Wx Photo of the Day

                                                                                                                                                            

4/9

I added an image last month that had methane bubbles frozen in lake ice in Alaska. If you don't believe that those are methane bubbles, below is an example of people actually lighting the ice on fire. When the ice is broken up and the highly combustable methane is released, it can be ignited with a little flame. The scary thing is that if this gas is not combusted when it is released (and it hardly ever is) that gas goes straight into the atmosphere, where it is a very potent greenhouse gas, which has negative effects on climate change.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/methane-alaska-thiessen/

                                                                                                                                                                 

4/8

Has anyone seen Inception? The top picture, taken in Havana, Cuba, reminds me of that movie (bottom), although it is much more beautiful and less apocalyptic looking.



http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/malecon-sea-havana-pellegrin/
 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cXaogM3Nxnk/TrPzYWbq-AI/AAAAAAAAAsA/tIgFA_4P4kY/s1600/inception16-1024x768.jpg

                                                                                                                                                               

3/8

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/501aac616bb3f74d72000007/this-photo-of-a-sunken-yacht-in-antarctica-is-haunting.jpg

This is a Brazillian Yacht sunken off the coast of Antarctica. It is usually covered by thicker layers of ice and snow, however the warm weather has made it visible this year. Pretty eery.

                                                                                                                                                               

3/7

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/

 

This is an awesome photo of methane bubbles that are frozen on their way to the surface of a lake in Alaska. When the lake melts in the spring, all of the gas will be released at the same time. Water is amazing.

                                                                                                                                                               

3/6

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/64/6469/JESH100Z/posters/geoffrey-schmid-spring-snow-melt-and-liberty-bell-spire-north-cascades-national-park-washington-usa.jpg

Remove that awesome mountain in the background, and this is kind of what Eau Claire looks like today. Thick layer of snow on the ground, but warm spring weather is melting it and turning the curbs into little rivers.

                                                                                                                                                               

3/4

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/

This beautiful picture was taken at Yasuni National Park in Ecuador. While it doesn't have much to do with weather, I thought the sky in the background looked awesome. Those low evening cumulus clouds always remind me of warm summer nights, and on a cold day like today, I love thinking about summer.

                                                                                                                                                               

2/20

Here is a beautiful picture of the Aurora Borealis taken in Svalbard, Norway.

Some fun facts:

1) Svalbard is an island of Norweigan territory, 400 miles North of mainland Europe. It is half way between Norway and the North Pole.

2) The Northern Lights are created by gases in the atmosphere being ionized by powerful solar radiation. The Northern and Southern Lights only occur at the poles because of the relatively weak atmospheres compared to the rest of the Earth.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/aurora-borealis-svalbard/

                                                                                                                                                               

2/19

Today is Nicolaus Copernicus' 540th birthday. Copernicus was a medieval astronomer who is credited as the first person to publish the idea that the planets revolved around the Sun. This idea was later accepted as true, and now it is also known that the tilt of the Earth as it revolves around the Sun is the reason for the seasons and, therefore, weather.

http://www.mwallpaper.com/images/sunset_from_space_480x400_8354.jpg

                                                                                                                                                               

2/18

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/arno-river-bridge/

The sky in Eau Claire today looks similar to the sky in this photo, taken in Florence, Italy on Christmas. However, if I were going to spend a cloudy day anywhere, I would much rather prefer to be in Florence than Wisconsin. If only...

                                                                                                                                                                

2/17

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2013-02/74464193.jpg

Today was National Hockey Day here in the United States. Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears) held a double header of outdoor college hockey. Lucky for them, the sky was clear and they had no weather issues all day. The Wisconsin Badgers ended up beating second ranked Minnesota Gophers 3-2.

                                                                                                                                                               

2/16

Yesterday had some cold temperatures, but the sun was shining all day and melted alot of the snow. Needless to say, all of that melt water froze again over night, and the sidewalks are once again pretty slippery. So for all of you walking around Eau Claire today, watch for ice!

http://shesjustpleasantlyplump.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/polar-bear-slipping-on-ice_jpg.jpg

                                                                                                                                                                   
2/15

http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/gadgets/meteor-russia.jpg

Eau Claire's weather forecast today was similar to that of parts of Russia. Cold, mostly sunny. But there was one thing that Eau Claire didn't have to worry about that Russia did...a chance of meteorite showers! To see footage of a sonic boom caused from the meteor, check this out.

