Weather

A Look Back.

The end of Hurricane Season 2009 is mere days away. Here's a look at how we fared this year.

We had 9 named storms, 3 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes reaching category 3 status or higher. Bill was the strongest storm, but Ida caused the most damage with 2.12 million dollars in damages. and 10 deaths.

Ida did most of her damage as a Nor'Easter along the East coast. It looks like the East coast is going to continue to take a beating. They are really struggling with beach erosion along the Outer Banks and Virgina Beaches that started back in Sept. 11th of this year. This will cause problems for the East Coast as we head in to what looks to be an active winter.

The general weather pattern that is setting up looks like Nor'Easter after Nor'Easter will head up the coast. This could make for somewhat of a sloppy winter here along the Grand Strand...and the Pee Dee might even get a taste of snow at some point this winter if this pattern keeps up.

Storm Team Meteorologist Marla Branson

 

Green is Universal

All week long you are going to hear a lot about going green on NBC. In fact, our peacock is even green!I'm all about protecting our environment, and I want to know what you are doing on a daily basis to "go green."

With all this green talk, there are a few things to keep in mind. Weather and climate are two different beasts. Weather is what is happening day to day, right now outside. Climate is the large scale pattern that sets up over time. It is the trend in weather that occurs over a long time period. And to make it more confusing, climate change is not the same as Global Warming.

Climate change is what our earth and atmosphere undergo as it tries to achieve a balance in energy. Our atmosphere is constantly trying to achieve balance on many levels. We do it on a daily basis with day and night. Weather systems like cold fronts and even hurricanes help our atmosphere achieve a  balanced energy budget. And then Climate change is the big momma that helps earth balance a long time scale energy budget. It is a necessary process that aids in evenly distributing heat and energy. 

I'm curious, let me know your thoughts, ideas, and questions on climate change and what you are doing to "Go Green."

Meteorologist Marla Branson

Ida, The Storm That Didn't Quit

Ida was a fight from day one. Just the fact that a late season storm made landfall is very unusual. But Ida didn't stop after giving the Gulf Coast plenty of rain. In fact the damage was more severe along the East Coast. 

As the ghost of Ida made her way along the East Coast, the storm gained energy. Causing  at least six deaths, massive beach erosion, damaging winds, and flooding to North Carolina, Virginia, and up the coast line to New Jersey. Because Ida was no longer tropical, she lost her name. Well by nature people don't take a storm seriously if it is not named. Tell the people of the Outer Banks and North East that this storm wasn't "Serious." The remnants of Ida delivered what some forecasters would rank as a Top 10 Nor'Easter.

So the question is, how long should a fighting storm like Ida keep it's name?

Meteorologist Marla Branson

Oh My Aching Back!

While the onset of stiff hips before a rainy day doesn't qualify you to be a meteorologist, you might be on to something. For years doctors and scientist dismissed the complaints of patients when they said they had aches and pains when the weather changed. But now arthritis sufferers are getting some attention.

Studies on how weather aaffects your joints started back in the 1960s when Dr. Joseph Hollander put 12 patients in a climate-controlled room and all but one person reacted to the changes in pressure and humidity. Today with all of the advancements in meteorology and health, we can make direct links between weather and reaction of tendons, muscles, bones, joints and scar tissue. Cold damp conditions like today can make them expand and contract in different ways causing pain. Changes in barometric pressure and temperature (like the passage of a cold front) can cause stiff joints. 

If the pressure changes quickly outside, it may take the pressure within your body a little longer to adjust. This can make your nerve endings more sensitive to pain. This is the pain you might feel before the storm rolls in. Like when you say "My bad knee hurts again, its going to rain today...I feel it." 

Many studies on the subject also note that weather affects your mood. Gray drizzly days like today and tomorrow might make some people not so peppy, which can heighten your perception of pain. Doctors do say that it is the change in temperature, humidity, or pressure that triggers the pain, not the prevailing weather conditions...so moving to a different climate won't help. 

Marla Branson

 

A Light Show in the Night Sky

Debris from Halley's Comet could make for a fantastic light show with dozens of meteors per hour according to NASA. The show will start in the pre-dawn hours on Wednesday, October 21st and last until the 23rd. 

The debris are called Orionids and they were created when Halley's comet ejected dust trails as long ago as 1266 BC! As our Earth passes through the debris stream the flakes of comet dust will light up our sky with no need for even a telescope.

The Orinoid Meteor show usually happens around this time of year, but the past few years have been especially active. This year the moon is almost new and completely gone from the sky making it especially dark (even though a bright moon wouldn't dampen these lights). Also our skies will be mostly clear.

To view this celestial light show its best to wake up a couple hours before sunrise and look to the south east. Below is a map of the constellations to help you find where to look.

 Map Courtesy of NASA

Meteorologist Marla Branson

Football, Festivals, Full Moon!

So much is going on this weekend! The busy schedule kicks off tonight with High School Football. The weather tonight will be a little warmer than the past few nights, but a pinch of fall will still be in the  air. Most Places will be in the mid to upper 70's with a few inland locations seeing the low 70's by kick-off time. Clouds will be on the increase and you might see some scattered showers out and about later this evening.

Tomorrow is Oktober Fest at the Market Common, but you might want to bring a rain jacket. We'll have some showers on tap ahead of a front passing through. Then we will get a little shot of some cooler air once that cool front is out of the way.

Sunday is a full moon...but not just any full moon, it is the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the first full moon after the fall equinox. It usually happens in September, but this year it falls in October. The next time we will have an October Harvest Moon is in 2017. It got its name because the moon is so bright and so close to the earth that it allowed farmers to work by the light of the during this harvest season. Sunday night will be perfect for a moon-lit walk, we will have clear skies evening temperatures in the mid to low 50's.

Marla Branson