History And Honors

I am proud to announce that the Big Sky Convection blog has been chosen among the "100 Best Blogs for Earth Science Scholars" according to the BachelorsDegreeOnline.com blog.

You can find the listing as #48 on the list in a section for Meteorology blogs. I'm honored that this blog is listed among exclusive company: chaser/blogs such as Carlson Chasers Blog by the Carlson clan, Steve Miller (Oklahoma)'s HamWx, Mike Umscheid's High Plains Drifter, and Jon van de Grift's Perilous Planet

Thank you for the honor!

This started me thinking about how I wish I would have kept an active meteorology blog running as long as I have been online. When my family first got America Online in 1995, I immediately found the "weather chat". I made a few friends through this chat room and began publishing a newsletter which I called the "LepWx&News" (the "Lep" coming from my screen name at the time, Leporinis). This newsletter was sent out to the e-mail address of people I met through the chat and personal contacts. It included personal weather stories, some climatological information, and a few pictures.

That newsletter eventually went by the wayside and I would occasionally include meteorological discussion in my personal blogs but it wasn't until moving to Colorado that I had the opportunity (mainly due to proximity) to chase storms. Sure, I did that in Montana ... usually driving out to an couple preferred overlooks to experience the storms as they rolled in, but it's different here. Being here in Colorado, I definitely feel more like part of the meteorological community. Going to school and completing my degree in meteorology has helped, but back in Montana, aside from the local TV weatherman, I didn't know a soul who was interested in meteorology. So, with this blog, I'm reaching out, trying to expand my knowledge and opportunities. If I can help one person be more interested in meteorology or just teach someone something, than the purpose is served. I suppose this is a great way to end this year and embark upon a new one. Maybe tomorrow I'll put out a "looking forward to 2009 blog". For right now, I'm on my lunch break at work and have limited time.

So, a bit about the weather:
The Front Range of the Rockies experienced quite the wind storm on Monday night / Tuesday morning. Here are a few obs I pulled from the NWS page:

0400 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 S MASONVILLE 40.44N 105.20W
12/30/2008 M111 MPH LARIMER CO TRAINED SPOTTER
0442 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 7 WNW BERTHOUD 40.34N 105.20W
12/30/2008 M98.00 MPH LARIMER CO TRAINED SPOTTER
0706 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 N LONGMONT 40.20N 105.11W
12/30/2008 M86.00 MPH BOULDER CO TRAINED SPOTTER
0731 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 9 SSE BOULDER 39.91N 105.19W
12/30/2008 M87.00 MPH JEFFERSON CO MESONET

It was 55ºF when I got home from my trip on Monday night. The temperature remained in the mid to upper 50's until yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon when a cold front of sorts backed into the mountains. The airmass behind it wasn't much colder, so to speak, but it prevented the Chinook winds from keeping the area warm. In fact, we cooled from 59º to the upper 30's before the sun went down. It was ... dramatic.

And finally, a little peek into the tropics (which are pretty quiet right now!).



Satellite imagery used with permission; courtesy of IPS Meteostar Inc. Click for larger images.

Dann.
PS: I will try and get some photos from my trip to Montana up soon. Hope you all have a nice New Year!

Less Likely Places

Things have slowed down quite a bit since the chase last week. I will say, however, that I spent most of the day on Monday watching the weather; both here and elsewhere. Everyone had been preparing for a severe weather outbreak in central Texas. For a brief moment, I had considered finding a way to make the trip. Cooler heads prevailed, though and I decided to take a day at home ... being productive. Well, I wasn't productive, but this isn't really a personal blog, so I won't dwell on that.

I was intrigued early in the day by reading Mike Umscheid's blog. He had forecast a possible tornado threat for area around low. Most of the play would be along and ahead of the dryline in Texas, but he had his sights up north. Reading that, I recalled his presentation at the Chaser Convention a couple years ago about the cold core setup and the famous "tumbleweed tornado". So, I pulled up GR3 on three locations: 1) Here in Denver to watch the snow event if it possibly unfolded, 2) Alternating between Dodge City and Pueblo, tracking Mike, and 3) Various sites in central Texas.

Frustration, similar to that coming out of chasers in Oklahoma last week, could be felt from the Texas setup. Yet, I was delighting in the action in SW Kansas. I think I was chasing vicariously through Mike. I'd watch the cells go up, see him (on Spotter Network) core one; moments later a hail report showing up. Next thing I know, the cell is tornado-warned and I knew it was him. Awesome! So, congrats to Mike on netting the only tornado of the day anywhere in the U.S. ... and more ironically, in SW Kansas where the temps were in the low 50's. Incredible.


A not-too personal update on me:
Still job hunting. Still existing. That is it.


And, now some pictures to pretty up this blog:

I went downtown to attend a hockey game with my uncle and cousin who were visiting from Montana. The sunset was gorgeous ... and luckily, I had my camera. The first set is of the Tivoli Student Union Building on Auraria Campus (various perspectives).

And a couple of the game ...

This turned out to be an Avalanche goal ... see the puck?

And finally, sunset from the office on November 6th:

Dann.