User not logged in - login - register
Home Calendar Books School Tool Photo Gallery Message Boards Users Statistics Advertise Site Info
go to bottom | |
 Message Boards » » Ask a meteorologist. Page [1]  
NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

I saw the other thread about the pilot and I thought I'd start one of my own. Hopefully people have some questions especially after a tornado nearly touched down in the middle of Raleigh yesterday.

And go!

5/6/2009 1:30:46 PM

terpball
All American
22489 Posts
user info
edit post

How many women have you slept with?

5/6/2009 1:31:42 PM

TKE-Teg
All American
43436 Posts
user info
edit post

What does it mean when I see a seriously dark thunderstorm cloud rotating in the sky. But the center of rotation is parallel to the ground, not perpendicular. Is that still called a funnel cloud?

5/6/2009 1:32:03 PM

H8R
wear sumthin tight
60155 Posts
user info
edit post

if a mountain goat and a skink went on a date, what color are the sugar cubes?

5/6/2009 1:34:59 PM

Jrb599
All American
8846 Posts
user info
edit post

Are you just another alias?

5/6/2009 1:36:32 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"How many women have you slept with?"


all the women at the Weather Channel. haven't you noticed that they're always pregnant?

Quote :
"What does it mean when I see a seriously dark thunderstorm cloud rotating in the sky. But the center of rotation is parallel to the ground, not perpendicular. Is that still called a funnel cloud?"


what you're seeing is a rotating column of air called a mesocyclone. the mesocyclone can be distorted vertically by a downdraft and brought towards the ground as a funnel cloud. when the funnel cloud reaches the ground, it's officially called a tornado.

5/6/2009 1:38:43 PM

ambrosia1231
eeeeeeeeeevil
76471 Posts
user info
edit post

check radar from ~645 to 730 at the 70/401 split last night

What the hell was going on with that tail?

5/6/2009 1:39:34 PM

TKE-Teg
All American
43436 Posts
user info
edit post

^^so when I see one of those, I need to GTFO? Okay will do.

Next question: What's Stephanie Abrams like in the sack???

5/6/2009 1:42:53 PM

SymeGuy69
All American
11036 Posts
user info
edit post

What is you favorite type of meteor?

5/6/2009 1:42:55 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"What is you favorite type of meteor?"


hailstones

5/6/2009 1:48:35 PM

lucyinthesky
All American
11614 Posts
user info
edit post

Why does God hate me?

5/6/2009 1:49:07 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

god hates the belltower

and occasionally the roof of Jordan Hall, trees, the WRAL transmitters, and golfers

5/6/2009 1:53:03 PM

JT3bucky
All American
23363 Posts
user info
edit post

is it true that the center of rotation in a Tstorm with tornadic activity will be a GREEN color in the clouds?

5/6/2009 1:54:21 PM

SymeGuy69
All American
11036 Posts
user info
edit post

Do you hate "sky-writers" cause they graffiti your skies?

(Trying to start a pilot-meteorologist beef)

5/6/2009 1:56:57 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"is it true that the center of rotation in a Tstorm with tornadic activity will be a GREEN color in the clouds?"


every time i've seen a green cloud, it's usually associated with hail. i believe it has to do with the different wavelengths of sunlight being scattered by the hailstones in the cloud. i suppose hailstones of a certain size can scatter the "green" wavelength in the color spectrum (kinda like how a sunset can scatter the red/orange wavelengths). i could be wrong on all this though.

tornadoes occur frequently with storms that produce hail, so when people see a green cloud they're like "oh shit"

Quote :
"Do you hate "sky-writers" cause they graffiti your skies?"


haha, that's actually a pretty cool phenomenon. clouds that are formed behind planes are called "contrails". they're formed when the hot exhaust from a jet engine mixes with the very cold air at that altitude, immediately causing condensation/deposition forming a cloud. you don't need a sky-writer to do this...you can see it quite often with commercial jets.

i've got no beef with pilots creating fake clouds in the sky. contrails kick ass.

5/6/2009 2:08:03 PM

ncsuapex
SpaceForRent
37776 Posts
user info
edit post

Are those of us tailgating for the canes game going to get rained upon?

5/6/2009 2:11:41 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

there's a 50% chance you will get wet

100% chance Boston's sports teams are the suck

[Edited on May 6, 2009 at 2:13 PM. Reason : -]

5/6/2009 2:12:34 PM

thumper
All American
21574 Posts
user info
edit post

I'm not a meteorologist and I can tell ya that.

