 DISCUSSION: Just like we here in the United States celebrate Daylight Saving Time (DST) during the second Sunday in the month of March, Europe also has its own version of the time change which is known as Summer Time and occurs on the last Sunday in March. In the early hours on March 12, 2017 the clocks “jumped” an hour forward to ring in Daylight Saving Time across the majority of the United States (parts of Arizona and the state of Hawaii do not participate). The same thing occurred throughout Europe earlier this morning Sunday March 26, 2017 as well (the exceptions being Russia and Belarus). Moving the clocks ahead one-hour was originally started back during World War I in the United States to help conserve energy as the Sun now set an hour later allowing Americans to turn on their lights later in the evening. During World War II the United States enacted year-round DST to help conserve even more energy during the war. Places in Europe applied “Double Summer Time” which set the clocks two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GWT) during the summer and one hour ahead in the winter. Extended DST was also put into place during the oil embargo of 1973. As of 2007 the United States observes DST on the second Sunday in the month of March and ends on the first Sunday in November. In Europe, since 1996, DST begins on the last Sunday of March and lasts until the last Sunday of October. Roughly one billion people go through the time change every year across the world, the week following the time change leads to a greater risk of heart attacks and car accidents due to the change in sleep patterns. Stay safe out there our European friends! To learn more about other high-impact weather events from across Europe, be sure to click here! ~ Meteorologist Jake Keiser  Daylight saving time by country as of March 2017: Blue denotes Northern hemisphere DST, Orange denotes Southern hemisphere DST, Dark Gray denotes Never used DST, Light Gray denotes Formerly used DST. (Source: Wikipedia).
0 Comments
Mammatus Clouds Observed Over Częstochowa, Poland! (credit: Adrian Nowak via Meteo Europe)3/22/2017  DISCUSSION: Just days ago, a very neat phenomena was observed over Częstochowa, Poland (which a city located in southern Poland). This phenomena was that seen in the image above which were the mammatus clouds observed over Częstochowa, Poland. To learn more about mammatus clouds, here is more information on them courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration!
"For mammatus clouds to form, the sinking air must be cooler than the air around it and have high liquid water or ice content. They derive their name from their appearance, like the bag-like sacs that hang beneath the cloud resemble cow's udders. Mammatus are long-lived if the sinking air contains large drops and snow crystals since larger particles require greater amounts of energy for evaporation to occur. Over time, the cloud droplets do eventually evaporate and the mammatus dissolve. Despite popular misconception, mammatus clouds are not a sign that a tornado is about to form. While associated with thunderstorms, mammatus clouds are not necessarily an indicator of severe weather. Mammatus result from the sinking of moist air into dry air. They are in essence upside-down clouds. The sharp boundary of mammatus is much like the sharp boundary of a rising cumulonimbus cloud before an anvil has formed." To learn more about other neat weather events occurring across Europe, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz 
DISCUSSION: Within the last couple of weeks, a truly prolific series of events has unfolded across far eastern sections of Sicily. This is where the summit of Mount Etna is located and where there have recently been a series of violent eruptions associated with the volcano positioned within Mount Etna. Attached above is downright dramatic and shocking footage of Mt Etna which has had 3 eruptions over roughly 3 weeks. In this particular footage, you can clearly see a plethora of rocks being propelled into the air by the blast. As a result of this violent ejection of rock and volcanic ash, much of ultimately rained down on people while they were simultaneously observing the lava flow, including members of a BBC News video crew. As can note from near the end of this footage, this was a violent event at the ground along with other serious associated consequences as well.
