Fog Bank, Feb. 10, 2014

Finally caught up!

My first pick is a letter sent from CoCoRaHS about a drought project in the Carolinas. You might be able to find information at the CoCoRaHS home page, but I'll post the letter in the bottom of this post.

The Capital Weather Gang had an article titled "The drawbacks of the automated weather app and the need for human touch"
Their example of a bad app? The Weather Channel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/02/04/the-drawbacks-of-the-automated-weather-app-and-need-for-the-human-forecaster/

This isn't weather, but most weather geeks have at least a slight interest in space, so I bring the Lunar Picture of the Day, with an animation, with audio from the Apollo 8 mission, of the photography of the first Earthrise
http://lpod.wikispaces.com/February+4%2C+2014

There is going to be an app for seeing the Northern Lights, live (I think), from the Poker Flat Research Center in Alaska.
http://www.space.com/24604-northern-lights-auroras-app.html?cmpid=514648_20140207_18241254
There is also a demo web page. The app should come out in March. I hope it's both iPhone and Android!

NOAA weather Partners has uploaded a new video; Get Weather Ready, during a tornado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByveULSahKY&feature=em-uploademail


Audio Fog Bank, Feb. 10, 2014

The CoCoRaHS letter:

Dear North Carolina CoCoRaHS observers,

We would like to take a moment to share some exciting news with you regarding the ability to report drought impacts through the CoCoRaHS program.

Have you ever considered how the precipitation that you monitor every day affects the plants, animals and people in your community? Would you like to participate in a project that takes a closer look at these effects and makes them part of your role as a CoCoRaHS volunteer?


The Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA) team at the University of South Carolina, in partnership with CoCoRaHS and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), is working to establish a network of CoCoRaHS condition monitoring volunteers in the Carolinas. These volunteers are using CoCoRaHS to track things such as plant and soil conditions, weather impacts to local businesses, water quality and quantity, and wildlife by entering a weekly environmental status report online.

The ultimate goal of this project is to begin developing baseline data of environmental conditions when precipitation levels are ‘normal’ so that changes and impacts caused by a lack of rain during periods of drought are more easily identified.  This information can also help determine when conditions begin to improve once precipitation resumes.

If you would like to learn more about this project and how you can become involved, please join us for an online webinar on Friday, February 21st at 11:00 a.m. Webinars are an easy way to join a meeting or group conversation without ever leaving your home. It is a quick way to connect with your CoCoRaHS colleagues to discuss this new opportunity. You don’t have to commit to the project to join the discussion - information about signing up will be provided during the webinar.

If you would like to participate in the webinar please e-mail your name and CoCoRaHS station number to Amanda Brennan at abrennan@sc.edu. Amanda can also answer any additional questions you might have about the project.

Take care and stay warm!

Regards,
David Glenn and Heather Dinon Aldridge
NC State CoCoRaHS Coordinators