5/6/2009 2:12:35 PM

Smath74
All American
93282 Posts
user info
edit post

who would win in a fight, a hurricane or an earthquake?

5/6/2009 2:17:42 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"who would win in a fight, a hurricane or an earthquake?"


earthquake ... for the sole reason that they can create tsunamis if they want to

5/6/2009 2:23:33 PM

JT3bucky
All American
23363 Posts
user info
edit post

how can weathermen legally say there is a 50% chance of rain

thats like saying it might or it might not, right?

5/6/2009 2:24:38 PM

NYMountnMan
Veteran
498 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"how can weathermen legally say there is a 50% chance of rain

thats like saying it might or it might not, right?"


we can do anything we want and get away with it. 50% chance of rain means that we didn't have a chance to make a careful forecast because we were too busy playing solitaire or knocking up another Wx Channel chick. if the forecast busts, just blame it on the computer models.

we're the world's best paid liars.

5/6/2009 2:29:37 PM

TKE-Teg
All American
43436 Posts
user info
edit post

I repeat, how is Stephanie Abrams in bed.

TWW wants to know!

5/6/2009 4:36:59 PM

Stormbone865
All American
1642 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"how can weathermen legally say there is a 50% chance of rain

thats like saying it might or it might not, right?
"


I've been told to use 50% "coverage" rather than 50% "chance." "Chance" just sounds uncertain. "Coverage" at least says half the area will see rain.

Quote :
"tornadoes occur frequently with storms that produce hail"


I don't know why, but this line bothered me. You can have plenty of the instability, lift, and shear initially needed to form the hail, but you won't always have the horizontal spin in the environment to be tilted up into the storm to develop a tornado. Forming a tornado is a rather "rare" process granted the amount of thunderstorms we see over a year and the domino effect of the right conditions that need to occur.

[Edited on May 6, 2009 at 5:27 PM. Reason : a]

5/6/2009 5:15:59 PM

darkone
(\/) (;,,,;) (\/)
11617 Posts
user info
edit post

Do you feel that modern model microphysics schemes accurately represent the amount of supercooled water in the atmosphere and why? If not, do you feel that supercooled water is over or under estimated? What are the implications of models misrepresenting the amount of supercooled water in the atmosphere?

5/6/2009 5:44:44 PM

darkone
(\/) (;,,,;) (\/)
11617 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
""how can weathermen legally say there is a 50% chance of rain

thats like saying it might or it might not, right?"

Quote :
"I've been told to use 50% "coverage" rather than 50% "chance." "Chance" just sounds uncertain. "Coverage" at least says half the area will see rain."


Saying that there is a #% chance of rain means that there is a #% chance that rain will fall somewhere inside the forecast area during the period of time the forecast is for. There is no implied information about the rain coverage, duration, or amount.

If I were to say that there's a 50% chance of rain for Friday morning in Wake County, it would mean that 1 out of every 2 times I made that specific forecast rain would fall somewhere in Wake County on that given morning. It could rain a single drop, or it could rain cats and dogs the whole morning over the whole area.

[Edited on May 6, 2009 at 5:51 PM. Reason : typing FTL]

5/6/2009 5:49:47 PM

Spontaneous
All American
27372 Posts
user info
edit post

Have you ever seen an anticyclone or magnetic lightning?

5/6/2009 5:53:33 PM

Stormbone865
All American
1642 Posts
user info
edit post

^^ Just thinking about the normal TV viewer. If you say chance, they are just going to assume you don't know what's going to happen. Coverage just sounds more certain to the public. I don't know. Just my personal philosophy when I do my forecasts. It's right either way.

Quote :
"Have you ever seen an anticyclone"


Yes, high pressure is an anticyclone. Never seen an anticyclonic tornado. You typically see them when a downdraft splits a supercell in two: a cyclonic right side and anticyclonic left side (relative to the mean wind flow). Wind profile ultimately depends on which side of the split is favored.

I don't mean to hijack MtnMan's thread

[Edited on May 6, 2009 at 5:56 PM. Reason : a]

[Edited on May 6, 2009 at 6:01 PM. Reason : a]

5/6/2009 5:54:51 PM

 Message Boards » Chit Chat » Ask a meteorologist. Page [1]  
go to top | |
Admin Options : move topic | lock topic

© 2025 by The Wolf Web - All Rights Reserved.
The material located at this site is not endorsed, sponsored or provided by or on behalf of North Carolina State University.
Powered by CrazyWeb v2.39 - our disclaimer.