To be more specific, whenever there is a volcanic eruption, there are other issues which arise. Often times, in the wake of even a relatively minor volcanic eruption, there is a substantial amount of smoldering volcanic ash which becomes suspended within the middle to upper parts of the atmosphere in the vicinity and downwind of the given volcano's position. Therefore, with the corresponding direction of the prevailing wind flow upstream-to-downstream of that region, there are often major threats to the overall safety of commercial as well as private aviation interests. Thus, as volcanic ash is transported farther away from the point source of the volcanic ash plume (i.e., in this case being Mount Etna), the inherent threat to aircraft engines and overall air quality issues continues to grow as the volcanic ash plume continues to spread. Bottom line, volcanic eruptions make for multi-faceted dangers which should always be taken seriously and approached with a high degree of respect. To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across Europe, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz Significant Rainfall and Flooding Impacts Parts of Central to Eastern Spain! (credit: Meteo Europe)3/16/2017 
DISCUSSION: Within the last couple of days, a strong low pressure system gradually moved through parts of western Europe. As a result of this low pressure system moving off the far northeastern Atlantic Ocean and towards parts of western Europe, many parts of Portugal and Spain were placed in the cross-hairs of a notable amount of atmospheric moisture content. Due to a combination of large amounts of incoming water vapor content from the Atlantic Ocean as well as favorable mid/upper-level atmospheric dynamics, this resulted in many areas observing several periods of very heavy rainfall. As you can see in the video footage above, this led to significant street flooding and likely even more severe episodes of flash flooding in some locations. This was more than likely enhanced by the presence of higher terrain just to the west and to the southwest of the city of Alicante, Spain. Hence, as larger quantities of atmospheric water vapor content moved off the ocean and across the higher terrain of central-to-eastern Spain, this helped to amplify the intensity of the rainfall which impacted parts of central-to-eastern Spain.
To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across Europe, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz 
DISCUSSION: Over the last 48 hours, a fairly strong low pressure system impacted portions of south-central Europe which included (but were not limited to) Southern to central parts of Austria and other surrounding nations. This low pressure system originated in the east-central Mediterranean Sea which allowed for a substantial amount of warm moisture laden air to be injected into the low pressure circulation which developed. As this process unfolded, the combination of the northward moving warm air from the Mediterranean as well as the mountains of Austria and surrounding nations created the perfect set up for a classic south-central European winter storm. As shown in the video above, snowfall totals in cities such as Arlberg, Austria were among some of the hardest hit with storm snowfall totals likely in excess of 2 to 3 feet (or 0.5 to 1 meters) with even higher snowfall drifts in spots. Due to some of the heavier characteristics of parts of this event, this added a tremendous amount of stress to both structures as well as critical electrical and communication networks throughout the region. This event was handled well overall since these events are often well anticipated by forecasters due to the inherent ability for the more elevated origins of the Alps to consistently drive heavy mountain snowfall events.
To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across Europe, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz Strong Winds Wreak Havoc Across Poland!!! (Source: Paweł Stanuch via 24tp.pl Credit: Meteo Europe)3/5/2017 DISCUSSION: Several trees were downed in Poland late Saturday night when warm down-sloping winds reached speeds of nearly 70 miles per hour (mph). These winds in Europe are known as the Foehn wind, and typically occur on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. Winds off the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean are forced to rise up the mountain where the air then cools and condenses, as it passes over the mountain top the air has dropped all of its moisture on the windward side and thus is now much drier. Due to the difference in adiabatic lapse rates of moist and dry air, the air on the leeward side of the mountain becomes warmer and as it sinks it becomes compressed and speeds up. This is why the leeward side of mountain ranges all across the globe are typically arid. The speed of the Foehn wind can reach dangerous speeds as we saw in Poland over the weekend. But, it’s not just the speed of the wind that is remarkable, it’s also the change in the temperature. As mentioned earlier, the air on the leeward side is drier and warmer, sometimes 25°F (14°C) warmer! Which in the winter months can lead to rapid snowmelt and sublimation. However, rapid snowmelt wasn’t the concern in Poland late Saturday night, it was the strong winds. Many reports of downed trees were seen all across Southern Poland in the region of Aleksandrowice Śląskie. Regional Road 960 in this area was closed for several hours as crews scrambled to clear the roadway from fallen debris. Some rain showers may affect the cleanup effort today before colder air returns later this weekend. To learn more about other high-impact weather events from across Europe, be sure to click here! ~ Meteorologist Jake Keiser  Crews working to clean the debris along Regional Road 960 in Southern Poland. 3/4/17  Crews using heavy equipment to remove fallen trees along Regional Road 960. 3/4/17  Trees completely blocking Regional Road 960 across Southern Poland. 3/4/17 |
Archives
August 2019
|
RSS Feed