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Maddie Stone wrote:Why the Full Moon Could Make This Weekend's Blizzard More Destructive
All signs are pointing toward a record blizzard hitting the D.C. Metro area this weekend, and the snowpocalypse chaos is already setting in. To make the impending meteorological blockbuster even more ominous, Jonas is going to coincide with a full moon. Quick, sacrifice a goat!
Now, the Moon gets blamed for a lot of things that it really has nothing to do with (births, werewolves, murderous rages), and we’re not trying to disparage Earth’s nearest neighbor. But one Earthly matter the Moon does influence is the tides. As Gizmodo’s Ria Misra pointed out yesterday, a full moon means higher coastal tides. Pair that with hurricane-level wind speeds this weekend, and we could be in for some serious flooding.
The tides are caused by the combined gravitational tug of the Sun and the Moon on the Earth. Full moons occur when the Sun, Moon and Earth are perfectly aligned, with the Earth in between. When this happens, it causes a strong gravitational tug-of-war and the most extreme tides of the month—the highest highs and the lowest lows. High tide during a full moon is typically one to two feet higher than it is during other parts of the lunar cycle.
Normally, the monthly ebb and flow of the tides does us no harm, but when a full moon happens to coincide with blustery conditions, things can get a bit messy. We saw an extreme example of this last September, when climactic and astronomical forces combined to bring us a supermoon and a tropical storm (Hurricane Joaquin) at the same time. (A supermoon occurs when the Moon is full at perigee, its closest approach to the Earth.) The result was some pretty epic flooding on both sides of the Atlantic.
This time around, we’ve only got a regular full moon to contend with, but winter storm Jonas is promising fierce winds, with top speeds up to 40 to 50 miles per hour along the Delaware and Jersey shores. According to Bob Henson, a meteorologist and blogger with Weather Underground, we saw a similar scenario play out over a decade ago, when the President’s Day II storm struck the northeast.
“This is not too different from the 2003 storm, which also happened during a full moon,” Henson said, noting that the storms had slightly different tracks but were of similar magnitude. The 2003 storm caused between 8 and 9 feet of flooding along the Jersey shore—which lines up very closely with the National Weather Service predictions for this weekend.
GFS weather prediction model for Saturday, January 23rd. Via GFS/Levi Cowan
There is a silver lining: the flooding this weekend could be even worse if the alignment of the storm and the tides was slightly different. “This weekend, the morning high tide is higher,” Henson said. “The full moon is adding about two feet to the morning tide and a foot to the afternoon. That’s a good thing because the highest storm surge will probably be Saturday night.”
The Moon will rise around 5 pm Saturday and will be full by 8:46 pm. If you have any ceremonial rituals to keep the Moon from messing with your life, now would be a good time to do them.
feeder wrote: Frazz's mind is like a wiener dog in a rabbit warren. Dark, twisting tunnels, and full of the certainty that just around the next bend will be the quarry he seeks.
It started snowing earlier and heavier than they anticipated and pretty much every single store/restaurant was closed by the time I got to my hotel at 4:00 this afternoon. I was bummed because I really wanted to get some phở before I came into work but the Vietnamese place was closed. Luckily I managed to get a pizza from another nearby place right before they closed at 6:00.
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
The issue isn't the 2-3ft of snow, it is when snow falls in an area which is not equipped to clear it because it is financially not worth it to have that infrastructure on hand for something which happens once every 25 years.
If this was 200 miles north in america, there would be plenty of snow trucks and plows and chemicals/ice and all the citizens would be prepared and used to the weather.
Do the same thing in an area which usually gets 2-4 inches total, and of course it is crazy.
I am literally in the exact center of the snowfall area, and I expect to be housebound for 3-5 days minimum. That is what it will take for them to clear the roads.
