Earth Day Surprise Party? Visitors From another Planet? Go Blue Not Green!

UFO over Phoenix?
Our sister station ABC15 in Phoenix has exclusive video(note the format was not compliant so it is video of a TV screen) of light formations in the sky overnight. An official from Luke Air Force Base stated that they do not have any aircraft in the sky tonight and that the lights are not part of any Air Force activities. So, are we being visited? Here is another report from 12News with a pictures of four red lights in unique formation. Below is a you tube video clip from 2006 with strange lights once again over Phoenix.

Don't Scream a Green Theme...Go Blue!
I have spent a lot of time sharing information on this blog that is not played up in the mainstream. Scientific information that should calm alarmist thoughts about our atmosphere and stop the fear brainwashing our children. I realize that there is such emotion with this issue it is hard to break through and get some to listen to facts they don't want to hear. Some of my colleagues and fellow atmospheric scientists are getting tired of the discussion. I will not give up sharing proper information, but decided not to fight today. Instead- I want to direct your energy away from the Green theme and Go Blue. All this green talk, and we forget that the planet is 71% water. The recent ban of the crab harvest from the Chesapeake is due to dwindling populations... and of course the protection of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Much more for your love of the sea can be found at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Below I have posted another You Tube clip of the BBC program Blue Planet- Deep Sea. It is broken up into 10 minute parts- so you can take a break from your work and get your sea fix. Enjoy.

Big Earthquake Near Full Moon Again!

Loyal readers of my blog should recall my frequent mention of large earthquakes and the lunar cycle. It does appear to have some gravitational connection, and had been on my radar since the December 26th Indian Ocean/Sumatra earthquake. This morning a 5.4 magnitude quake hit the Indiana/Illinois border. It's rare, but still an active fault area. This may be the first since 1984, but here is a link to the history of earthquakes in Illinois, and Indiana. Here a neat widget that plots and follows recent global earthquakes. It is completely interactive. Below is my daily weather post.


Back to the weather and the warmest day of the year- so far:
First the stats:
Today's Record High is 94F set in 1896
My theory holds: These spring warm ups often end up warmer than expected. I was the first in town to call for an 80 degree day back on Tuesday. So as we aim for temperatures even higher (my call this morning is for 83F) it will pale to the long standing record. Still a cap to a beautiful week. Now we need some rain, since my new grass seed has been battling low dew points. I do not have much hope for this weekend to give us that rain. The system out west will be delayed a day and weaken a lot when it reached us. I am downgrading our chances of rain to 30% or less for Sunday, and will leave the radars up on this blog to watch beginning tomorrow.


TV Date:
Weather Myths on 20/20 tonight. I may have to Tivo this one...

Earth Day and the Sea...
The Polar Bears are fine:
Earth Day in the sea today moves the attention to the arctic sea and fear of dwindling sea ice. First of all, this past winter resulted in a dramatic recovery of ice in the northern hemisphere. There has mean recent reports that it is young ice and will melt faster.. but nonetheless it has also enhanced the snow pack and ice on many glaciers in the Rockies. In fact, that source of cold air has led to the latest freeze and start to the crop season in Iowa.
The Polar Bear has been the mascot of Climate Change since Big Al's movie and that poor neglected cub Knut in Berlin's Zoo. However there has been a dispute from scientists that argue accusations made in 'The Movie' and by environmentalists. The Polar Bears are doing pretty well. Professor Scott Armstrong announced to Senator Boxer that his joint effort paper has been accepted by his peers to be published. There are two sub populations of bears that have had trouble, but most are doing well. Overstating or misleading information that has scared many. Unfortunately it may backfire as facts such as this and MIT's Tropical Expert Kerry Emanuel state a reversal on their positions. Monday's post below has the link to Emanuel's announcement opposing his earlier beliefs that Global Warming would increase Hurricane numbers and strength. Will National Geographic publish this?

Bone Dry=Quick Warm Up.

I've been searching the Internet for the reason for the expression Bone Dry, and can't seem to find one. Essentially the meaning is: Void of moisture- which in an of itself does not apply to our weather. As of this morning, our dew point was 25F- so we would develop fog to prove the moisture if the temperature dropped that low. We got close with this Frost and Freeze Warning that was in effect... But with sunshine and light winds, a quick warm up will occur. The normal range of temperatures in April (Today's Normal Low 42F- high 65F) is 23 degrees. When it is Bone Dry- temperatures can range from 30 to 40 degrees from morning to afternoon. It is common in desert areas. Water vapor can slow down the solar heating, so when there is less the temperature can jump more. That is why I am aiming for the upper 60s today despite the 30s in many areas this morning. I am still on target for nearly 80F by Friday. In fact, these types of warm ups typically show up with noon temperatures the same as the high for the day before. That means at noon today, we should see at least 60F at BWI to prove my case.
The only drawback to tomorrow's heat would be a south easterly wind that could keep bay areas in the 60s. Since BWI airport is only 5-10 miles from the Bay- it might impact the official temperature. But I am holding true to 80F on Friday! Last year, our first 80F day was April 2nd. Then again- it was followed by a trace of snow on April 6th...

Earth Day Early: It's ironic that I mention bone dry then shift to the water, but I will be at the National Aquarium for our noon news. There is a week leading up to Earth Day, and there is more to it than just the debate on warming and energy. The exact percentage of water (on Earth) is 71.11%. Oceans account for 97% of that, but below you will see the full breakdown. So in the next week, I will spend some time focusing on marine life on earth with the help of the National Aquarium. Hopefully you will join me.