                                                                                                                                                                  

2/14

Happy (Wx) Valentine's Day!

http://api.ning.com/files/DSNf2DtpatktOx0NJdq1qgTxVuPboqELFieP0nXZRXIHPWcaO2J1XKPW-V-ha8KY21q3DV8f776vlsI4WWKCahKoBuVHFTaN/WinterLove.jpg

                                                                                                                                                                  

2/13



http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-nemo-aftermath-20130211


It's been a rough couple of months for the Northeast. First they get slammed by Superstorm Sandy, and last weekend they were hit with Superstorm Nemo, which dumped 1-3 feet of snow all over New England. In Boston (above), communities have started a "Snow Angel" campaign, where people are encouraging anyone to help dig out others who may be stranded.

                                                                                                                                                                   
2/12

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/hallstatt-austria-dusk/

This photo has no relevency to anything happening in terms of weather, but I love it anyway. This is a picture of Hallstatt, Austria taken from November, 2012. The fog is the only thing weather related in this image. The rainy conditions that night created the fog, and the surrounding mountains help funnel and contain the fog and clouds over the lake and city.

                                                                                                                                                                  
2/11

Today, NASA launched the Atlas V rocket, equipped with the new Landsat satellite.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/iotd.html

Landsat satellites have monitored the Earth's surface from space for 40 years now. Landsat satellites are very useful in climatology, weather forecasting, and monitoring severe weather events such as Superstorm Sandy, which hit the North American East coast last fall (below).

http://images.spaceref.com/news/2012/oo20121029-SANDY-GOES.jpg

                                                                                                                                                                   
2/7

Today, New Englanders are preparing themselves for Winter Storm Nemo. Nemo is expected to dump a total of at least 1-2' of snow over the next 24 hours. This much snow is not something that New England is accustomed to, so I'm not surprised to see these Bostonians taking part in some urban winter activities.

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/snow-storm-boston#slide=58570351

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/snow-storm-boston#slide=58570346

                                                                                                                                                                  

2/6

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/squirrel-snowstorm/

Today we received a nice afternoon snowfall, not even two inches, but pleasant nonetheless. I thought the picture of this little guy was a good fit for a day like today.

I wonder if PETA would protest his fur coat...

                                                                                                                                                                  

2/5

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/411/cache/stratus-clouds-inglefield-bay-greenland_41142_990x742.jpg

I've mentioned stratus clouds a couple of times in my daily posts, so I thought it was only fair that I explain what they are as well as include a picture. Stratus clouds get their name from the Latin word "Stratum" meaning blanket. They are low clouds that cover the entire visible sky like a blanket. While stratus clouds block out the sunlight, they often have a warming effect on a location because they trap heat that is radiated out by the Earth. The image above is a dramatic example of stratus clouds at sunset over Greenland. Typical stratus clouds are often much more boring than those seen above, but that wouldn't have made for a great Wx Photo of the Day.
                                                                                                                                                                   

2/4

The Ravens beat the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII last night, so I decided to look into the vaults of Super Bowl history to see if any had been played on February 4th. Only one Super Bowl had been played on Feb 4th (XLI in 2007, played in Miami), and lucky enough, it just happened to be a rainy occasion. The Colts ended up beating the Bears 29-17.
 

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0206/nfl_g_superrain_600.jpg

During that Super Bowl, the weather forced the halftime performer (Prince) to wear this ridiculous headdress...


http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/article_slideshow_slide/public/2011/06/07/110407-prince.jpg

                                                                                                                                                                   

2/1




http://centralinsurance1876.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/slip-and-fall_resized.jpg


After Tuesday's showers of freezing rain, this is how I felt walking to school everyday. There were patches of ice on every sidewalk, and a light dusting of snow was just enough to hide the ice like landmines. And while I didn't have to worry about explosions or anything, on one occasion I did manage to get my dignity blown away...