Unusual weather

midtskogen · 20 Dec 2018 05:46

Not a lot of snow this Christmas, but still a quite white Christmas. Here's a local road this morning (mobile phone from car, so bear with the quality).

Stellarator · 20 Dec 2018 20:10

(mobile phone from car, so bear with the quality).

Um, I thought that was a picture from a digital camera. Either you're a mean shot with the cellphone cam, or you just have have a really good cellphone.

20 Dec 2018 21:18

Today I watched logs get tossed into a building:

The storm itself wasn't too intense -- sustained winds were only around 50kph and gusts around 100. But they hit right at high tide, and that combined with the wind direction was perfect for storm surge.

Some more shots of waves and debris:

► Show Spoiler

A-L-E-X · 21 Dec 2018 08:16

The weather is amazing here! Feels like being in a tropical storm with temps in the 60s, winds around 50 mph and 3-5 inches of rain expected. It was described as another March 1993 superstorm- without the snow and cold air. The storm which caused the EF2 130 mph tornado near Seattle and another storm which caused 3 tornadoes between Tampa and Orlando (diametrically opposite parts of the country!) combined to create this behemoth! There is also coastal flooding and a 3 foot storm surge and all the airports are closed here. It's close to the full moon so this is adding to the already high tide.

Stellator, I've seen amazing pictures taken with cell phone cameras, including images of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula with free apps that can be used with the iphone or appropriately named Samsung Galaxy. Some nice lightning detector apps for lightning photography too!

Stellarator · 21 Dec 2018 19:36

Yeah, I know I'm living in a sci-fi world: when the cameras are as big as my smallest fingertip, in a device with the same mass as a pocket calculator.

A-L-E-X · 22 Dec 2018 04:17

Hopefully these things wont mess up young minds too much, some of the research indicates the "iGen" (those born 1995 and later) may be getting information overload into their young brains and their attention spans may be suffering (as well as changes observed in MRIs to brain structure).

On a lighter note, there is a new medical condition in the books that comes from taking too many "selfies"

It has to do with wearing out the muscles in one's arms lol.

PlutonianEmpire · 23 Dec 2018 05:03

Carpal Tunnel? Its been known about since long before cell phones, iirc

Gnargenox · 23 Dec 2018 07:10

I fell into into the burning ring of fire I fell down down down down into the deepest fire And it burns burns burns burns the ring of fire the ring of fire

Prayers for the people of Indonesia.

23 Dec 2018 09:47

Prayers for the people of Indonesia.

Indeed. Anak Krakatau has had a lot of activity in the last few months and I'd seen some spectacular videos of its (smaller) explosive eruptions.
[youtube]9Plj4b79cwg[/youtube]
Sad that it now caused a deadly tsunami. Apparently it struck with no warning.

Krakatau has a long destructive history -- in 1883 it released the largest volcanic explosion in recorded history, which obliterated the volcano and also released a giant tsunami. Now it's rebuilding itself -- Anak Krakatau means "Child of Krakatau".

Gnargenox · 23 Dec 2018 10:25

It's hard for me to comprehend the explosive force of 13,000 Hiroshima bombs, which is how they describe the 1883 eruption.

I still recall the tsunami the day after Christmas in 2004 which killed a quarter of a million people. I guess they just can't sell or move to higher ground, since Indonesia is made up of islands.

I've also heard nearly three out of four people live on the coast around the world.

Stellarator · 24 Dec 2018 01:50

I've also heard nearly three out of four people live on the coast around the world.

Yes, suffice to say that it's going to be 'eventful' for those people in the next twelve years, if the UN's new climate change study is anything to go by

. This goes for EVERYONE who lives along the coast. Life is about to get rough.

I'd seen some spectacular videos of its (smaller) explosive eruptions.

Huh, it's rare that you see a volcano blow it's top like that - usually all one might see is a lot of smoke and ash, even in the bigger eruptions. Such frightening displays of lava are so vivid that videos of it almost look fake. Not that you'd disbelieve it if you were there of course!

24 Dec 2018 02:26

Huh, it's rare that you see a volcano blow it's top like that - usually all one might see is a lot of smoke and ash, even in the bigger eruptions. Such frightening displays of lava are so vivid that videos of it almost look fake. Not that you'd disbelieve it if you were there of course!

This is how stratovolcanoes grow. The cone itself is built up from all the rock thrown up and cascading down its flanks. Each explosion builds up the mountain a little bit more. Until and if there's a really big eruption, of course.

Mount St. Helens is an interesting example of one that blew out the side rather than the top.

Anyway, this is more geology than weather.

midtskogen · 24 Dec 2018 04:21

Yes, suffice to say that it's going to be 'eventful' for those people in the next twelve years, if the UN's new climate change study is anything to go by . This goes for EVERYONE who lives along the coast. Life is about to get rough.

Actually. life around the globe is getting gradually better, despite SR1.5's somewhat speculative interpretation of AR5 and people's blame hunt in these reports for everything bad in the world. That goes for the consequences of extreme weather as well despite extreme weather still happening. Geologically coastlines are extremely dynamic, and living at the coast is and always will be a calculated extra risk.
Is the world getting better or worse?

A-L-E-X · 24 Dec 2018 08:26

Carpal Tunnel? Its been known about since long before cell phones, iirc

No it's something else (I forgot the name), it's in the shoulders and it happens with people who use selfie sticks.

Mid, I wonder why sometimes people use the term "world" for humanity. Do they take into account the fact that a mass extinction is taking place and half of our wild animal species will be extinct by 2100? How can they even think of making the statement that the "world" is getting better when that is happening? The "world" consists of ALL the species on the planet, not just one hominid that only appeared on the planet less than 1 million years ago.

Wat, was the Krakatoa explosion in 1883 ranked higher than Tambora's explosion in 1815 (which caused the year without a summer?) I thought in terms of VEI, there were quite a few volcanoes ranked higher than Krakatoa.

24 Dec 2018 08:56

Apparently, according English etymology in the Wiktionary, the noun "world" comes from Proto-Germanic "weraldiz" ("wer", man + "eld", age), as in "age of man". funny enough, and despite the evolution of meanings, it has indeed an anthropocentric origin.

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