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Meteorological Winter 2018 Banter


doncat
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This was a good week for a South Florida vacation if you really like the heat.

https://mobile.twitter.com/NWSMiami/status/1097961030234329090

2/19/19: Naples' high temperature as of 3:06 PM has reached 90 degrees. This breaks last year's record for warmest February day on record, and is the earliest 90 degree day on record. Records in Naples date back to 1942.

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11 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

No one mentioned the supermoon tonight :(  It's the largest and brightest moon we will see until 2026.

Next month's supermoon is only 0.03 magnitudes dimmer and 32.7 arcseconds smaller than this month's. Don't even ask me to try doing anything with that first figure – logarithms were never my strong suit – but the difference in diameter is roughly equivalent to one Jupiter disc as seen from Earth. I wouldn't worry. :D

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After yesterdays storm the pattern in the major cities of the northeast this season continues. From Washington to Boston the snowfall totals are in the complete opposite order of what they should be at this point in time. Washington and Baltimore are currently running above normal, Philadelphia about 4 inches below normal, NYC a little more than 1/2 normal and Boston a little less than 1/3 normal.

1. Washington DC..16.6
2. Baltimore............15.6
3. Philadelphia.........13.1
4. New York............10.0
5. Boston.................9.2

It's doubtful they finish in this order but if they did it would be the first time in recorded history.

_________________
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Don't know if mention was made of the fact that one year ago today we experienced the hottest Feb. day ever 78*, highest 500mb heights too I think, in the hottest month of Feb ever, but still managed about 5" of total snow for the month.

Speaking of bulbs, I hope the one in JB's head is lit now.   Maybe March can pull a 1960 type miracle and be the coldest month of the season.    Hard to do with a normal Jan.    The other two could be months could be beaten if the atmosphere does not obey the analogs completely and misbehaves on the cold side.

 

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On 2/20/2019 at 10:43 AM, Juliancolton said:

Next month's supermoon is only 0.03 magnitudes dimmer and 32.7 arcseconds smaller than this month's. Don't even ask me to try doing anything with that first figure – logarithms were never my strong suit – but the difference in diameter is roughly equivalent to one Jupiter disc as seen from Earth. I wouldn't worry. :D

The best ones are the eclipsed ones anyway ;-)

Remember when we were talking about different cameras' abilities to handle lunar and planetary photography and how attaching a camera to a telescope was the best option for very long focal lengths?  But what if you want the ability to use autofocus and also dont want to carry around a very heavy lens?  What do you think of the Nikon P1000 (540mm actual focal length, 3000mm effective focal length, 70mm clear aperture)?  I've seen some images where it looks like it does really well on both lunar and planetary photography and only weighs about 3.5 pounds.  It has RAW mode, is threaded for 77mm filters and can do both time lapse stills and movies and even 4K and can also be connected to AC power.  It's around $1,000.

 

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25 minutes ago, CIK62 said:

Don't know if mention was made of the fact that one year ago today we experienced the hottest Feb. day ever 78*, highest 500mb heights too I think, in the hottest month of Feb ever, but still managed about 5" of total snow for the month.

Speaking of bulbs, I hope the one in JB's head is lit now.   Maybe March can pull a 1960 type miracle and be the coldest month of the season.    Hard to do with a normal Jan.    The other two could be months could be beaten if the atmosphere does not obey the analogs completely and misbehaves on the cold side.

 

Indeed, and Newark hit 80 that day.

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13 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

Las Vegas also had a decent snow event from that storm!

I wouldn't be too surprised of Flagstaff reports a storm total and possibly daily total of 30" when the daily climate report is posted around 6 pm MST (8 pm EST). That would bring today's snowfall close to the all-time record. That record will likely be challenged, if not broken. Overall, the snow-liquid ratio has been about 25:1 during the event.