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My friend lives in Tennessee, and he's saying he got 8-9 inches - he's saying this is more snow than he's ever seen in a single fall. Kinda surprising, because I thought TN got a lot of snow, but also because an 8 inch snowfall would not be unusual in Iowa by a long shot.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/01/23 02:18:29
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
depends on where in TN. Lots of mountainous areas that would get snow a lot, but southern TN probably not. We've got about 8" in Nashville (northern midstate) which is quite a bit at once. It's rare for it to stick around long around here either so it doesn't accumulate much. Except last year when we got several inches about three times in a few weeks.
My dogs keep wanting to go out and play in it, I'm running out of warm clothes to put on!
"Holy Sh*&, you've opened my eyes and changed my mind about this topic, thanks Dakka OT!"
He's in Cookeville, so about 2 hours from you. I always picture rugged cabins and snow-topped mountains, as you say, which is pretty stupid of me since I've been to Cookeville and there are no mountains there, even in winter.
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
You guys down there shouldn't feel too bad about city admins & governments losing their gak over a single snowstorm.
Toronto keeps the Canadian Army on speed dial just in case they ever get hit with more than 20cm at one time, otherwise the city has to shut down until at least March when at least half of it melts!
Burlington on the other are the true champions of winter in Southern Ontario. Our city's policy each year seems to be based around the common idea that plowing anything beyond main streets is just pointless, because everything will melt by April/May anyways.
You can literally demark the city limits by the fact that everyone else clears their roads during a big storm, and then you smack strait into 20-30cm of snow covered roads the second you cross into Burlington!
The official measurement for Dulles International Airport (near where I live and work) is currently at 28.3" which is the second highest total of all time (the highest being 32" from the February 2010 storm, which was nuts).
I had to trudge through waist-high snow to get to work this evening and it was miserable. At my house in Leesburg, which is west of Dulles Airport, we had more than 30" earlier in the day and before another band of intense snow moved through.
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
ScootyPuffJunior wrote: The official measurement for Dulles International Airport (near where I live and work) is currently at 28.3" which is the second highest total of all time (the highest being 32" from the February 2010 storm, which was nuts).
I had to trudge through waist-high snow to get to work this evening and it was miserable. At my house in Leesburg, which is west of Dulles Airport, we had more than 30" earlier in the day and before another band of intense snow moved through.
That's either a blizzard-fueled exaggeration or you're a lot shorter than we thought you were?
Alpharius wrote: That's either a blizzard-fueled exaggeration or you're a lot shorter than we thought you were?
I'm 6' tall but I do have short legs relative to my frame, but it's not an exaggeration.
Local variations in totals are crazy for this storm ; in Montgomery County Maryland, one part of the county had an official total of 15" while less than 20 miles away there was 30" of snow on the ground. I was trudging through waist-deep snow because it's also extremely windy, with gusts in to low 40 mph range and the snow is pretty powdery so drifts are all over the place. I had to walk through one that was chest high to get to work.
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
feeder wrote: Frazz's mind is like a wiener dog in a rabbit warren. Dark, twisting tunnels, and full of the certainty that just around the next bend will be the quarry he seeks.
Inquisitor Lord Bane wrote: I topped out at 33" in my yard today. Haven't seen a plow truck in over 14 hours, theres a solid foot on my road. I hope my work cloeses tomorrow...
Ashburn (where I work) had an official unofficial total of 34" reported by the NWS. I also read that this storm officially reached blizzard status. It's more snow than I have ever seen here, though I remember that the Storm of the Century in 1993 and the 1996 nor'easter where pretty rough. I'll definitely remember this storm for a long time.
I'm still amazed by how far out they were able to forecast this storm which was nearly a week out. Almost every weather model lined up, which is extremely rare, especially that far ahead of time.
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
Spent about a half hour, plus the time it took me to gather and put on my layers of winter gear, clearing a path in my yard for my dog to stretch her legs and most importantly, take care of business. Dog had to be coaxed out, and then tentatively walks along the pathway, gets to the end, turns around and gaks a foot from the front door.
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
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PM me for an INSANE (100K+ points) if you desire.
