Comments on: Hurricane Sandy intensifies as it grows

By: Chris Winter

Chris Winter — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 00:58:24 +0000

The straight-line condition is known as syzygy (love that word) and the tides it produces are spring tides because they seem to be bursting or springing forth. When lunar and solar gravity vectors are 90° out of phase, the tides that occur are neap tides.

By: mikel

mikel — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:08:31 +0000

At full moon and new moon the moon and sun are aligned with Earth. This means that lunar tide and the solar tide reinforce each other creating greater high and low tides. At half moon the moon is at a right angle from the Earth-Sun line which means the solar tide is out of phase with the lunar tide which partially dampens the lunar tide.

By: Jason B.

Jason B. — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:49:58 +0000

This morning NPR reported that since there is a full moon, the tide will be higher than usual, and this will make the storm surge worse.

I thought that the phase of the moon and the tide were independent. I can’t seem to find a clear answer from a reliable source. Can somebody provide me a clue as to how this works (or doesn’t)?

By: Wzrd1

Wzrd1 — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:07:38 +0000

@Robert, satellite imagery is available from NOAA’s GEOS site.
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/index.html
Enhanced is at:
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/ECIR4.html
Radar is cluttered, but at :
http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=dix&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=no

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:37:16 +0000

Does anyone have a link to the false color IR images or videos? Those monochrome IR or visible light images really don’t tell you much.
It’s the same thing on TV weather: None of them will show the false color IR, which show cloud temperature, from which you can infer height, as a range of colors from dark blue through green and red to, finally, white. The instead show you visible or mono IR imagery that show the height as 2 or three shades of grey, and generally ignores low level cloud entirely. Guess what type of cloud generally gives us rain around here?
I guess it’s because you need to have a modicum or education to understand a false-color IR. Which the presenter could give us if she drops the daily human interest palava section. And has a modicum of education herself.
As for that video – yes pretty! – but switching between visible and mono IR constantly just makes no sense.
Never mind. I’ll stop ranting now.

By: Hurricane Sandy intensifies as it grows | Bad Astronomy | Flash Science News | Scoop.it

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 03:06:41 +0000

[...] The NASA/NOAA weather satellite GOES-13 is capturing images of Hurricane Sandy, and the animation below shows the growth of this massive storm over the time period of October 26 to today, Sunday the 28th, ending just after 16:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. [...]

By: Wzrd1

Wzrd1 — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:23:37 +0000

Our son in law has informed us that Cigna in Philadelphia is open tomorrow, in spite of all mass transit being shut down and the statewide and city wide state of emergency.
He was advised that all employees WILL be at work. Period.
I guess that the management doesn’t consult with their actuaries regarding the conduct of business and employee safety during a state of emergency.

By: ERBarker

ERBarker — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 01:24:49 +0000

This one looks bad. You Yanks take care and stay safe.

By: shawmutt

shawmutt — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 23:04:54 +0000

Ocean City is already flooding. It’s going to suck for coastal areas. I have family members on the MD coast that decided to stick it out, so far so good.

I’ve lived in the northeast my whole life, and it’s hard to take these storms seriously with the yearly dire warnings (especially about snow). Even now they are changing the forecast for my area and saying it will be less severe.

By: David C.

David C. — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 21:47:42 +0000

Thanks 7. Chris and 8. Wzrd1. we are just east of The Greater Toronto Area, so while direct effect might not be felt, from the counter clockwise winds coming down the lake, we may be indirectly affected. I’m comfortably 15 – 20 ft above the lake level, but there are a lot of houses closer that aren’t.
I’m watching on the Internet anything I can find on this. Don’t want my family to be caught unawares if things do go SNAFU!! I know the weather people have all these wonderful tech stuff now, but come on, this is Mother Nature we are dealing with. Not a lab experiment. and no, I am not panicking, just being cautious.