Flagstaff's greatest daily snowfall (24" or above):

1. 31.0", December 30, 1915
2. 26.8", December 13, 1967
3. 26.0", March 1, 1970
4. 24.0", February 2, 1901

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25 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

The best ones are the eclipsed ones anyway ;-)

Remember when we were talking about different cameras' abilities to handle lunar and planetary photography and how attaching a camera to a telescope was the best option for very long focal lengths?  But what if you want the ability to use autofocus and also dont want to carry around a very heavy lens?  What do you think of the Nikon P1000 (540mm actual focal length, 3000mm effective focal length, 70mm clear aperture)?  I've seen some images where it looks like it does really well on both lunar and planetary photography and only weighs about 3.5 pounds.  It has RAW mode, is threaded for 77mm filters and can do both time lapse stills and movies and even 4K and can also be connected to AC power.  It's around $1,000. 

The P900 and P1000 are definitely the cheapest and lightest ways to get planetary focal lengths. f/8 at 3000mm equivalent is pretty fast as well... I have to be at f/22 to get that much reach with my current system. I just remain unconvinced that you're getting your money's worth on everything else. I mean, the sensor is smaller than what they put in most smartphones today. It's sort of a joke in that regard. IQ doesn't matter so much for lunar and planetary imaging, as you know. You're either shooting at daylight EVs with the Moon, or taking a billion video frames and stacking them for the planets. That said, all but the most dedicated astronomy buffs will get sick of shooting the Moon and the same three planets very quickly, and then you're left with $1200 (with tax and protection plan) worth of grainy voyeurism. It could be a birder's dream if it had phase-detect AF and/or a decent buffer, which is why I've spent some time looking into it for friends.

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12 minutes ago, Juliancolton said:

The P900 and P1000 are definitely the cheapest and lightest ways to get planetary focal lengths. f/8 at 3000mm equivalent is pretty fast as well... I have to be at f/22 to get that much reach with my current system. I just remain unconvinced that you're getting your money's worth on everything else. I mean, the sensor is smaller than what they put in most smartphones today. It's sort of a joke in that regard. IQ doesn't matter so much for lunar and planetary imaging, as you know. You're either shooting at daylight EVs with the Moon, or taking a billion video frames and stacking them for the planets. That said, all but the most dedicated astronomy buffs will get sick of shooting the Moon and the same three planets very quickly, and then you're left with $1200 (with tax and protection plan) worth of grainy voyeurism. It could be a birder's dream if it had phase-detect AF and/or a decent buffer, which is why I've spent some time looking into it for friends.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing.  It would only be used for lunar and planetary photography and for some rare birds/animals that I might happen to see.  I dont like the tiny sensor either but thats the sacrifice we make for portability.  1200 is hefty for shooting only two different types of objects- solar system and small animals/birds-  but it's definitely much less bulky than a DSLR/mirrorless camera set up.

Years ago I bought a 1200 dollar Nikon ED lens that's around 900 mm effective focal length and comes with its own tripod but barely ever used it because it's so heavy.

 

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41 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

Yes, I was thinking the same thing.  It would only be used for lunar and planetary photography and for some rare birds/animals that I might happen to see.  I dont like the tiny sensor either but thats the sacrifice we make for portability.  1200 is hefty for shooting only two different types of objects- solar system and small animals/birds-  but it's definitely much less bulky than a DSLR/mirrorless camera set up.

Years ago I bought a 1200 dollar Nikon ED lens that's around 900 mm effective focal length and comes with its own tripod but barely ever used it because it's so heavy.

 

It comes down to how much you currently or plan on getting into it just like any other hobby IMO. I have a wide variety of lenses but that's because I shoot a variety of things so a dslr serves me best. You can try renting one first if you arent sure. And agree about heavy lenses being annoying but the results are amazing. 

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As of 5 pm MST, Flagstaff had picked up 31.6" snow today. That snowfall set a new daily snowfall record. The previous record was 31.0", which was set on December 30, 1915.

So far, Flagstaff has picked up a storm total of 33.1" over two days. The two-day record is 51.0", which was established during December 30-31, 1915. The three-day record is 54.0", which was set during December 29-31, 1915.

