Musings While on Cloud Nine: The Hurricane That Wasn't & More
John Ghiorse, GoLocalProv Meteorologist
Musings While on Cloud Nine: The Hurricane That Wasn't & More
The Duke of Earl…
In the end, as far as we in Rhode Island were concerned, Hurricane Earl was more like a dud than a duke.
I’ve got to admit that I had to scrape off a bit of rust when it came to forecasting a big hurricane threat to New England … it seems hard to believe but the last one that really had a legitimate shot at doing big damage here was Bob in 1991 … and it did just that. Let’s hope it’s at least another 19 years before the next big threat comes along.
It's Trivia time!
Trivia Quiz #1 … Nothing to do with weather. Who did Don Carcieri defeat for Governor in 2002 and 2006? More. Who did Elizabeth Roberts beat for Lt. Governor in 2006? And while you’re at it, who did Patrick Lynch defeat for Attorney General in 2006?
A lesson I learned … since 1991, the mathematical forecast “models” have improved immensely … the track forecast was almost spot on for Earl for three days from the time it brushed by the Bahamas until it made landfall on Nova Scotia. However, the forecast intensity left a lot to be desired.
Trivia Quiz #2 … This one has to do with weather … Since 1950 which hurricane season has had the fewest named storms and how many were there?
By this time next week we should know the line-ups that will be duking it out for all those offices in the November election. Lots of familiar names will be disappearing from the headlines once the primary is over next Tuesday.
Just one more … Trivia Quiz #3 … In what year did the National Weather Service begin naming tropical storms and hurricanes? And in what year did they begin to use alternating male/female names?
When was the last summer that we had terrific weather for both of the big bookend holiday weekends? The weather for the 4th was sensational …three sunny hot and humid beach days. The weather for the just ended Labor Day weekend spoke for itself.
Onto baseball
My “Boys of Summer” have really taken it on the chin lately. I know injuries are part of the deal, but I think most would agree that the Red Sox have had far more than their fair share and it’s finally caught up to them these past two weeks. It’s one thing to lose Ellsbury, Varitek, Cameron and Martinez but things really fell apart when Pedy and Youk went down … the heart and soul of that team.
Speaking of summer, an interesting point came up this week. When does summer really end? Meteorologically summer consists of June, July and August. So in that sense summer ended on August 31. The summer vacation season ended on Labor Day. And, of course, the Autumnal Equinox or the astronomical end of summer and beginning of fall is on September 22. Take your pick!
I’m really surprised that’s it’s taken so long for the negative political attack ads to get going, but they’ve really begun to ramp up in the past week or so … a sure sign that some candidates are getting desperate.
I guess the Pats will have to score 30 points or more each game this season to have a chance at the playoffs … unless Bill has some defensive gems up his sleeve that he’s been keeping under wraps. Sure hope that the pre season really is meaningless and I’m way off base about this.
Check your trivia answers
Trivia Quiz #1 Answers: Governor Carcieri defeated Myrth York in 2002 and Charles Fogarty in 2006. Liz Roberts beat out Reginald Centracchio and Bob Healey in 2006. And Patrick Lynch outpolled Bill Harsch for Attorney General in 2006.
Trivia Quiz #2 Answers: That would be 1983 when only four (4) storms were named of which three (3) became hurricanes. Hurricane Alicia caused $200 million in damage and killed 21 people, mostly in Texas, proving that it’s not how many form in a season but how big they are and where they hit that counts.
Trivia Quiz #3 Answers: In 1953 The National Weather Service began naming tropical storms and hurricanes using female names (you had to be living in those times to understand why female only!). In 1979 the “male chauvinists” finally got the message and began to use both gender names on the list.
Oooooops … gotta go … getting geared up (read … beer, chips, salsa, etc.) for the Pats opener on Sunday.