After Katrina, all the major news outlets are reporting the start of the Atlantic hurricane season today. None seems to have reported that the East Pacific season began May 15th, which has already seen its first tropical storm. Perhaps Americans really don't care what happens to Mexico?
Again, probably because of increased media interest, this morning's "Tropical Weather Outlook" newsletter had a lot more information than usual:
TODAY MARKS THE FIRST DAY OF THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON...WHICH
WILL RUN UNTIL NOVEMBER 30TH. THE LIST OF NAMES FOR 2006 IS AS
FOLLOWS:
NAME PRONUNCIATION NAME PRONUNCIATION
-------------------------------------------------------------
ALBERTO AL BAIR- TOE LESLIE
BERYL BER- IL MICHAEL
CHRIS NADEEN NAY DEEN-
DEBBY OSCAR
ERNESTO ER NES- TOE PATTY
FLORENCE RAFAEL RA FA EL-
GORDON SANDY
HELENE HE LEEN- TONY
ISAAC EYE- ZAK VALERIE
JOYCE WILLIAM
KIRK
THE GREEK ALPHABET...ALPHA...BETA...GAMMA...ETC...IS USED SHOULD THE
STANDARD LIST OF NAMES BE EXHAUSTED...AS IT WAS LAST YEAR. IN
2005...A RECORD 28 STORMS FORMED...INCLUDING AN UNNAMED OCTOBER
SUBTROPICAL STORM THAT WAS ADDED TO THE OFFICIAL LIST IN APRIL. THE
LONG-TERM AVERAGES FOR THE NUMBER OF NAMED STORMS...HURRICANES...
AND MAJOR HURRICANES ARE 11...6...AND 2...RESPECTIVELY. THE NOAA
SEASONAL OUTLOOK FOR 2006 CALLS FOR ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS OF ACTIVITY.
(I think it's cute how the National Hurricane Center, which has some of the most powerful computers on the planet, still puts out 1970s-era block-letter reports. It's their own form of bureaucratese.)
Keep in mind, November 30th is only a guideline. We had a named Atlantic storm in January this year. In fact, let me make a prediction you can tease me about later: by 2010, the NHC will track the Atlantic hurricane season from May 15th to December 31st, and by 2025, they'll abandon the concept altogether and just start the name list on January 1st each year.
I'll be away from the blog for a couple of days while I return to Chicago. I've enjoyed Nashua, and I'm sure I'll come back to visit. Everyone here was friendly; for example, my unexpected dinner companion, Max:
Back Monday. Enjoy the weekend.
These are from my not-small, not-simple camera. (Note: the photos are shown at half-size; you can see more detail if you open them in their own browser windows.)
The plane that brung me:
Nantucket Memorial Airport, just as it looked in Wings:
House on Washington St., with the harbor behind it:
Nantucket Town. Yes, it is that charming. I suspect things were different when Ishmael bunked with Queequeg:
Another view of Main St.:
The Whaling Museum:
I have two cameras. One is very small and very simple, the other is neither. Here are some photos from yesterday that I took with the small, simple camera.
Altitude, 7,500 feet (2,300 m):
VFR on top, meaning I was flying in visual conditions on top of this cloud layer:
Nantucket Island:
Also, a bonus shot. As I reported earlier, a tornado touched down about 60 km (40 mi.) east of me on Sunday. As I was getting the Nantucket photos off my camera, I discovered I had a photo of the wall cloud that spawned the tornados:
Today, actually.
I took lots of photos but I'm too pooped right now to deal with them. So tomorrow morning check back for a cohort—nay! a plethora!—of photos. And possibly a limerick.
The flight down went quickly (1.2 hours from Nashua to Nantucket), I had a great landing, and took a leisurely stroll into town.
(A side note: With AVGAS approaching $5 per gallon, the $100 hamburger now costs $320.)
On the way back I encountered (a) rain at Martha's Vineyard that kept me circling offshore for ten mintues and (b) turbulence from New Bedford clear up to Nashua, alternating from a dull thud-thud-thud to some pretty decent up- and down-drafts.
That part was fun in the way that bobbing around in 150-foot increments while moving 100 knots at 4,500 feet above the ground in an aluminum tube is fun.
But at the end of the day, they can use the plane again, and as far as I know I didn't violate any FARs all day.
It was a wonderful ending to my time in New Hampshire. (I leave for Chicago Friday.) I don't know when I'll fly again, but I hope soon. Maybe even before the next time I visit Nantucket.
A fast-moving storm system blew through Southern New Hampshire yesterday, dropping pea-sized hail and buckets of rain. I watched it from the Peddler's Daughter in Nashua. I noticed what I thought was a wall cloud, but seeing no rotation I disregarded it. It turned out I may have been right, because several people reported a tornado and water spouts touching down northeast of me:
As the storm arrived, observers a few miles north on Ocean Boulevard in Hampton saw a strange, wedge-shaped cloud. It was not a classic "twister," but a conical, black mass pointing forward and down from the lead edge of the main storm. A few minutes later, those observers saw two waterspouts moving over the ocean. One was east of Great Boars Head; the other perhaps a mile further south.
I'm glad no one was seriously hurt.
Update, May 23, 8:26 ET (12:26 UTC): The Manchester Union-Leader confirms it was a tornado, with photos.
I took a quick trip up to Kennebunk, Maine, and then to Portsmouth, N.H., yesterday. In Kennebunk I found the Wedding Cake House, constructed (legend has it) by a sea captain who was forced to put to sea during his wedding:
And Portsmouth is just plain charming:
I arrived in Nashua, N.H., from Chicago just a few minutes ago, and two hours later than anticipated because of rain. Lots of rain. In fact, it turns out, they've had more rain than during any May on record—and the month isn't even half-over:
Two weeks into the month, rainfall totals in Concord were expected to wash out the May record of 9.52 inches set in 1984, Cannon said. Official totals have been tracked since 1864.
I believe it has rained almost every day this month, and rain is forecast every day until Saturday. Wonderful.
I heard on New Hampshire Public Radio this morning that—hang on—<ACHOO!>—<sniff>—(sorry) I heard that tree pollen is peaking right now across New England.
I had planned to take two co-workers up for a sightseeing flight around Nashua last Tuesday, but the 500-foot ceilings and 24-knot winds argued against it. So we postponed until today.
The terminal area forecast right now calls for northeast winds at 14 gusting to 24 knots with 5,000-foot ceilings, with both winds and ceiling diminishing to 12 knots and 1200 feet respectively by 9pm (01:00 UTC).
So, once again, I'll use the #1 Aviation Safety Procedure: "staying on the ground."
Phooey. I wanted to fly.