Update from Long Beach Island, NJ

Thanks again for setting this up Chris! It's such a great idea. Anyway, I've been on vacation this week in Long Beach Island, NJ (Beach Haven) and I thought I'd give a little weather update from down here.

It has been a very interesting week in regards to the weather. For those who don't know, Long Beach Island (or LBI as it is called by us New Jerseyans) is about 6 miles out at sea and only a mile or so wide at its widest point.


The biggest surprise this week has been the cold water temperatures. The warmest it's been all week is 60 and most of the time the water has been around 57. Brrr.... Due to the cool temps over the water and the higher dew points, we've seen a lot of ocean fog. The beach has been very foggy but the rest of the island is warm and sunny. It's amazing how much the weather changes in 2 blocks down here!


On Wednesday, I got up around 9:30 and it was foggy over the water and sunny over land. 10 minutes later, the entire island was shrouded in fog (it reminded me of the movie The Myst that came out last November...really creepy!). The micro climates down here are extremely interesting; I'm going to try and do some more research on them and hopefully find some more information.

One last note, the lifeguards say that we need a NE wind to warm up the water. That seems counterintuitive to me (one would think a southerly wind would be best). I hope I can figure out this conundrum as well. It's quite annoying that Cape May is reading 80 degrees and Sandy Hook has been in the 70s yet we remain in the high 50s.

Well, there are no pretty graphics in this post unfortunately, but hopefully I can poke around and find out some more about the crazy and changeable weather we've had down here this week. It's too bad I missed the dime sized hail at my house in Somerset County! Have a good one! I'm sure the weather is better in Hawaii Mike!

Dolly Slams Southern Texas

Hurricane Dolly made landfall near South Padre Island in Texas this morning. Dolly was a category two storm packing winds of 100 mph when she came ashore. She is expected to bring up to a foot and a half of rain and up to eight feet of storm surge across the region. Dolly will continue to weaken as it continues to move NW into central Texas. Hurricane warnings are still in effect from San Fernando, Mexico to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Cristobal is becoming extratropical over the open waters of the Atlantic as it rapidly moves northeast away from the United States. A tropical wave has also formed off of the coast of Africa and the National Hurricane Center will be observing the system over the next week as it moves to the west at about 20 mph. Any development of this system will be slow to occur.


(Radar imagery taken from NOAA)

AMS Preaching Doom & Gloom

As if the current economic outlook was not enough to dampen most people’s dreams, the June 2008 issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society throws salt on our wounds. John A. Knox, a professor of engineering at the University of Georgia, warns the meteorological community about the "recent & future trends in the US undergraduate meteorology enrollment, degree recipients, and employment opportunities" (Knox 873). While Knox brings up many valid points, I do not believe that the prospects in the field of meteorology are as grim as many believe.

The article begins with a great list of the top 4 influences on today’s students entering meteorology. I believe that each item has played a role in many students decisions. While I feel that my passion for meteorology developed before those influences entered my life, each one has reinforced my passion for the subject.

1. The film Twister (1996)
2. The World Wide Web
3. The Mainstream Media
4. Weather & Climate topics [Sadly, Hurricane Andrew did not make the list] (Knox 873)
   

Enrollment Trends and Degree Recipients:

Where do I begin with this one? For one thing, by Knox’s own admission, the data used is incomplete. While the trend is obvious, both enrollment and degree recipients in undergraduate programs have increased. According to Knox’s data, meteorology has had the greatest increase of any major in the physical sciences. Meteorology degree recipients have increased a whopping 161% from 1968-2004 (Knox 874).

Employment Trends:

"During 1994-2004 the growth in demand for meteorologists was approximately 4 times slower than the growth in the supply of new meteorologists" (Knox 877). This statement applies to B.S. meteorologists and employment announcements that require no more than a B.S.

For 2006, only 167 postings in the private sector were for entry-level positions requiring little to no experience. The National Weather Service has only 53 new positions per year and the military has 65 new positions per year. After some basic math, that equals 285 positions available to graduates with a B.S. (Knox 878).

What this means:
Well, the field has become very competitive, but we can take advantage of the information in this article. I came up with several questions that up and coming meteorologists need to ask themselves.

• Should I go to grad school?
• Do I have a minor in a semi-related field?
• Am I going to or in a reputable program?
• What extracurricular activities am I involved in?
• Am I getting satisfactory grades?
• Am I planning to have more than one internship (aka experience)?
• Do I have good social & interviewing skills?
• Am I trying to enter a growing sector within the field of meteorology?

If you can answer yes to several of these questions, then I feel that you will have nothing to worry about.

Knox, John A. "Recent and Future Trends in U.S. Undergraduate Meteorology Enrollments, Degree Recipients, and Employment Opportunities." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society June 2008: 873-883.

Dolly Finally Forms

Well, it's finally official. The tropical low that the National Hurricane Center had been tracking all week has finally become the season's fourth tropical storm, Dolly. As of 5PM, Dolly was located about 230 miles SE of Cozumel, Mexico. She is packing winds of 45 mph, and will dump several inches of rain all across the Caribbean. Dolly will likely make landfall on the Yucatan on Monday before crossing into the Gulf of Mexico later in the day. Latest models indicate that Dolly will gain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the gulf before making it's second landfall in the middle part of the week.

(Rainbow IR satellite image of Dolly above produced by NOAA)

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Cristobal is impacting the Carolina coastline. Cristobal is a poorly defined system that currently lacks significant thunderstorm activity. However, Cristobal may bring rain to the East Coast before turning up the Gulf Stream and away from land. If you are heading down the shore be careful of dangerous rip currents associated with the system.

Also, we can finally say goodbye to former Hurricane Bertha. Bertha finally lost its tropical characteristics on Sunday over the cold waters of the extreme north Atlantic. Bertha formed way back on the 3rd of July as a weak tropical depression. Eventually Bertha reached hurricane status and topped out as a powerful category three hurricane on the 8th. Bertha weakened over the open waters as she turned northward and made landfall in Bermuda before finally heading out to sea.

I will continue to blog about the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season all the way through November 30th and beyond. For additional hurricane information check out the NHC's newly remodeled site www.nhc.noaa.gov

Regional Roundup - SE PA

Tropical Storm Cristobal is moving toward the northeast at eight miles per hour. Cristobal should not be an issue for our area except near the coast. As with Bertha, Cristobal brings an increased risk of rip currents.

Our area is currently experiencing severe thunderstorms. Many counties in the region are under severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. These storms will continue to linger into the midnight hours.

On Monday, a frontal boundary will approach from the northwest. These storms will remain isolated. Hopefully, the next few systems will bring a return to cooler weather to the region by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Excessive Heat Warning - SE PA

Well, it looks like the National Weather Service still has the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs under an Excessive Heat Warning. Luckily, the warning expires at 8pm this evening. The region will remain under an Excessive Heat Watch through Monday as the high pressure remains off the coast. If you plan on being outdoors for the remainder of the weekend, please drink plenty of cool water and stay in the shade. Prolonged exposure to this weather can cause several hazardous heat related illnesses.

Update (7/20/08 5:00pm): NWS has extended the Excessive Heat Warning until 8pm Sunday.

Welcome

Welcome to my weather blog! I will be discussing some interesting weather events, local weather, and the weather challenge forecast cities. Also, expect several friends to post content here as well.