We got ice, not snow. By Saturday all the vehicles were coated in an inch/inch and a half. The ground was the same which made walking outside to feed critters an interesting thing. Lots of big branches came down, luckily nothing hit fence lines or vehicles. The poly tape we used for the horse pastures was coated and sagging but it held up well.
I had 250 bales of hay delivered around noon on Sunday, and by that time anything in the sun had mostly melted. It went up to a bit over 40 degrees yesterday.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/01/25 12:16:20
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Got too much snow. Cars in the driveway were buried. Took 3 men 2 hours to dig them out. The plow came through Sunday and my roommates and I manage to escape the house for an hour, but none of the stores in town were open, so there was nowhere for us to escape to. At least we were able to get to my friend's house and have the Friday night D&D game on Sunday. That was nice.
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?)
Despite assurances we'd miss it altogether, north of Boston, we got about 8 inches, nothing to worry about really. Everyone cleared their sidewalks and driveways in about an hour.
After last year's massacre, the last of which melted in July, we are all in good spirits and keeping fingers crossed for a light Feb.
feeder wrote: Frazz's mind is like a wiener dog in a rabbit warren. Dark, twisting tunnels, and full of the certainty that just around the next bend will be the quarry he seeks.
I've been living in Denver for just over 3 years, and I've yet to see anything like a 'big' snowstorm. There's been snow, for sure, but it's always cleared pretty quickly. I'm told we're overdue for a big one, though.
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment." Words to live by.
Most of my area got around 2 feet. I had to go out to my girlfriend's house to shovel her driveway and nearly shrieked in horror when I sat the 5 foot tall mountain the township plows left at the end. I chipped away at it for about an hour and barely made a dent, then we gave up and called every landscaper in the phone book till we found someone willing to plow it away for us. I had to walk through her snow to get inside and it was almost up to my hips in the middle of her driveway.
The roads were fine yesterday though, just the teeny side streets were messy.. but on my way to work this morning half way there it was like the plows just gave up and there were some really busy roads that were barely plowed at all. No problem for my little Jeep but there were lots of little sedans getting stuck. Schools are closed so the traffic was ok, but they better do something today or it's going to be a huge mess tomorrow when everyone goes back to work/school.
Currently sat here in Scotland resenting the fact that all you guys seems to send over is rain and galeforce winds. Send some of that weather system over here would ya?
Thousand Sons: 3850pts / Space Marines Deathwatch 5000pts / Dark Eldar Webway Corsairs 2000pts / Scrapheap Challenged Orks 1500pts / Black Death 1500pts
We got 34" in Leesburg, VA where I live. I finally was able to drive home today from Ashburn, where I work, which is about eight miles from my house. The roads were pretty terrible and my neighborhood still hasn't been plowed (I parked down the street in a clear area and walked to my house).
d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
Worst snow I've seen was in Canterbury a few years ago for one of the 40K tournaments set up by Ketara and reds8n and we had nearly a foot of snow during lunch.
Kilkrazy wrote: Worst snow I've seen was in Canterbury a few years ago for one of the 40K tournaments set up by Ketara and reds8n and we had nearly a foot of snow during lunch.
If that's the year I'm thinking of, it's the same year the train services between Gatwick and Guildford were stopped, resulting in a very long car journey. That same year I also got stuck in Maidstone a few days later due to snow - must be... 5 years ago? Maybe 6 now?
Nothing much but chronic flooding since then in Kent, and now I'm up North, flooding all the time here. No snow on the scale of the US but the over-eager papers are claiming we'll have months of snow soon (always soon)
Thousand Sons: 3850pts / Space Marines Deathwatch 5000pts / Dark Eldar Webway Corsairs 2000pts / Scrapheap Challenged Orks 1500pts / Black Death 1500pts
3100+
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?) 
Thousand Sons: 3850pts / 
Space Marines Deathwatch 5000pts / 
Scrapheap Challenged Orks 1500pts / 
Black Death 1500pts