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On 2/20/2019 at 7:01 AM, IrishRob17 said:

People still go to the mall?

Yes, NJ is nothing but malls and highways. Mall opens at 6:30 am for walkers. Kind of interesting to see all the maintenance people in the morning; the tropical plant tenders, window washers, the security guards, the cleaners and mechanics, the bird trappers ( yes it's a thing ) the roach and rat exterminators.....and sadly the homeless in winter.

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6 hours ago, Juliancolton said:

The P900 and P1000 are definitely the cheapest and lightest ways to get planetary focal lengths. f/8 at 3000mm equivalent is pretty fast as well... I have to be at f/22 to get that much reach with my current system. I just remain unconvinced that you're getting your money's worth on everything else. I mean, the sensor is smaller than what they put in most smartphones today. It's sort of a joke in that regard. IQ doesn't matter so much for lunar and planetary imaging, as you know. You're either shooting at daylight EVs with the Moon, or taking a billion video frames and stacking them for the planets. That said, all but the most dedicated astronomy buffs will get sick of shooting the Moon and the same three planets very quickly, and then you're left with $1200 (with tax and protection plan) worth of grainy voyeurism. It could be a birder's dream if it had phase-detect AF and/or a decent buffer, which is why I've spent some time looking into it for friends.

I got referred to this page, this guy took images of the Andromeda Galaxy and Orion Nebula with his P1000

http://sweiller.free.fr/COOLPIX-P1000/Astro/P1000-Astro.htm

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5 hours ago, NycStormChaser said:

It comes down to how much you currently or plan on getting into it just like any other hobby IMO. I have a wide variety of lenses but that's because I shoot a variety of things so a dslr serves me best. You can try renting one first if you arent sure. And agree about heavy lenses being annoying but the results are amazing. 

Yes, I like having a three lens set up best, one for wide fov, one for narrow fov, and one for macros.  The macro lens ended up being the heaviest of the lenses I use the most.

 

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2 hours ago, weatherpruf said:

Yes, NJ is nothing but malls and highways. Mall opens at 6:30 am for walkers. Kind of interesting to see all the maintenance people in the morning; the tropical plant tenders, window washers, the security guards, the cleaners and mechanics, the bird trappers ( yes it's a thing ) the roach and rat exterminators.....and sadly the homeless in winter.

There are some really pretty areas in the NW and W part of NJ and some really expensive real estate there!

The parts of NJ with the 2000+ toxic superfund sites and the resulting highest rates of autism in the country need to be avoided though.  I heard they found high amounts of lead in the tap water in some counties in NE NJ.

It's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde state, the pretty parts are REALLY nice and the urbanized areas are not.

 

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3 hours ago, donsutherland1 said:

As of 5 pm MST, Flagstaff had picked up 31.6" snow today. That snowfall set a new daily snowfall record. The previous record was 31.0", which was set on December 30, 1915.

So far, Flagstaff has picked up a storm total of 33.1" over two days. The two-day record is 51.0", which was established during December 30-31, 1915. The three-day record is 54.0", which was set during December 29-31, 1915.

Don, does this storm give Flagstaff their all time single storm snowfall record?

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28 minutes ago, donsutherland1 said:

Flagstaff finished with an all-time daily snowfall record of 35.9" yesterday and daily record precipitation of 1.44". Flagstaff's two-day snowfall was 37.4".

Phoenix also picked up a daily record precipitation amount of 1.01".

There is a strong correlation between precipitation in the Southwest and a negative SOI.

Nice snow ratios 

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/02/21/scotland-breaks-all-time-february-temperature-record-unusual-winter-europe-heatwave/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.767787072a48

Aboyne, Scotland, which is located farther north than Kodiak Island, Alaska, reached 65 degrees Thursday afternoon. It’s a new maximum temperature record for February across all of Scotland. The previous record stood for 122 years — since 1897

This comes just a week after Berlin set its record high temperature for February at 62 degrees.

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