard. From what mom tells me, I was basically a wreck for days. But that did not shake my interest in the space program and outer space...I still loved every bit of it.

Of course, Discovery's scheduled launch this afternoon was scrubbed due to the weather. They will attempt to launch again tomorrow afternoon.

Due to NASA's new regulations since the Columbia disaster, all launches are now during daylight. Not only does that significantly cut down on the possible launch times, but it also is harder to get good weather for launches. As you probably know, most Florida afternoon feature scattered storms, so the weather will continue to be a challenge for future launches.

I don't know if most people are aware of how strict and specific the criteria is for NASA to OK a shuttle launch. It is much more complex than you might imagine. Sean McLaughlin over at MSNBC wrote this article on just that...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13639227/

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Friday Evening Post...

First of all, I had a ton of fun at the t-ball game yesterday evening. Those kids are so much fun to be around, and I had a blast.

After we got home, we are sitting in our living room when I start hearing a strange noise. I walk around, investigate the noise, and finally trace the noise back to its source: the furnace. After spending a bit of time (at 11:30pm, by the way) diagnosing the problem, I find what it is.....the blower is not turning....just humming. Not good, because I now know we have no air conditioning. Thankfully, just the blower motor had burned up, so after a replacement of that, we are now back in business.

On to the weather....it really was a pretty nice day today. Highs were only in the mid 80s in a number of locations, and humidity values were low for this time of year....all in all, a pretty good late June day.

Dry weather looks to hold through the weekend and Monday. Actually, our in-house computer modelling is indicating the chance for a shower or storm tomorrow afternoon over western sections of the viewing area, but I don't think that is very likely.

Heat will build over the next few days....low 90s tomorrow, low to mid 90s Sunday, mid 90s Monday. Also, it will be more muggy by Sunday and Monday.

I am now pretty confident with the forecast for next week. Actually, the forecast ideas are basically unchanged from previous forecast packages. The Fourth will probably feature some widely scattered showers or storms, but I still think most fireworks displays will be OK. As a frontal boundary edges in here from the north, afternoon storms look like a good bet Wednesday with widespread shower and storm chances Thursday.

Tropics...
Interesting to watch the blow-up of storms in the western Gulf. I think the overall prospects for tropical development there are fairly small, but still, it is something that has caught my eye, and we will watch it over the weekend.

Also, an area of showers and storms remains east of the Bahamas this evening. Actually, satellite imagery shows some healthy outflow from that area, but no immediate development is likely. Again, we will watch it over the weekend.

Everyone have a great weekend. I will be in my normal weekend evening slot Saturday and Sunday....

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Thursday Full Post

Well, it continues to be a quiet day here in the weather office. The cumulus field has gone up, but I doubt there will be much in the way of shower or storm development this afternoon or evening. Good news....second t-ball game of the season is upon us this evening, and there would be lots of disappointed kids if we couldn't play tonight.

Looking ahead, it really looks pretty dry through the weekend. The heat will build this weekend, with highs up in the low to mid 90s Saturday and Sunday and mid 90s for most places Monday.

Looking at last night's and this morning's model data, the 0z European model was slower in moving a cold front into our area next week than the 0z and 6z GFS. The GFS hit July 4th much harder with shower and storm chances around here than did the European model. The European model hit Wednesday and Thursday harder than Tuesday. That is the solution I leaned toward with today's forecast package, and now the 12z GFS has come more in line with the European model timing. So, what does it mean for us...

It means that I think we will see some scattered showers and storms for the Fourth, but they should be just that....scattered. So, most fireworks displays should be OK. Look for better chances of more widespread showers and storms Wednesday and Thursday. This could change, but that is my opinion as of now.

Tropics...
There is a tropical wave interacting with an upper level trough, causing showers and storms over the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. However, any immediate tropical development of that system looks extremely unlikely. However, we will keep watching it through the weekend.

Another area of showers and storms is in the Bay of Campeche this afternoon.

No computer model is picking up on development of either of these areas. The system in the Bay of Campeche is probably too close to land for any significant development, but Texas residents should definitely keep one eye on that system.

So, that about sums it up. Putting the finishing touches on a rather quiet day in the weather office....As Jeff mentioned over in his blog, work is continuing to get ready for News 14's expansion into the Triad area. The weather office is really coming along very nicely. Our engineering folks are top-notch, and they are doing a great job in getting everything ready. Time is really ticking by, and it will not be long before we throw the switch on another News 14 Carolina station. Exciting times!

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